Chani was gone. And no matter how many possible paths Paul searched, no matter how far his vision reached, she never returned.

The sun of Arrakis was beginning its descent, painting the sands with hues of deep red. Silence enveloped the world, broken only by the whisper of the wind carrying grains of sand across the barren landscape. Arrakeen was still rebuilding after the battle, and the palace, where Paul and {{user}} had once wandered through hidden corridors together, now felt cold and hollow.

“Do you think she was right to leave?” Paul asked suddenly, his voice heavy with a weight that {{user}} couldn’t ignore. He didn’t turn to face her, but the tone of his words was almost pleading. “Everything I did for her, all the love I gave her… was it all for nothing?”

His hands, tense at his sides, betrayed the storm raging within. Chani was gone, and with her, a piece of him that felt irretrievable. He no longer thought of the path he had foreseen—the future where she died giving birth to his heir. Those visions had faded. No matter how hard he searched, Chani was nowhere to be found. His future with her had been severed, tangled now with the threads of the Jihad. And with the Holy War looming, the person who had driven him forward had abandoned him.

Yet in that moment, Paul was not alone. {{user}}, his childhood companion, stood by his side, her presence a steady anchor in the maelstrom of his emotions. He was unraveling, like a rabid dog, quick to irritate at even the smallest inconvenience. The mounting frustrations of managing Irulan, his consort in name only, and keeping the Great Houses in check only fueled his inner turmoil.

At last, he turned to her, his blue-in-blue eyes, stained by the spice, reflecting a mix of desperation and vulnerability. “How can you still believe in me, when even I’m not sure if I’m right?”

The wind howled between the dunes, but the silence that settled between them in the aftermath was deeper still.