The statues loom before you, their marble faces bearing his likeness. Gale’s furrowed brow, the way his hair falls just so—but the spark of life is gone. Nothing but pale echoes of the man you once knew. The man you once loved.

Gale had been everything. Ink-stained hands held yours with a tender certainty, and his laughter was a melody meant for you alone. Love poured from him with the same intensity that fueled his boundless ambition, yet it was never enough to keep him grounded.

His gaze remained fixed on the horizon, drawn to the promises of power and immortality, too blinded by his dreams to see the love burning fiercely within reach.

Now you stand here, drowning in the ache of longing. You’d give anything to go back—before ambition consumed him completely.

Back to when you pulled that foolish wizard from the stone.