Pop. Another tomorrow burst. Then pop-pop-pop went three more, too fast for Ori.

Out spilled a bit of Auntie Kelpseal’s song, one corner of Mira’s bridge plan, Grandpa Drift’s chuckle, and a bright brave feeling that faded before anyone could catch it. Peep zigzagged in a flurry and cried, “They’re leaking away, Ori!”

Ori lunged after the pieces, heart thumping hard. But each lost tomorrow fizzed thin in the wild air, and the empty hush that followed felt bigger than the storm.