The light consumed her.
Not harsh. Not violent. But slow—like mist curling around a flame. Lina's body rose, then dissolved into a stream of energy, pulled through the fractures in space like thread unraveling through a needle.
Kai ran to her—but his hands passed through the last flicker of her light.
She was gone.
Gone not just from the place, but from the plane.
The twin turned her gaze toward him. "You touched the edge of what she's becoming. That was brave."
He glared at her. "You knew this would happen."
"I am her," she said softly. "Or I was. One path, one fragment. The rest is hers to discover."
Kai's fists clenched. "Where did she go?"
The creature beside her finally spoke—its voice not heard, but felt.
"To the in-between. The cradle of everything. Few survive the crossing. Fewer return."
Kai's heart stilled. But then he did what he always had.
He stepped forward.
---
Somewhere else.
Lina opened her eyes—but they weren't hers.
Or they were—but stretched, altered, layered. As if she now saw not just a world, but echoes of thousands at once. Lights spun. Shapes moved like reflections in a fractured mirror. The space was endless, curved, blooming in patterns too large for comprehension.
It was beautiful.
And terrifying.
Her body floated gently among drifting fragments of worlds, like glass bubbles suspended in ink. Every sphere held a version of her life: a moment, a choice, a different future.
Some happy.
Some broken.
And in the center of this endless sprawl, she saw her. Again.
Another version of herself—taller, older, darker. Clad in flowing white, eyes pure black like still water. The aura around her pulsed with control. Containment.
Beside her stood a beast like none Lina had ever encountered—tall, feline in form, feathered wings curled against its back, and eyes like twin moons. Its stare was unreadable.
They were waiting.
Lina floated closer—drawn not by gravity, but by recognition.
"You're like me," she whispered.
The other Lina smiled. "No. You're like me. But you haven't finished becoming."
Lina's hands trembled. "What am I becoming?"
"The vessel. The key. The gate. You've always been all three." Her voice was calm. Almost motherly. "You only forgot."
Lina felt the pressure rising again in her veins. The power. She struggled to hold it down.
"I can't control it," she breathed. "It's too much."
The other Lina reached out a hand—not to touch, but to guide.
"You were never meant to control it. You were meant to anchor it."
The creature beside her stepped forward. Its mouth did not move, but Lina heard its thoughts loud and clear:
"One path opens. One must be left behind."
She shook her head. "What does that mean?"
But before she could ask more, the air shimmered.
A voice.
Real.
Human.
"Lina!"
She turned—her heart catching.
Kai.
He stood at the edge of this shimmering realm, fractured by color and time. His chest rose and fell, hands burned from the crossing—but his eyes found hers instantly.
"Stay where you are!" she cried. "I don't know what this place is doing—"
But he was already moving forward.
He stopped short when he saw them—two Linas, side by side.
He faltered. "No…"
Both turned toward him.
Both real. Both the same.
But only one carried the glow he knew. The ache in her chest. The tremble in her voice.
"I'm her," Lina said.
The other Lina didn't argue. She merely watched.
Kai walked slowly, watching both their faces. "Prove it."
Lina's lips parted. "The first time you found me, I had blood on my hands. I didn't speak. You held me anyway. You said—'you don't have to talk until you're ready.' And I never said thank you."
Kai's eyes stung.
He stepped toward her—and she collapsed into his arms.
She was shaking.
But this time, not from power. From relief.
---
The other Lina turned away.
The creature followed silently.
Before they vanished, the other Lina's voice echoed softly:
"One path chosen. One left behind. But the gate remains."
Somewhere beyond light and time.
He watched the reunion in silence, fingers hovering just above the glassy surface of a map that wasn't made of paper—but of woven timelines, knotted choices, and bleeding echoes. Each thread pulsed faintly with the essence of a version of her.
Of Lina.
Except now—one of them had surged.
"Ah," he murmured. "She's starting to remember."
The figure stood tall, draped in robes darker than the void, their face hidden behind a mask carved from obsidian. Around him, great wheels turned—spheres orbiting like dying suns, ticking with every heartbeat that passed across dimensions.
"She's not supposed to awaken yet," came a rasp from behind.
A second presence. Quieter, but no less dangerous. She moved like shadow, her voice brittle with tension.
"She's ahead of the timeline," the masked figure said. "That shard of hers... it's reacting to something deeper. Something buried."
"Shall we intervene?" the shadow asked.
He traced the image of Kai with one gloved finger. The boy was strong. Loyal. Predictable.
"No. Let them wander. Let her feel strong. Hopeful."
A pause.
"Then we remind her what she gave up when she made that deal."
The shadow inclined her head. "As you wish, Master."
With a wave of his hand, the map rippled. One of Lina's faces dimmed—one who had not survived. Another flared—caught in fire.
But the one at the center remained brightest.
The girl who remembered the beginning.
---
Back in the shifting realm of echoes…
Lina sat beside Kai on a floating platform of light, her breath finally even, though her body still trembled. Her hand rested over her heart—where the heat hadn't faded. Where the power still throbbed.
"I don't know what it is," she whispered. "It's not magic. It's not... energy. It feels older than me."
Kai looked around. The space was vast, unending. But even here, he noticed—everything bent around her. Like the universe recognized her.
"You think it's part of why everything's breaking?" he asked.
She nodded. "I think it's because of me. Or what I used to be. That deal she talked about…"
Kai frowned. "Do you trust her? That other version of you?"
"I trust her... truth," Lina murmured. "But not her purpose."
Kai reached for her hand, fingers brushing her skin. "Then we figure this out together. Like always."
She smiled faintly—but it didn't reach her eyes.
Because deep down, something inside her stirred again.
The power.
It wasn't resting. It was growing. And part of her feared that the next time it rose… she wouldn't be able to stop it.
---
Somewhere nearby.
The other Lina—the one who'd stayed behind—stood with the beast at the edge of the mirrored void. She watched the real Lina leave with Kai.
"She's still not ready," she said softly.
The beast blinked. "But the gate has opened."
"Yes," she said. "And the others will come now."
She turned away, her expression unreadable.
"And she must be ready when the final choice comes."