Chapter 164 – Two Worlds, Two Burdens
Night had fallen fully over the ancient castle. Cold winds from the north drifted softly past stone pillars, carrying a thin mist that shimmered gently under the glow of candlelight in the castle’s inner halls. Beneath a gray sky, the stars of this world appeared pale, holding riddles no ordinary human could hope to understand.
Sylvia stood on the balcony of her chamber, both hands resting on the cold, rough stone railing. Her black dress fluttered lightly in the night breeze, and her black hair drifted in the wind, faintly gleaming under the reddish moon that hung far closer than the one from her original world.
Her face was calm, but her eyes were empty. She stared at the night sky in silence, as if hoping for a voice, a signal, or a whisper from the one she missed most.
Sofia.
That name spun endlessly in her mind like an incantation she couldn’t silence. Sofia’s face, her peaceful smile, her warm hands that always held Sylvia’s when she was vulnerable all of it felt so distant now.
And the longing was like a slow-acting poison that gnawed at her heart.
She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. The night air carried the scent of mist and old dust, but also a faint trace of magical roots from the eastern mountains.
"How much longer must I wait..." she whispered.
But there was no answer. No voice. No easy way to reconnect hearts now separated by worlds.
Yet Sylvia was not a woman who gave up easily.
She sharpened her mind, channeling magical energy from her core to her consciousness. Her fingertips trembled slightly, as if touching the thin veil between worlds. Then, she uttered a single name in her thoughts: