Chapter 113: Between Worlds
The white light faded, and Elara found herself falling through nothing. Not darkness.
Not space. Just... nothing. She could hear her family screaming her name, but their words sounded like they were coming from a million miles away.
"Elara!" Kael’s voice echoed oddly. "Where are you?" She tried to answer, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.
Panic clawed at her chest. Then she hit something solid. Hard. Elara groaned and sat up, expecting to see the forest or the magical place where they’d faced the stranger.
Instead, she found herself in a place that shouldn’t exist. She was standing on what looked like a bridge made of pure stars. Below her spread an endless void filled with swirling colors and half-formed shapes.
Above her, the sky flickered between day and night, sun and moon, summer and winter. "What is this place?" she whispered. "The space between worlds," a familiar voice answered.
Elara spun around. Standing behind her was another form of herself. This Elara wore flowing robes instead of torn clothes. Her hair was longer, her eyes glowed with silver light, and she looked older. Wiser.
"Who are you?" Elara asked. "I’m who you could have been," the other Elara answered. "If your parents hadn’t hidden your true nature." "My true nature?" "You’re not just a Luna, Elara. You’re a Bridge Walker.
One of the few beings who can travel between different worlds." Elara’s head spun. "Different realities?" "There are countless worlds, endless versions of your story. In some, you died as a baby.
In others, you became a bully. In a few rare ones, you found love and saved everyone." The other Elara pointed to the swirling void around them.
Suddenly, Elara could see pictures forming in the chaos. Different versions of her life playing out like movies. In one, she saw herself marrying only Kael, becoming a typical Luna.