The moment Asher and Valeris stepped through the veil of the Heaven's Rift, the world around them twisted.
The light bent unnaturally, like glass melting in slow motion. The air felt thick with intent—ancient, unknowable, and vast. For a single heartbeat, everything was still.
And then—
Space fractured.
Not shattered like a broken mirror, but more like it decided to rearrange itself. Asher's hand, which had been holding Valeris', passed through mist instead of flesh. His surroundings turned from vivid forest glades to a storm-lit sky, with floating islands drifting in the distance like pieces of a forgotten dream.
"Valeris?" he called out, calmly but with intent. His voice echoed strangely, as if the realm itself was listening.
There was no answer.
She, too, had been pulled elsewhere.
***
Valeris
