Ava had never felt so small.
The Celestial Kingdom stretched endlessly before her, glowing with an untouchable divinity. Golden skies bled into soft hues of silver and lavender, streaked with swirling clouds that never faded. Floating islands hovered in the air, cascading luminous waterfalls into the void below. The very air hummed with a holy presence, so thick it pressed against her skin.
It was beautiful.
It was perfect.
It was suffocating.
She didn't belong here.
Xavier must have felt it too.
Standing beside her, his posture was tense, shoulders squared, but there was a sharp tightness in his jaw, a stiffness that told her he wasn't as unaffected as he pretended to be.
Ava exhaled through her nose, rolling her shoulders as if that would shake off the weight of expectation settling on her chest.
The Bridge of Fate lay ahead—except it didn't.
There was nothing in front of them but empty space.
And the elders were waiting.
Ava could feel their eyes.
