Emma's eyes snapped open in complete darkness, and the first thing she did was scream her father's name.
"DADDY!"
Her voice echoed through the empty space where the portal had dumped her. She was floating in what looked like a giant bubble made of starlight, but she didn't care about any of that.
All she cared about was the fading ghostly shape of Kael floating nearby, getting more transparent by the second.
"Emma?" His voice was barely a whisper. "How did you get here?"
"The portal swallowed me." She swam through the strange space toward him. "Daddy, you're disappearing!"
"I know." Kael's ghost smiled sadly. "Shadow Emma's claws did more damage than I thought. My soul is... unraveling."
"No!" Emma grabbed for him, but her hands passed right through his fading form. "I just got you back! You can't leave me again!"
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I tried to protect you, but—"
