LILY POV
I reached toward the voice calling me "daughter" before anyone could stop me.
The moment my fingers touched the bridge of light Sage had made, everything changed. I wasn't in the basement anymore. I was standing in a place that felt like the heart of everything - a vast space filled with swirling galaxies and floating islands of pure energy.
"Welcome home, little one," the voice said, and now I could see who it belonged to.
She looked like me, but older. Wiser. Her hair flowed like starlight, and her eyes held the depth of endless space. She was beautiful in a way that made my heart ache with recognition.
"Who are you?" I whispered.
"I am what you will become," she said softly. "The original Guardian. The first being to sacrifice herself to protect reality itself."
"That's impossible. I'm just an omega monster who got in over her head."
