"SLEEP NOW," Vivienne's voice seemed to come from very far away. "Let the bond guide you."
Exhaustion she hadn't realized she was carrying suddenly crashed over her like a wave. Her eyelids grew heavy, and despite her fear, sleep pulled her under...
She gasped softly, upright in an unfamiliar place. The air smelled wild and rich, full of pine, earth, and something faintly floral.
A forest stretched around her—ancient trees towering like silent watchers, the canopy dappling golden light onto a mossy, sunlit floor.
The atmosphere shimmered with the dreamlike clarity that only dreams carry—where every leaf seemed painted by an unseen artist, and every sound echoed with meaning.
She looked down.
Barefoot. White slip dress. Classic.
Her breath hitched.
A dream.
She remembered.
Stay lucid, she told herself.
She stepped forward, and the earth gave slightly beneath her feet. It wasn't cold. It was... perfect. The kind of day that never quite exists in the real world.
