"I've never seen these before," Kate muttered. "Do you think—?"
"Let's find out," Felix interrupted, his curiosity clearly getting the better of him.
The path of glowing rocks led deeper into the heart of the forest, and with each step, the air grew heavier, thick with something Kate couldn't quite place. The trees around them seemed ancient—gnarled trunks twisted in strange, unsettling patterns. The further they went, the more it felt like they were being pulled into a different world.
They reached a clearing. A shimmering lake stretched out before them, its surface still and perfect, reflecting the sky like a mirror. And there, standing at the water's edge, was a woman. Her hair was a cascade of silver, catching the light and shimmering like liquid. Her presence was almost unnatural, as though she had been carved from the very fabric of the forest itself.
Kate stopped in her tracks. Her breath hitched. She's divine, she thought, captivated by the sheer power radiating from the woman. Her aura is breathtaking.
The woman's gaze shifted, locking onto Kate's with an intensity that made her blood run cold. "Why are you here?" she asked, her voice sharp, cutting through the air like a blade.
Kate froze. She didn't know how to answer. Kate, sensing her unease, stepped forward, his voice uneasy but trying to remain polite. "We didn't mean to intrude. We were just exploring. We didn't know anyone else was here."
The woman's eyes darkened slightly. "Strange... it's not you I expected, you shouldn't be here, at least not now." she said, her tone barely a whisper but carrying a weight that felt like it could crush them. "It's too soon for you to be here, leave at once."
Kate could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She glanced at Felix, but he didn't seem to know what to do either. The woman was staring at Kate with an unreadable expression, her eyes intense, as though she were searching for something in them she couldn't quite see.
Before anyone could speak again, a rustle in the undergrowth startled them. A sinuous, emerald-scaled snake burst forth, its eyes glinting with a predatory focus. In an instant, it lunged at Felix. With a lightning-quick strike, the serpent sank its fangs into his wrist.
A sharp cry escaped Felix's lips as searing pain coursed through his arm. In moments, a cold dizziness overwhelmed him. His vision blurred; the edges of the clearing melted away into shadows. Suddenly, his stomach heaved, and a violent wave of vomit erupted. As if that weren't enough, dark rivulets of blood began to seep from his eyes, staining his pale skin like ominous warnings.
Kate''s face turned ashen. "We need to get him to a hospital! Now!" she exclaimed, panic lacing every word.
The woman—Nysa—fixed her with an unyielding stare. Her tone dropped, each word deliberate.
"A hospital won't help," she murmured. "There are no cures for the creatures here."
Kate's eyes darted around in disbelief. "Here? What do you mean, here?"
Nysa's gaze softened momentarily as she knelt beside the writhing Felix. The space between realms had opened—a chasm where the human and the divine met. In a low, almost whispered cadence, she revealed,
"The barrier is breaking. Fate led you here, into a crossing between worlds."
Felix writhed on the ground, agony overtaking him as reality spun and blurred. Desperation painted his features. Amid the turmoil,
Kate watched, helpless, as Nysa produced a small, sharp blade. With a swift, deliberate motion, she sliced her wrist. Crimson, almost luminous in the twilight, pooled in her palm.
Before Kate could cry out, Nysa leaned over Felix, gently tilting his head back. Nysa slits her wrist and allows the warm, metallic blood to flow into Felix's mouth. For a suspended moment, time seemed to slow. The bitter taste mingled with the venom in her veins, and Kate's body convulsed violently. Her eyes fluttered shut as she teetered on the edge between collapse and revival.
Kate's voice cracked as she demanded, "What are you doing?"
Nysa's response was calm, edged with determination. "I'm saving his life."
As the blood seeped in, Felix's convulsions gradually stilled. The searing dizziness ebbed away, replaced by a fragile steadiness. Gasping for air, Felix's eyes fluttered open, meeting the solemn, knowing gaze of Nysa.
Kate's shock was palpable. "But... what is this place?" he asked, his voice trembling. "How did this even happen?"
Nysa's eyes drifted to the shimmering lake, her voice softening into a murmur that seemed to echo across the still water.
"You've stepped into a bridge between the human and divine realms. The barrier that once separated us is breaking, and it has drawn you to me."
Nysa stood, wiping the blood from her palm, and then glanced at Kate with an almost imperceptible hint of something—pity? "He would have died," Nysa said simply, as though the matter were settled.
Felix sat up slowly, the pain gone, but a lingering unease gnawing at him. He looked up at Nysa, still trying to piece together what had just happened. "What is this place? Why... Why did you help me?"
Nysa's gaze lingered on her, her expression shifting. She sighed softly, looking toward the lake with a faraway look in her eyes.
"You've crossed into a bridge," she said quietly, "a place where the human and divine realms overlap. It's a crossing that many never survive. And now... You have found me.
Felix took a few cautious steps toward her. "What happens to us now?"
Nysa's eyes flicked to him, and for the first time, there was something like frustration in her gaze. "You remain here. You learn. Or you forget. That is your choice."
Kate watched her closely. Something in the way Nysa held herself seemed almost... lonely, though she had not spoken of it directly. A thought pushed to the front of Kate's mind.
"You may stay—for now. I will teach you the secrets of this world and the next, you'll uncover the history and the prophecies that are yet to come and then when we're done I'll introduce you to the realm of the gods or should I say "the birth of gift users". Learn, adapt, and remember: once you cross this threshold, the world you once knew will never be the same."
In the hush of that otherworldly clearing, as the gentle lapping of the lake's waters accompanied her words, the trio stood at the threshold of a mystery where pain, destiny, and the divine intermingled—each breath a step deeper into a realm where every choice bore the weight of eternity.