Barry floated in darkness that didn't feel empty. It felt thick, almost alive, like the air before a storm. A faint glow pulsed around him, slow and steady, as if something was breathing in the dark.
He tried to move. He could not tell if he actually did. The glow grew brighter, and a soft voice drifted toward him.
"Barry."
His eyes edged open. A warm gold light poured across his vision. Threads of it curled and twisted through the air, moving like rivers seen from above. As the light gathered, a figure took shape in its center.
His breath caught.
"Mom?"
Nora Allen stood in front of him, calm and warm, as if she had stepped into his room to wake him for school. Her smile made the tension in his chest loosen.
He blinked hard. "This has to be a dream."
She stepped closer and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. Her hand felt real. The touch made his throat tighten.
"It is not a dream, sweetheart. It's a moment between moments. You are between the accident and waking up."
Barry looked down at his hands, surprised to see faint sparks of gold flicker across his skin. "What happened to me?"
Nora gave him a look filled with understanding, as if she knew how scared he was before he could even realize it.
"You were struck by lightning," she said. "But there was more than lightning in that strike. Something answered it."
Barry frowned. "Something?"
She nodded. "There is a force that exists everywhere. It moves with the same rhythm as time and energy. When the lightning hit you, we reached for you. We saw something in you it recognized."
Barry shook his head slowly. "This sounds impossible."
"I know," she said softly. "But so did surviving." While a playful smile touches her lips. "And you did."
Her voice wrapped around him like a blanket. She did not rush him. She waited until he was ready for more.
"You said something answered the lightning," Barry said. "What does that mean for me?"
Nora stepped back so he could see the currents of gold electricity sweeping around them. They pulsed in and out, never chaotic, almost like they were dancing.
"It means you are connected to this force now," she said. "You are the first person who has ever been this close to it. We've changed you so you could survive, and now it is a part of you."
Barry processed her words slowly. He was used to evidence, patterns, and equations he could touch and test. This was different. But her tone kept him grounded.
"So I am not imagining this. I am… alive because of this force, because of you?"
"Yes," she said. "And your body is adapting to us. You're becoming something more, when you wake up things will feel strange. You might be scared or confused, but you will not be alone."
Barry lowered his eyes. "Why me?"
She reached out again, guiding his chin up with gentle fingers. "Because the love in your heart has always chased away your fears. You have always moved towards hope. We responded to that. You survived something no one else ever has. That makes you the start of something new."
Barry swallowed, trying to hold himself steady. "What happened to everyone else?"
Nora hesitated, but only for a moment. "The world will not stay the same. What happened to you opened a door."
He felt his pulse flutter. "Am I supposed to do something?"
She smiled with a warmth that settled deep in his chest. "Only what you have always done. Fight for what is right, even when it's hard."
The light around them began to flare, growing brighter. The space started to dissolve into white.
Barry felt her hug him. He clung to it, afraid that letting go meant losing her again.
"You are strong," she whispered. "Stronger than you know. When you wake up, everything will feel different, but you will not lose who you are."
The light swallowed her form.
"And Barry?"
He tried to call out to her, but his voice got lost in the glow.
"When the world starts changing, remember this moment. You were chosen because of your heart."
"We love you sweet boy."
The white light rushed into his eyes.
Barry gasped awake under hospital lights. His chest burned. His blood tingled like wildfire under his skin. Caitlin leaned over him, eyes wide with shock.
"Barry? Barry, can you hear me?"
He stared at her, breathing hard, the memory of the conversation still warm in his mind.
He did not understand everything yet. But he knew one thing for certain.
He survived for a reason.