Light swallowed her whole.
Not warm, not gentle — but blinding, searing, like falling through the heart of a star. Lira tried to scream, but the sound dissolved into the brightness. Her body felt weightless, suspended between breath and nothingness.
Then the light fractured.
And she fell.
Not onto stone.
Not into darkness.
But into memory.
A lab stretched around her — glass walls, humming machines, floating screens flickering with warnings. The ChronoGate towered at the center, a swirling vortex of blue and gold energy.
Lira staggered forward. "This is… the day I died."
Her voice echoed strangely, as if the memory itself listened.
A figure rushed past her — a younger version of herself. Astra. Hair tied back, eyes sharp with determination, hands flying across the console.
Lira reached out instinctively. "Astra—"
Her hand passed through the memory like smoke.
Astra didn't see her.
Didn't hear her.
She was watching a ghost of herself.
Another figure entered the room — Eli.
His smile was tired but warm. "You're pushing too hard again."
Astra didn't look up. "We're running out of time."
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
Lira's chest tightened painfully. She remembered this moment — the tension, the urgency, the fear she never admitted.
Eli stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Astra… you don't have to carry this alone."
Astra paused.
Just for a heartbeat.
Then she whispered, "Yes, I do."
Lira felt the ache of it — the loneliness she had buried so deeply she forgot it existed.
The memory shifted.
Alarms blared.
The ChronoGate pulsed violently, its energy spiraling out of control.
Eli grabbed Astra's arm. "We need to shut it down!"
Astra shook her head. "If we stop now, the Veil collapses. Everything collapses."
"Then we find another way!"
"There is no other way!"
Lira watched, helpless, as the scene unfolded exactly as she remembered — the panic, the shaking floor, the rising heat.
But then—
Something changed.
A third figure entered the room.
Tall.
Calm.
Eyes cold as winter.
Lira's breath froze.
The prince.
Not as she knew him now — but as he once was. A scientist. A man from her world. A man who should have died in the collapse.
He approached the console with deliberate steps.
Astra turned. "What are you doing here?"
He smiled — a thin, cruel curve. "Finishing what you started."
Eli stepped between them. "You're not authorized to be here."
The prince ignored him. "You were always too cautious, Astra. Too afraid to use the power you created."
Astra's eyes widened. "You sabotaged the Gate."
"Of course I did."
Lira felt the world tilt.
The prince touched the console.
The ChronoGate roared.
Astra lunged toward him. "Stop!"
He shoved her back with a force that wasn't physical — a ripple of energy that sent her crashing into the wall.
Eli shouted her name.
The prince stepped into the swirling light. "If time must break for me to rule it, then let it break."
The ChronoGate exploded.
Astra fell.
Eli reached for her.
And the prince vanished into the Veil.
Lira gasped, clutching her chest. "He killed me. He killed us."
The memory dissolved into darkness.
But one voice remained.
Astra's.
Her own.
Whispering through the void.
"If you survive this… find him. Stop him. Before he breaks the next world too."
Lira fell again.
This time into cold air.
Into Kael's arms.
He caught her as she collapsed onto the cliffs, her body trembling, her breath ragged.
"Lira!" His voice cracked. "Lira, look at me."
She opened her eyes.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Kael," she whispered, "I remember everything."
He cupped her face, his thumb brushing her tears. "Tell me."
Lira swallowed, her voice breaking.
"The prince… he's not from this world. He came through the Veil. He sabotaged the ChronoGate. He killed me. He killed Eli. And now he wants to break this world too."
Kael's expression darkened with fury. "Then we stop him."
Lira shook her head. "Kael… he's stronger than before. And he's coming."
As if summoned by her words—
A howl tore through the cliffs.
Not the Shadehound.
Something worse.
Kael pulled her close, blade drawn. "Lira, stay behind me."
She gripped his arm, her mark blazing with new power.
"No," she whispered. "This time… I fight with you."
The Veil behind them pulsed.
The cliffs trembled.
And the prince stepped out of the mist.
Alive.
Smiling.
And waiting.