Nyra opened her eyes to a sky that was not sky. It was silver, endless, pulsing like the inside of a living body, with no stars, no clouds, and no sun. The ground beneath her was pale white, smooth like glass but soft like sand, and the air smelled like old stones, salt, and something ancient that didn't belong anywhere near life. She wasn't breathing, yet she was not suffocating. Her body was whole again. The stab wound was gone. The pain was gone. But so was everything else. Her clothes had turned into something sheer and colorless, like woven threads of light, and there was no blood, no shadow, no wind. Only silence.
A shape appeared before her, tall and cloaked in deep violet with no face beneath the hood, only a blur of colorless light that flickered like a flame trapped in water. Its arms were long, skin the color of polished bone, fingers too many to count, all moving slowly as if weaving something invisible into the space between them.
"You are Nyra," the voice said, not from its mouth because it had none but from the air itself. "You are marked by suffering and severed from your destiny. You crossed death with rage in your soul. You have no place among the dead. You are not permitted into the Beyond."
The being didn't move closer, yet Nyra felt its presence inside her bones like cold rain under her skin. Then more figures emerged from the pale fog that hadn't been there before, four more, dressed in cloaks of black, silver, gold, and deep crimson, each one faceless, each one impossibly tall and still. They did not speak, but she felt their attention shift to her, sharp and overwhelming.
The first being, the one in violet, spoke again. "We are the Veiled Ones. We are what governs balance in the cracks between worlds. We are what existed before the System, before flesh, before rule. You have been summoned, not by chance, but by error. You were not meant to arrive here yet. But you did. And now you must be judged."
Nyra stood still, fists clenched at her side. "Then judge me."
"You wish to challenge the path of the divine?" asked the silver-cloaked being. Its voice was softer, gentler, but there was no kindness in it. "Your life was small. Your death was quick. And your vengeance was incomplete."
"She is stained by her brother's blood," said the one in gold. "His soul has not passed. His purpose was served before completion."
The crimson one stepped forward. It was broader than the rest, with limbs that moved slower, and its presence made her knees weaken. "Then let us weigh them both. She who sought vengeance, and he who spoke truth."
From behind the beings, a ripple tore through the skyless space. It didn't open like a door, it cracked like glass under pressure. Through it stepped a boy barely older than her, face pale, expression calm, body marked by a glowing ring across his neck, the mark of death by beheading. Kael stood before her, whole but changed. His eyes were darker, colder, and something inside them glimmered with quiet fire.
"Kael," she whispered, but he didn't respond.
"He cannot speak," said the violet one. "His words were stolen. His death was unjust. He belongs neither here nor in the Forgotten."
Nyra stepped forward, her voice firm now. "Then give him back. Send us both back."
The silver one shook its head, or at least the motion suggested so. "You ask what cannot be done. His body is gone. His head returned to dust. But his soul remains. Unplaced. Suspended."
Kael's eyes met hers. There was no fear, no sadness, only resolve.
"You do not belong in your world anymore, Nyra," said the crimson one. "But a path can be opened, though not into your old self. That shell is gone. Destroyed."
"There is another," said the gold-cloaked figure. "One who sleeps. A vessel. A gate."
A swirling image opened in the air like glass pulling light inward and a figure appeared within it. A young woman, face serene, body resting on a large crystal bed inside a glowing palace chamber on a golden island suspended above the sea. She wore robes marked by authority, her arms clasped over her chest, unmoving. Her skin was pale, untouched by sun, her features soft, royal, perfect.
"This is Celene Ardent," said the violet one. "Daughter of the one who commands your city. Her spirit was struck by divine fire for crimes her father committed through the System. She has not woken in seven cycles."
"She is empty," said the silver one. "But her body is still valid. Still strong. Still remembered."
Nyra frowned. "You want to put me inside her?"
"No," said the crimson one. "We offer you the chance to continue. Not for vengeance, but for balance. You will be sent. But not whole. Your memories will return slowly. Your name must be hidden. And your presence will disrupt the system. This is not a gift. It is a task."
Nyra looked at Kael. His eyes blinked once, slow, like agreement.
"What about him?" she asked. "He died for the truth. He deserves to live too."
"We cannot return him as you are returned," said the gold one. "His body is gone. His path must diverge."
"Then where will he go?"
The five beings turned to face each other. No words were spoken. But the air changed. The light dimmed. The air grew heavier.
"There is one place left," the violet one said at last. "A pocket beyond law. A wound in reality. The Forgotten Woods. His soul may be drawn there. It will search for a vessel. If one can be claimed, if the power awakens, he may return. Changed."
Nyra felt her chest tighten. She didn't know what that meant. She didn't understand half of what they had said. But she understood one thing, they weren't giving her a choice. Not really.
"Do it," she said.
The air vibrated. The cloaks of the Veiled Ones flared outward like wings made of smoke. The silver ground beneath her cracked into light. Kael's figure vanished without sound. And Nyra's vision blurred as something cold slipped into her spine, filled her skull, stretched her bones, pulled her downward.
Her last thought before the light swallowed her was not of Darian or her death. It was of the girl in the crystal bed. Celene. A stranger's life. A stranger's name. A body not hers.
And yet… now it would be.