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A faint white ripple shimmered in the dark ahead, like a silk thread in a black ocean. It wasn't a gate. It wasn't even a door. It was a tear. It was fragile, trembling with unstable light, barely wide enough to notice, and pulsing with the silent scream of cosmic strain.
Kai exhaled through clenched teeth. "So it's a blind jump. Could be a swamp, a mountain, or straight into a beast's mouth."
He turned his head slowly.
Azhara was still clinging to him, now conscious but dazed. Her crimson eyes fluttered open, groggy but focused.
"You're awake." Kai asked.
"Sort of," she whispered. Her voice was weak, cracked. "Sir… everything hurts."
Kai gave a tired grunt. "Yeah. I know the feeling."
Azhara blinked, frowning as she slowly realized the pressure surrounding them. "Where… are we?"
"Between worlds," Kai answered flatly. "A glitch between threads. And we're about to leave… assuming we don't get shredded on the way out."
