Congratulations, dear… you can now use wind.
Nexus spoke solemnly inside Zora's mind, trying to offer comfort — but it barely registered.
Zora didn't respond.
Her eyes remained fixed on the sky — dark, crawling, empty.
He'll come back… he'll come back…
Her thoughts spun faster than her pulse. A year ago, she'd sworn to kill him if she ever saw him again. Now, she would've traded anything for just a few more seconds with him.
A hand rested gently on her shoulder.
"Zora…"
She didn't look away.
"ZORA."
Jason's tone sharpened — his commander's voice. Zora blinked, then slowly turned her head to look at him.
"We have to get back to the EWA."
She followed his gaze and saw Paul and the others emerging from behind a makeshift wall of stone — cover Paul had raised to shield them from the shockwaves.
Numb, Zora stood and began walking, one foot in front of the other, heading toward the command center.
Lena jogged up beside her, awkwardly keeping pace.
"Hey so, uh… how do you know that guy?"
Zora didn't answer. Her eyes remained distant.
"Or uh… you know what, we can talk later…"
Lena fell back, retreating behind her without another word.
Zora's mind was chaos. Images flashed like static — the look in his eyes, the dust swirling around him, the wind propelling her forward, the moment she missed him by inches.
And… what she said to him a year ago.
Over and over again.
She didn't even register arriving at the EWA until she felt another hand on her shoulder — this one firmer, grounded.
She blinked again, snapping out of her haze.
General Vance stood in front of her, eyes steady and unreadable.
"Take a moment. Breathe."
He paused, gaze softening just slightly.
"I'm sure your team has a few questions they'd like to ask. Be honest with them."
Then, without another word, he turned back to the 3D map, studying the movements of the spider horde.
Zora didn't speak.
She turned sharply and walked away — fast, then faster — until she reached the team quarters.
The sickness in her stomach crept up as she stepped through the portal. But she didn't acknowledge it.
She stepped into her room, slammed the door behind her, and collapsed into bed, falling into a deep sleep.
Zora opened her eyes.
She was lying in the middle of a field, staring straight up into a vast, open sky. No lights. No dome. No spiders.
Just stars.
Wow…
She traced them with her eyes, silently calling out constellations, mapping each pattern in her mind.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?"
A woman's voice came from behind her.
Zora bolted upright, twisting around to find the speaker — but all she saw was a single floating star.
It wasn't like the others.
Where the rest of the stars gleamed with brilliant white light, this one glowed with a deep, pulsing black. It drifted down slowly beside her, hovering just off the ground — as if it had taken a seat next to her.
"Oh, right… you can't see us yet," the star chuckled, her voice tinged with quiet amusement.
Zora blinked in disbelief.
Another talking floating star…
"Uh—hello… and you are?"
The star sighed, her purple-black light pulsing with each breath.
"Ricochet didn't tell you?"
Zora shook her head.
Then paused.
A memory surfaced — distant but vivid.
"Wait… yes! A star that doesn't belong to me?"
The star tilted slightly — as if facepalming in mid-air.
"That damn Ricochet…" she muttered. Then, more clearly:
"Let me introduce myself. I am Equinox — the merger of all things."
Zora's eyes widened.
"Whoa… the merger of all things? What does that mean?"
Equinox laughed — a full, melodic sound that echoed across the field.
"You're as funny as they make you seem."
She drifted gently above Zora's face, hovering upside-down so Zora was staring right into her core.
"I'm not too sure. I just know I was placed here. I'm not a part of your soul like my husband, or our kids, or grandkids."
Zora tilted her head, confused.
"Wait… what do you mean? I thought you guys were manifestations of a person's soul?"
Equinox's glow dimmed slightly.
"That's true — usually. But there are powers out there that you haven't even begun to comprehend. Powers that can add to or change a person's abilities. Or their… manifestation, as you call it."
Zora opened her mouth to ask more — but Equinox cut her off.
"We don't have much time. You cannot use me. If you do, it will trigger a meltdown — mood swings, unstoppable urges, bursts of power you won't be able to control."
Suddenly, the world around them began to fade.
The stars vanished. The grass dimmed. The sky bled into black.
"Equinox? What's going on?!"
Zora spun around, breathing faster. Her hands reached out into the darkness.
Equinox's voice now spoke rapidly, barely coherent through the collapse.
"Shit — I've talked too much. Find your friend! Before—!"
Zora couldn't hear the rest. Her ears rang. Her chest tightened.
I—I can't see!
Then—
A hand gripped her shoulder.
A man's voice whispered into her ear, calm and sinister.
"Ahhh… a new world to bring into the fold."
Zora jolted upright in bed, her breath ragged, sweat dripping down her forehead.
Her heart thundered in her chest.
Two thoughts ran in circles through her mind — Equinox's final warning, and… that voice.
The whisper still echoed in her ears, low and smooth and wrong. Just remembering it made her skin crawl.
Something or someone's coming...
She was sure of it.
A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.
Still shaky, Zora climbed out of bed and crossed the room. She opened the door to find Ivory standing there, arms crossed, eyebrow raised.
"It's been two hours. We're hungry. And you've got some explaining to do."
Zora blinked, then rubbed her eyes.
"Yeah… sure. I'll be out in five minutes."
Ivory gave her a look, but didn't push it. She turned and walked away.
Zora closed the door and leaned back against it, letting herself slide down to the floor. She sat there for a moment, still trying to breathe evenly, still trying to shake that voice from her mind.
Then she whispered.
"Ricochet… tell me about Equinox."