I was falling.
But not like before, no wind, no gravity, no sensation of movement at all. Just a stillness so loud it drowned out thought. I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or shut. Everything was white, but not blinding. Weightless, but not peaceful.
My own voice echoed inside me, but not as sound, more like memory.
"You were never supposed to make it this far."
I blinked and something shifted.
The whiteness split.
A ripple passed through the space around me, like a veil parting in slow motion. Then, the world returned in fractured pieces: a forest of glass trees, their trunks shimmering with light and shadow; a sky that pulsed between blue and violet like a heartbeat; and floating high above everything, a massive, translucent spiral like a clockwork galaxy frozen in time.
And standing beside me like she had always been there, was her.
Other Me.
Calm. Composed. Watching me without expression.
"Where am I?" I whispered, throat dry.
