My vision blurred as the World Shard erupted with light. A wave of raw mana rolled across the Archives, carrying the weight of the world with it. Memories flashed through me like broken visions, and for a moment, I was the world. I was everything it had wanted, everything it had hoped for, everything it had feared.
I reached for Luke, my scream vanishing into the noise, but my hand passed through empty air. The whole world shook, and then the ground dropped out from beneath me.
I landed on my knees in the dark.
There was no mana, no Archives, no power. The air was cold and stagnant, heavy with dust and a faint hint of rot. My dress hung in tatters around me, coarse and rough against my skin. Not silk. My hair felt light, dry and tangled, barely reaching my back.
