When I opened my eyes, everything felt strange.
For a second, I thought I was home again. My bed. My room. My world.
But it wasn't.
The air smelled different — sweet but kind of heavy. The ceiling above me shimmered faintly, painted with small silver lines that moved when I blinked. I was lying on a soft purple bed, the kind that looked like it belonged in a fairy tale, not a nightmare like this.
Then everything came rushing back — the attack, the screams, the Fiths, and the moment I fell. Someone had saved me.
Right. Felix.
That was his name.
I sat up slowly, my body weak, every muscle sore. The more I thought about it, the more real it became — those things, their red eyes, the golden light. The man with the golden eyes. His voice still echoed in my head.
"You'll find the four. They'll come for you."
I didn't even know what that meant, but he was right. The four siblings did come.
My hands started shaking again.
Why me? Why was I the one chosen? I wasn't brave. I wasn't even strong. I just wanted to go home. I missed my mom. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare that didn't feel like a dream anymore.
The door creaked softly.
A girl stepped in — the same one who had been fighting beside Felix earlier. Her hair was tied loosely, her eyes warm and calm. When she saw me shaking, she hurried over.
"Hey… you're awake." Her voice was soft. "Are you alright?"
I swallowed hard. My throat felt dry.
"I… I don't know," I whispered. "I'm scared. I can't do this."
She didn't ask what I meant. She just sat beside me and hugged me gently. Somehow, that simple thing made it easier to breathe.
"I'm Lilly," she said with a small smile when I calmed down a little.
The door opened wider, and three boys stepped in. One of them I recognized immediately — Felix.
He stood a bit behind the others, quiet, his ocean-green eyes unreadable.
"These are my brothers," Lilly said, gesturing to them. "Leo's the eldest, Heath's the one who barely talks, and you've already met Felix."
I nodded slowly. "I'm Gwen. And… thank you. For saving me."
Felix just gave a short nod. Not rude, but cold — like saving me hadn't meant much.
Still, I owed him everything.
For a while, no one said anything. The silence made my heart race. Finally, I spoke, my voice trembling.
"I need your help."
Lilly blinked. "Our help?"
"Yes. I can't survive here without you. The man with the golden eyes told me I'd find you — the four siblings. He said I'd need you to finish what started."
Leo frowned slightly. "Golden eyes?"
"Wait," Heath said quietly, leaning against the wall. "You mean someone actually spoke to you at the forest ?"
I nodded. "He said I'm the chosen one. That the light brought me here for a reason."
Felix crossed his arms. "That doesn't make sense there's no such forest ."
"It doesn't have to," I said, a little too fast. "But he was real. I met him at the forest . He said the light choose me and only appears when someone dies. He said I'd need to find you."
Felix's expression hardened. "And you believed him?"
Lilly shot him a look. "Felix—"
"No, really," Felix said flatly. "We've seen strange things, but no one comes back from the light. No one talks about it either. How do we know she's not—"
"I'm not lying!" I cut in, my voice cracking.
The mark on my wrist glowed faintly, as if reacting to my fear. Everyone's eyes went to it.
"What's that?" Leo asked quietly.
"I don't know. It just… appeared. When the light took me."
Lilly's eyes widened. "That's not normal. No one here has that."
Silence again. This time heavier.
Felix looked at the mark, then at me. His jaw tightened. "If you really came from another world… then maybe you shouldn't be here at all."
Lilly frowned. "Felix—"
"Enough," Leo said firmly. "We'll figure it out later. She needs rest."
Felix didn't answer, but he turned away, walking out first. The others followed, leaving the door slightly open. Lilly gave me one last soft smile.
"Try to sleep, Gwen. You're safe here, I promise."
I wanted to believe her.
I really did.
But when I closed my eyes, the world around me slipped away — and I fell into something darker.
At first, it was quiet. Too quiet. Then the silence cracked.
Screams. Dozens of them.
I wasn't there—but somehow, I was.
A woman was running through the darkness, her breath shaking, her steps uneven. The ground glowed faintly under her feet, but everything else was chaos. Fire. Smoke. The shadows moving like they were alive.
And the Fiths.
They came crawling out of the darkness, taller than trees, their red eyes burning through the night. Their growls vibrated in my chest. The woman's heartbeat pounded so hard I could feel it—like it was my own.
She stumbled, falling to her knees. Her arm was bleeding. She turned, light spilling weakly from her hand. It hit one of the Fiths and made it scream—but more came. Too many.
I could feel her pain—her chest tightening, her legs shaking, her breath ragged. The fear wasn't just hers anymore. It was mine.
She turned toward the sound of crying behind her. "Run!" she screamed. "Please, run!"
Her light flickered again, fading. The Fiths closed in, shadows wrapping around her. She tried to fight, tried to scream, but her voice broke.
My pulse throbbed painfully. The mark on my wrist burned like fire. I couldn't breathe. I wasn't in her body, but I felt everything she did—every heartbeat, every tear, every second of her dying light.
Then she looked up. Her face was hidden by the shadows, but her eyes… they glowed gold.
"Find them…" she whispered.
The Fiths lunged. The world exploded in light—blinding, burning, endless light—
And then nothing.
I woke up screaming.
The sound tore from my throat before I realized it. My whole body shook, my skin damp with sweat, my wrist still glowing faintly in the moonlight. I pressed my hand over it, trembling.
"Who was she?" I whispered.
But there was no answer.
Only silence.
And the soft, golden light pulsing under my skin.