When I first opened my eyes, I thought I was dead. The world around me was a stark, endless whiteness—no shapes, no sounds, just light stretching in every direction. My body felt weightless, disconnected from the physical pain that had plagued me moments before. Was this the crystal's doing, or had I crossed some boundary between life and death?
"Raven?" I called out, but my voice barely echoed in the void. Nothing. No response. A deep dread set in, colder than the emptiness that surrounded me. I reached for the crystal, expecting its familiar hum, its pulse of energy, but it was silent, like a dead thing in my hand. I was alone.
My breaths came quicker, panic threatening to take over. Where was Raven? Where were Zara and Leif? My mind raced. This had to be a trap, some kind of illusion crafted by the entity. I had been so careful, holding back just enough power not to lose control, but maybe... maybe I had finally gone too far.
