The night was filled with restless dreams. Nova's sleep came in brief, uneasy moments—slipping through his fingers like desert sand. Each time his eyes closed, he saw the same images over and over: shattered ruins, burning skies, and the lifeless body of his closest friend. He should have saved him. But he couldn't.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth sat quietly, as though untouched by the ghosts of the past. Even as the firelight faded into the night, she watched Nova twist and turn in his fitful slumber. She was no stranger to loss—it had long since stopped consuming her. Instead, her thoughts were focused on a single destination: Elveren, the fabled city built upon ancient Elven ruins. That was where she needed to be.
At the first sign of dawn, they set out once more.
They had passed through the ruins of the Sleveren estate in Gravity falls. The Empire had moved on, leaving destruction in its wake. Charred beams and twisted iron poked jaggedly at the sky. Corpses lay scattered like debris. Nova searched frantically for his friends, for Joan and he found him, for the Student Council—most lay silent in death. For Elsa—nowhere to be found.
A small spark of hope flickered in Nova's chest. If Elsa's body wasn't here, maybe she escaped. No news is good news, he told himself. Without words, he and Elizabeth buried the dead, the only sounds the hush of the wind and the weight of their unspoken grief. And after continued there journey.
They walked for nearly a week, trudging across a vast desert that stretched between Gravity Falls and Terran. Each day under the searing sun felt like a trial of endurance, but the real danger lay beneath the sands.
They were called Worm Divs—huge, worm-like creatures that moved silently beneath the dunes. Their thick, armor-like hides deflected most ordinary weapons, and they could surface with terrifying speed. Nova fought only when forced, and each battle left him drained in more ways than one.
Terrarians used their muscles to manipulate gravity, though most could only shift about ten percent of its force. Nova's training had taken him far beyond that—but even he had limits.
When a Worm Div burst from the sand, the ground shook under its weight. Nova braced himself, feeling a subtle vibration in his bones as he tightened his own gravitational field. The beast's jaws opened wide, poised to swallow him whole.
Now.
He sprang aside, each footstep landing with a dull thud as he lightened himself slightly, harnessing gravity to increase his speed. The worm slammed into the spot he'd occupied seconds before, throwing sand high into the air.
Nova inhaled sharply, tensing his core to trigger a sudden gravitational spike that catapulted him skyward. The Worm Div snapped at empty air. High above, Nova twisted mid-air and pulled himself downward, manipulating his center of gravity to descend faster. Wind roared in his ears, the air trembling around him from the speed of his dive.
One strike—he had to finish it.
His entire body thrummed with power as gravity coiled tight around his fist. The moment he reached terminal velocity, he released it all. The impact was thunderous. Sand and debris exploded in a wide shockwave. The Worm Div shuddered, its massive skull shattered, and then it went still.
Exhausted and drenched in sweat, Nova allowed a faint, reckless grin.
| "That's what happens when you mess with gravity," he panted.
Meanwhile Elizabeth fought with an almost unnerving elegance. She tore through the Worm Divs as though she'd already seen the outcome. Her movements were so precise and ruthless that Nova couldn't help but stare. He understood why.
The Windworth family had once been the most prestigious in Elaris. Their name alone carried generations of combat prowess, honed techniques, and experience. It made sense that Elizabeth was as skilled as she was.
Still, a nagging question lingered in his mind: Were all elves this powerful? If this was just the baseline for a Windworth who only relied on raw talent, what about the warriors of Elveren? Their soldiers, their generals...
He felt his hands clench. How could Terrarians possibly stand a chance?
And yet, instead of despair, he felt an odd determination. Terrarians had always used gravity in the simplest of ways—boosting speed, strength, durability. But what if he reached beyond that? What if he could truly reshape gravity, perfecting it to a level no one had ever seen? He might become more than just another warrior destined to fall. Standing toe to toe with the higher beings.
Days later Terran came into view.
But it wasn't the Terran Nova remembered. The towering gates, once symbols of the city's might, had collapsed into rubble. Homes lay burned and abandoned along empty streets. The air itself felt muted, as if the ruins were in mourning.
Nova walked in silence, the smell of ash curling around his senses.
Elizabeth watched him carefully. She couldn't pinpoint when it started, but she felt something new—an unfamiliar concern. She'd always traveled alone, always moved on without regrets or attachments. Now she found herself looking out for someone she barely knew.
Why?
Was it his silence? The subtle trembling of his fists? The way his eyes seemed calm yet hiding something within?
She didn't have answers, but she knew this much: she had started feeling responsible for Nova's safety.
| "I'm glad you're not throwing a tantrum," she muttered, staring straight ahead. "Where's your house?"
"Not far," Nova said vaguely.
She heard the way his heart thudded in his chest. She pretended not to notice. He clenched his fists. What if they were inside? What if they didn't make it? He thought.
By the time these thoughts fully took shape, he was already there.
Nova ran into his home—one of the few buildings left standing. He tore through every room. Empty. No mother, no father, no sister. Relief mixed with terror in a sickening swirl. They must have escaped. But where? Were they safe?
His father's words echoed in his mind:
| "If anything ever happens, go to Fourth Wall Street in Elveren. Find your uncle."
Uncle Phil Swiss. That was all he had: just a name and a street.
He turned to Elizabeth, trying to hide the tremor in his voice.
| "You know Elveren, right? I've never been there." She folded her arms.
"Yeah, that's my destination. But Elveren's borders are closed. Only pureblood elves are allowed in."
Nova stiffened.
"So… I can't get in?"
Elizabeth tilted her head and shrugged. "Basically."
She drifted into the living room, picking up a dusty photograph. It showed a younger, shorter Nova in a playful chokehold from a bright-eyed older girl.
| "This you?" she asked quietly, wiping away the dust. Nova nodded.
"Me and my older sister, Neena." Elizabeth studied Neena's face.
"She's pretty." she said
"Yeah only on the outside" Nova muttered. Her eyes flicked to the older figures—Nova's parents.
"He looks strong. Wouldn't surprise me if the Empire came here because of him. Maybe your family, this city—" She paused, her voice trailing off. It was as if she saw something in Nova's father that wasn't quite ordinary. Nova shook his head.
"My father's strong, but not that strong."
Elizabeth didn't disagree, but she didn't confirm anything either. Instead, she said,
"If you really want to reach Elveren, you'll need a disguise."
The words fell on Nova like a challenge and a lifeline all at once. It didn't matter what he had to do—he had to find his family. He looked at the photograph one last time, a bittersweet snapshot of the life he'd lost.
| "Let's do it," he finally said. "It's the only choice I have right now."
To be continued...