He followed her in silence.
The floating river shimmered beside them, its surface reflecting not just the sky, but things that weren't there—stars that didn't belong, constellations shifting and breaking apart like fragments of forgotten worlds.
His body still tingled from whatever she had done to him. That strange light inside him—was it always there? Or had something changed when he touched that sphere back in the wreckage?
The woman walked ahead with purpose, every step weightless yet precise. She didn't turn back, didn't slow down, as if she already knew he would follow.
Finally, he spoke.
"…What do I call you?"
She didn't stop. "Names have power."
"Yeah, well, it's hard to talk to someone without one."
A small smile flickered across her lips. "You may call me Elya."
"Elya," he repeated, testing the name. It felt old—like a whisper carried by time itself.
She glanced at him. "And you? What are you called?"
He hesitated.
His mind was a blank slate. No memories. No past. No name.
"I don't know," he admitted.
Elya studied him for a moment before turning back to the road. "Then you are unshaped."
"Unshaped?"
She nodded. "A being without a past. No history. No roots. You are an anomaly, a traveler caught between realities. Something... unnatural."
He clenched his fists. "So what? Does that mean I don't exist?"
She stopped.
Turning to face him fully, Elya stepped closer. "You exist. But the universe hasn't decided what you are yet."
The words sent a shiver through him.
A gust of wind swept across the glowing plains, making the silver grass sway like waves. Above them, the twin suns drifted lower, casting elongated shadows across the land.
Then, without warning—
The air shifted.
The sky darkened, twisting as something massive moved in the distance. A deep, rumbling vibration rolled through the earth, rattling his bones.
Elya's expression hardened.
"We are not alone."
She raised a hand, and the river beside them froze, its liquid surface crystallizing into jagged shards of light.
From the horizon, a shape emerged—tall, looming, and watching.
The first test of his journey had begun.