Chapter 59
Fifty-nine
Jada
Time ceases to exist. It's everything and nothing at all.
I'm weightless, floating through a brilliant, multi-colored haze. After stepping into the fire, the pain was immediate—intense and flaring. But it subsided almost instantly, leaving only this… Nothingness. It was so, so hot… but now, the cold numbs me, prickling up my arms, paralyzing me, until I don’t feel at all.
Eyes like the moon watch, concerned, speaking to me.
I can't bring myself to understand or to form a response. Their words are a foreign balm. I try to open my mouth, to move my body—anything, but I simply float. The eyes disappear, leaving me once again alone. It’s not so bad, though.
There’s darkness, but it's also bright. Time stretches on, and I close my eyes until an ancient voice whispers in my mind.
So familiar, but from where? Life is limitless—or is this the limit? I fall into oblivion.
Early flashes of my life flicker through this dream-like state.
Is this death? A constant reel of memories?
Running with Zellie down a spoke, the two of us younger and carefree.
Gwenda comforting me after a particularly nasty fall.
Meeting Faye for the first time in my teenage years, then Torin.
Falling for the idea of love. Finding new clothes, looking for new art projects, hunting through bookshelves for ideas to absorb. Innocent, fragile, beautiful life.
Images of Astralis, of Brinn, of the streets filled with whimsical citizens and their beautiful magic. I see everything I love—all that I want. All that I will protect.
Then the pictures shift into things I’ve never seen—places I’ve never been. That ancient voice returns, judging and assessing.
“You sacrificed yourself… Why?”
I respond internally, thinking the words into existence. My eyes remain closed, my hair floating and blowing wisps softly against my skin. “For a better tomorrow.” For everyone who deserves brighter days. For Zellie—I’d choose her every time.
A hum of approval vibrates through my bones.
“Dawn always follows even the longest night.” Are the words spoken aloud or in my head?
Does it matter? Is any of this real? “But Jada… the fates are not done with you yet.” The voice drawls on, but I am lost, overcome by an endless pain that tears through the threads of my being.
Even the nothingness must conclude.
Gray eyes and primordial whispers haunt my dreams, my memories a cloudy, forgotten mist. Through the vapor, those eyes pierce me—until I blink and they transform from gray to the iciest blue.
White hair and pale features consume my vision as I watch his sumptuous mouth form words.
My arms burn. Why does everything hurt? I blink, and once more it all disappears.
“Jada? Jada, can you hear me?” Hand softly pushing my shoulders, followed by a sigh. “Stars, they’re going to fucking kill me if she dies.”
“Are you sure we’re not already dead?” My voice croaks in effort as I dare to peek an eye open.
Elio gasps, placing both hands on each cheek. “Jada! Stars above, I thought you were gone.” Squinting, I take in our surroundings, realizing we’re no longer in the temple, but on the stretch of starlit pathways that led to the sanctuary.
“So much for Temple of ‘No Return’, huh?” I mutter, trying to push up to my elbows.
Elio stops me, gathering my upper body and hoisting me against him as he sits on the ground. “Oh, we’ve returned, alright. But certainly not the same.”
“What happened?”
“You mean after you went into that pond despite me yelling at you not to?”
“I didn’t hear you… The sea dragon-siren thing told me I had a choice to make.”
“What did she say?”
What does he mean, ‘what did she say’? He was right there. “Didn’t you hear her?”
Elio opens his mouth to respond, but pauses, his eyes searching my own. “No—it was like she was speaking into your mind.”
“Oh… She told me I could kill her, and try to find a way without the dawnfire, or I could sacrifice myself and save the worlds.”
“You brave, selfless human.” His arm wraps around my chest, holding me tighter to him. “You submerged and were gone for so long. Then suddenly, you were gently tossed onto the edge, and I pulled you out. The temple just… melted away.”
Disappointment floods me. “It didn’t work, then? I’m very much alive, obviously.”
Elio hesitates.“Jada… You were gone. I think whatever forces are at play brought you back.”
My face scrunches in confusion as I look up at him. “What do you mean?”
“I think… I think it worked.”