The Fold stretched ahead like an endless night strewn with fragments of worlds.
They stood on a ribbon of light so narrow that one misstep would send them tumbling into the void. Far below—or perhaps above—other threads glimmered, connecting floating islands of stone, crystal, and things Iris had no name for.
Nyx led the way, his mark burning brighter with every step. The patterns on his skin shifted in sync with the glowing watch in Iris's palm, each turn and curve drawing them toward something neither could yet see.
Thalen followed close, sword drawn, eyes scanning the drifting shadows between the islands. "We're exposed here."
"That's the point," Nyx said without turning. "The Fold is always watching. If we hide, it hides back."
Iris frowned. "And if it doesn't like what it sees?"
Nyx gave a humorless smile. "Then it swallows us whole."
They crossed onto a larger shard of land—a jagged slab of obsidian marked with constellations. As Iris stepped onto it, the marks under her boots lit up, mirroring the ones on Nyx's back.
"Another piece of the map," he murmured.
Thalen crouched, touching one of the glowing lines. "These aren't just constellations. They're… instructions."
Iris leaned closer. The lines weren't static. They moved slowly, changing shape in a way that reminded her of the watch's shifting diagrams. "A path," she said. "But to what?"
Nyx's voice was low. "The Heart. Or what's left of it."
They followed the map's direction, crossing to another shard where the ground was smooth and white, like bone. Here, strange statues lined the edges—humanoid figures with hands raised, palms out, as if warding something away.
As they passed, Iris noticed that each statue's face was blank, as if erased.
"They're Seers," Nyx said quietly. "Ones who didn't make it."
"How do you know?"
His jaw tightened. "Because I've seen them in my dreams. The Fold keeps their echoes."
Thalen's hand hovered near his sword. "Then let's move quickly."
But the Fold had other plans.
The light-thread ahead frayed into strands, each leading in a different direction. Some faded into mist; others led to shards that rotated slowly, making them impossible to step onto without falling.
"It's a maze," Thalen said.
"No," Iris murmured, staring at the patterns on Nyx's mark. "It's a choice."
One of the threads pulsed faintly, matching the watch's rhythm. Without thinking, she stepped onto it.
The moment her foot touched the strand, the others vanished, leaving only the one she'd chosen.
"Guess that's our way," Nyx said, following.
They walked for what felt like hours. The void around them shifted colors—deep blue to silver to black, like the phases of a moon. The sense of being watched never left.
Iris's thoughts kept drifting back to the Lord of Masks' words. Kin. Not cursed, not chosen—kin.
If that was true, then the Astral One wasn't just calling to her. It was remembering her. And the watch wasn't just a tool—it was a piece of something she was already part of.
The idea both terrified and steadied her.
They reached another island, smaller this time, but crowned with something impossible: a tree growing in the Fold's void.
Its bark was pale silver, its leaves deep midnight blue, and from its branches hung fruit shaped like small, perfect stars.
Nyx stepped forward, hand outstretched. "The Astral Tree," he breathed. "It's older than the Courts."
Thalen caught his arm. "And likely just as dangerous."
But Iris felt no threat from it. She approached slowly, the watch warm in her palm. The closer she came, the brighter its glow became, until one of the star-fruits detached and floated into her hand.
The moment she touched it, the world shifted.
She stood on a shore of black sand, a vast sea of starlight before her. Across it, a shadow moved—a silhouette too vast to comprehend, crowned with threads of silver light.
The Astral One.
Its voice was not a sound, but a presence that filled her mind:
You carry my heart.
Iris swallowed. "And you want it back."
It was taken. Broken. Hidden. You are the last thread that binds it to me.
"Why me?"
Because you are mine.
The vision shattered.
She was back beneath the tree, the star-fruit now gone, the watch glowing steadily in her palm.
Nyx was staring at her. "You saw it, didn't you?"
She nodded. "It said… I have its heart. Or part of it."
Thalen's expression darkened. "That means the Lord of Masks was right."
"No," Iris said firmly. "It means we find the rest before he does."
They left the Astral Tree behind, the path ahead narrowing again into a single glowing thread.
Somewhere in the void behind them, a shadow moved.
The Lord of Masks, walking patiently, following their every step.