The vast, sweeping land seemed to stretch to the very edge of existence, meeting its end not in a gentle slope or rocky cliff, but abruptly, at the likely commencement of the boundless ocean.
'Soul names?' Lily's murmur was soft, almost lost in the rhythmic hush.
From the plush interior of the carriage, they watched the scene unfold – the endless plain, the hint of infinite blue beyond. Waves, serene and steady, feathered onto a shore they couldn't quite discern from this distance.
'This is Kaiesra,'Tao Xin explained, his voice caught the attention of Siya and Sayo.
'You are to be blessed with a name, a soul name, and a soul weapon when you enter there.' He gestured vaguely towards the shimmering horizon where land meets sea.
'Who... who will bless us?' Siya asked, a rare flicker of uncertainty in her usually composed demeanor.
'We don't know their forms,' Erliyen chimed in, her gaze distant, as if seeing beyond the visible. 'They come in different guises to bestow blessings. They are divine beings, pure spirit. You must be respectful, honest in your heart.' She paused, her eyes meeting her daughters.
'What if you are not honest?' Siya asked.
'Children of a certain age are believed to be innocent. That's why they are blessed at that moment. No corrupted mind can enter there.' Erliyen looks at them.
'So you will not be going with us?' A sudden fear builds in Sayo's heart.
'I am sorry to disappoint you, darlings. Your mother is not an innocent one.' Erliyen's eye became sad.
Tao Xin seeing Erliyen's face diverts their attention, 'Whatever sigil they mark you with, whatever name they whisper… you are not to tell anyone else.'
Tao explains the fundamental rule of this sacred space.
'How many names will we have, Mother?' Sayo piped up, her young mind already piecing together clues. She had a glimpse of the names her parents carried in their soul, but she kept that observation to herself for now.
'You will be blessed with only one soul name, Sayo,your sigil will carry out your name's pattern.' Erliyen clarified, her voice firm but gentle.
The carriage, which had been moving with an almost imperceptible glide, now came to a complete halt. They were at the very edge of the land. The door beside Siya opened with a soft click, revealing... nothing but the seamless merge of air and the calm, sun-dappled expanse of the ocean.
'Now, off you go,'Erliyen encouraged, her tone warm but expectant.
'Go where?' Sayo's voice was sharp with surprise, bordering on panic. She peered out, her eyes wide. There was literally nothing to step onto. Just empty air and the vast, lapping water.
'You will understand once you step out,' Tao said, a knowing, gentle smile playing on his lips, recognizing the fear that gripped his youngest daughter.
'No! I can't swim yet!' Sayo instinctively retracted, clutching Siya's arm with surprising strength. Both parents find her innocent terror amusing. Siya remained composed.
'Come with me.' Siya extended her free hand, offering Sayo to hold.
Drawing a long, measured breath, Siya tightened her grip on Sayo's hand. Without hesitation, she stepped out of the carriage, pulling Sayo with her.
Erliyen watched them with a smile. To see Sayo, so gripped by fear just moments before, follow Siya's lead with such absolute, unquestioning trust. It softened Erliyen's eyes with love. Their bond was deeper than mere flesh and blood.
The moment their feet cleared the threshold of the carriage door, expecting to plunge into cold water or fall into empty space, they met resistance under their feet. Not a solid ground in the traditional sense, but an invisible, firm surface. It felt like stepping onto polished glass, cool and smooth, yet utterly substantial. Beneath them, the ocean remained visible, waves calmly reaching towards the unseen boundary. Sea creatures swimming in that endless ocean.
The air here felt different – clearer, charged with a quiet energy. They were standing on the threshold of Kaiesra, on a path woven from spirit itself, leading them somewhere souls were named. The vast ocean before them no longer felt like a barrier, but a veil, inviting them forward.
Each step forward was a step away from the carriage, from their parents. It became faint echoes now, swallowed by the numinous landscape. Looking back, they saw that they came so far, they couldn't even see their parents anymore.
The wind was playing with Lily's long hair, as if whispering something.
They walked, the silence punctuated only by their shared breath and the soft fall of their feet on the spirit-path. As the sun bled into the horizon, painting the sky in hues of violet and gold, the beauty was ethereal.
'This… this is beyond anything I imagined,' Sayo whispers to Siya, 'To see it with you…'
'Me too,' Siya managed, but the words felt hollow, the weight in her chest that even this ethereal beauty couldn't dislodge.
Sayo was enjoying the celestial artistry above with her face illuminated by the dying sun. Siya, not wanting to shatter the moment, let her hand slip from Sayo's.
In that infinitesimal pause, the wind, no longer playful, became a monstrous, invisible hand. It snatched Sayo, ripping her away with a sudden blow.
'ROSE!' The scream was lost in the void.
Her world fractured. Sayo's silhouette was gone leaving nothing but the howling wind and the vast, empty expanse. Panic, cold and sharp, pierced Siya's heart. Her heart wasn't just sinking; it was shattering. The guilt was piercing her heart with a million icy fragments.
'No… NO! This isn't real! A dream? Has this all been some dream?' Her mind was struggling against the brutal reality.
She ran blindly towards the endless horizon, towards the void where Sayo had been consumed.
'ROSE!' Her voice breaking with shock. Her legs gave up and she crashed to her knees on the unseen path.
'I shouldn't have… I shouldn't have let go!' She stared at her trembling hands, the hand that had released Sayo.
Tears streamed down her face, guilt,pain falling into the churning ocean below. Through the blurred vision she noticed, the waves parted, revealing the faint, rhythmic pulse of blue night-lights – not stars reflected, but emanating from the colossal, patterned flank of a whale in the ocean.