Eli hesitated at the seam between worlds. The alley from the Vale house stretched behind him, mundane and quiet, and beyond it waited the realm—a place of shifting streets, unexpected skies, and power that hummed beneath every surface.
He had a choice. Step forward and accept Nyxion's task, stepping into danger and the unknown. Or step back, return to the Vale house, and keep the ordinary life he had always known.
His chest felt heavy. He didn't know if he could do it. He didn't know if he was ready.
Finally, he exhaled. He wasn't ready to decide—not yet. He just needed to think. To clear his mind. To feel the realm in a way that didn't demand action.
He stepped forward.
The air shimmered. Buildings folded and blurred. The familiar alley twisted into a cobblestone street, lined with faintly glowing lamps and distant, distant figures moving through the misted streets of the citadel. He wandered past the busy streets, keeping to quiet corners, letting the gentle hum of magic brush against his awareness.
Eventually, the city streets gave way to something quieter. A narrow path led him to an oasis tucked just outside the citadel, a hidden jewel in the realm's vast expanse. A river, crystal clear, wound through thick jungle. Golden sand met vibrant greenery, and somewhere nearby waterfalls tumbled in glimmering arcs. The scent of flowers and salt carried on the air. Birds of impossible colors darted between towering trees.
Eli slowed, taking it all in. This was why he had entered the realm: to think, to breathe, to weigh the choice before him in a place that felt alive but safe.
"Hey!"
The voice startled him. From between two massive ferns, a girl stepped into the sunlight. Her hair caught the light like spun gold, her eyes sparkled with curiosity, and her laughter rang like music in the stillness of the oasis.
"You scared me," Eli said, taking a careful step back.
"I wasn't sneaking!" she protested, hands raised in playful surrender. "You just look… lost."
"I am," he admitted. "I'm trying to decide something… important. Something dangerous. I don't know if I can—should—"
"Shouldn't?" she asked, tilting her head. "Danger is just a word. It doesn't tell you who you are. Only who you might become."
Her presence hummed against him, subtle but undeniable. He felt it brushing against the Other Realm itself, as if the land recognized her strength.
"I'm Eli," he said, offering his hand.
"Liora," she replied, shaking it firmly, her grin unwavering. "You're far from home."
He glanced back toward the citadel, where the streets twisted and the realm's pulse grew faint. And yet here, in the oasis, the world seemed to pause.
"I don't know if I should go," he admitted. "I don't even know if I'm ready."
"Sometimes," Liora said softly, stepping closer, "not deciding is the same as standing still. And standing still doesn't keep you safe. It only keeps you from becoming something more."
The jungle, the river, even the faint rustle of unseen creatures, made the choice pressing, urgent, impossible to ignore. Liora's laughter and energy felt like a tether, but even that couldn't make the task Nyxion had set him disappear.
Eli looked at the water, the sunlight on the sand, the shadows of trees dancing in the breeze. He could return to the Vale house. Or he could step forward, accept the task, and begin a journey that would change everything.
His hand hovered over the invisible threshold of choice.
And he still hadn't decided.