Light swallowed him.
Not blinding—warm. Gold and amber, like sunset poured into glass.
Aiden took one step forward, then another.
"…Okay," He muttered. "That's new."
Lanterns floated in the air, swaying gently as if moved by a breeze that didn't exist. Silk canopies hung overhead in layered arcs of crimson, indigo, and gold. Incense curled in slow spirals, carrying scents that shifted every breath—sweet, bitter, nostalgic.
The ground beneath his boots wasn't stone. It was sand.
And the bazaar—
It stretched forever.
Stalls lined up in impossible geometry, paths folding into one another, bridges arching into nothing, platforms suspended over a void of stars.
A vendor laughed somewhere far away.
A child cried.
Coins clinked.
Aiden swallowed. "Umm… you all see this?"
Silence.
"…Girls?" He called, forcing a chuckle. "Come on. Very funny."
He turned in a slow circle.
No Luna.
No Thristle.
No Nyxion.
No one.
"…Girls?"
Nothing.
