Chapter8-The World Beyond the Light
Ling gasped.
Cold air rushed into her lungs as if she had been underwatered for too long. Her eyes snapped open, and for a moment she couldn't tell if she was standing, falling or floating. The white light from the ritual slowly faded, dissolving into soft shadows and muted colours.
She was lying on something warm.
Not stone. Not earth. Something that felt like... breath.
Ling pushed herself up slowly.
The world around her was unfamiliar – a soft twilight sky with no sun, no moon, just a gentle glow that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. The ground beneath her shimmered like water but held her weight like solid floor.
Her heart pounded.
"Where... am I?"
A soft voice answered behind her.
"Where you were always meant to be."
Ling turned sharply.
The girl stood a few steps away – but she wasn't the same as before. Her glow was softer, her outline clearer, her presence warmer. She looked almost human... but not entirely. Her hair floated slightly, as if the air around her had its own gravity. Her eyes held a depth Ling had never seen before – like memories layered over memories.
Ling's breath caught.
"You're... different."
The girl smiled gently.
"So are you."
Ling looked down at her own hands – faint threads of light pulsed beneath her skin, moving like veins of energy. She flinched.
"What happened to me?"
The girl stepped closer, her expression soft but serious.
"The ritual didn't just bring you to me," she whispered. "It changed you."
Ling's heartbeat echoed in her ears.
"How much did it change?"
The girl reached out her hand.
"Enough that you can finally see my world."
Ling hesitated – just for a moment.
Then she took the girl's hand.
The ground beneath them rippled like water.
And the world opened.
The world opened like a breath.
Ling blinked as the shimmering ground beneath her feet rippled outward, revealing a landscape that felt both familiar and impossible strange. Soft light drifted through the air like floating dust, but each particle glowed faintly, pulsing with its own heartbeat.
The girl's hand was warm in hers.
Too warm.
Ling tightened his grip. "What is this place."
The girl stepped forward, guiding her gently.
"A place between memory and truth."
Ling frowned. "That's not an answer."
The girl smiled—a small, knowing smile that made Ling's chest tighten.
"It's the only answer you are ready for."
The walked across the shimmering surface. With each step, the ground shifted – sometimes solid like stone, sometimes soft like water, sometimes weightless like air. Ling felt her balance tilt, but the girl's hand steadied her every time.
"Why does everything feel... alive?" Ling whispered.
"Because it is."
Ling stopped.
The girl turned back, her hair floating slightly, as if the air around her obeyed her instead of gravity.
"This realm responds to emotion," she said softly. "To memory. To connection."
Ling's heartbeat quickened.
"So, it's reacting to us?"
"To you," the girl corrected gently. "You're the one who changed."
Ling looked down at her hands again – the faint threads of light beneath the skin pulsed faster, brighter, as if reacting to her confusion.
"I didn't ask for this."
"You didn't have to."
The girl stepped closer, her voice lowering.
"The moment you choose me... the realm chooses you."
Ling's breath caught.
A soft wind rose around them, carrying whispers – not words, but echoes of something ancient, something waiting.
The girl looked toward the horizon.
"Come. There's something you need to see."
Ling hesitated.
"What is it."
The girl's expression shifted – a mix of sorrow and hope.
"The place where I disappeared."
Ling froze.
The ground beneath them rippled again, as if realm itself reacted to the weight of tat memory.
The girl extended her hand.
"If you want the truth... you have to walk with me."
Ling swallowed hard.
And took her hand.
Ling followed the girl across the shifting ground, the footsteps sending soft ripples through the glowing surface. The air grew heavier, thicker as if the realm itself was holding its breath.
Ahead, the light dimmed.
A circular space appeared—darker than the rest of the realm, like a scar carved into the glowing world. The edges shimmered, but the centre was still, silent, untouched.
Ling felt her chest tighten.
"That is, it?" she whispered.
The girl nodded slowly.
"The place where I vanished."
Ling stepped closer, her pulse pounding in her ears. The ground here didn't ripple. It didn't glow. It didn't breathe. It felt... dead.
A faint echo rose from the centre – a soft, broken sound, like a memory trying to speak.
Ling swallowed hard. "What happened her."
The girl didn't answer immediately. Her eyes lowered, her fingers tightening around Ling's hand.
"You stepped back," she said softly. "And the ritual punished hesitation."
Ling flinched. "I didn't know. I was scared."
"I know."
The girl's voice wasn't accusing. It wasn't angry. It was... tired.
She stepped into the circle.
The moment her foot touched the centre, the ground trembled – a low, humming vibration that crawled up Ling's spine.
The girl's glow flickered.
Ling's breath caught. "Are you okay."
"This place remembers," the girl whispered. "It remembers pain."
The ground pulsed again – harder this time – ad Ling felt something tug at her chest, like invisible threads pulling her forward.
"What is that?" she gasped.
The girl turned to her, eyes glowing brighter than before.
"Your connection to me."
The pull intensified.
Ling stumbled forward, her hand tightening around the girl's.
The realm reacted – the air thickened, the ground shivered and faint whispers rose around them, circling like wind.
"The girl stepped closer, her forehead almost touching Ling's.
"If you want the truth... you have to let the realm show you."
Ling's heart hammered.
"What will it show me?"
The girl's voice dropped to whisper.
"The moment you lost me... and the price you paid without knowing."
The ground beneath them split open in a burst of white light.
And the memory swallowed them both.
The light swallowed them both.
Ling felt her body fall – not down, not up, but through something soft and heavy, like sinking into a memory that wasn't hers. Her breath caught as the world around her blurred into streaks of white and red.
Then everything snapped into focus.
She was standing into the old ritual chamber.
But not the broken one she remembered. This one was alive – glowing symbols, warm air, threads of red light floating like fireflies.
Ling's heart pounded.
"This... this is the past."
The girl stood beside her, but she looked younger – softer, more human, her glow faint and fragile.
"You're seeing what I saw," she whispered.
Ling watched her past self-stepped into the chamber – hesitant, trembling, clutching the red thread with shaking fingers.
Ling's throat tightened. "I remember this. I was scared."
"You weren't just scared," the girl said softly. "You were breaking."
The memory Ling – her past self—took one step forward... then stopped. Her hand trembled violently.
The girl in the memory reached out to her.
"Take my hand."
Ling whispered, "I wanted to... I really did."
"I know."
The memory Ling stepped back.
Just one step.
Just one breath.
But the chamber reacted instantly – the symbols flared, the air cracked and the red thread snapped like it had been waiting for that moment.
The girl in the memory screamed – not in fear, but in pain – as the light around her twisted, pulling her backward into the darkness.
Ling gasped. "No... no, I didn't know this happened!"
The girl looked at her, eyes full of something Ling couldn't name.
"You weren't supposed to see it."
The memory Ling collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest, crying silently as the chamber dimmed and the girl vanished into the void.
Ling felt her own knees weaken.
"I didn't know I hurt you."
"You didn't hurt me."
The girl stepped closer, her voice trembling.
"But your fear cost you something."
Ling swallowed hard. "What did it cost."
The girl reached out, touching Ling's chest lightly.
"A part of your soul followed me into the void."
Ling froze.
Her breath stopped.
The ground beneath the cracked with light.
"And now," she whispered, "the realm is giving it back."
The memory shattered around them like glass.
Ling gasped as she was thrown back into the glowing realm, her knees hitting the shimmering ground. The air pulsed violently, reacting to the truth she had just seen. Threads of light shot upward, twisting around her like living veins.
Her chest burned.
Not like pain—like something waking up.
The girl knelt in front of her, her hands hovering just above Ling's shoulders, afraid to touch her, afraid to make it worse.
"Ling... breathe."
"I--can't--" Ling clutched her chest as the light beneath her skin flared brighter, spreading up her arms, her neck, her face. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, too loud, too fast.
The realm trembled.
The ground rippled outward in waves, reacting to her panic. The sky dimmed, then brightened, then dimmed again, as if the entire world was syncing with her pulse.
The girl's voice shook. "It's your soul returning. It's trying to fit back into you."
Ling's eyes widened. "It feels like it's tearing me apart. "
"Because it doesn't recognize your fear anymore."
The light surged again—this time exploding outward in a burst that sent the girl stumbling back.
Ling cried out as the threads of lights wrapped around her wrists, her ankles, her spine—pulling, tightening, merging.
The girl reached for her.
"Ling, look at me."
Ling forced her eyes open.
The girl's glow flickered wildly, reacting to Ling's energy. Her outline blurred, her form unstable, as if Ling's awakening was pulling at her too.
"Why is this happening?" Ling gasped.
The girl swallowed hard.
"Because when your soul followed me into the void... it didn't come back alone."
Ling froze.
The light around her twisted—not just bright, but alive, moving with intention.
"What... what came back with it."
The girl stepped closer, her voice barely a whisper.
"Something that wants you."
The ground cracked beneath them.
A shadow rose from the split—slow, silent, stretching upward like smoke with a heartbeat.
Ling's breath stopped.
The girl grabbed her hand.
"Don't let go this time."
Ling tightened her grip.
"I won't."
The shadow lunged.
Ling barely had time to react before the darkness slammed into the ground where she had been standing a heartbeat ago. The impact sent a shockwave through the realm, rippling outward like a stone dropped into water.
The girl pulled Ling behind her, her glow flaring bright enough to cut through the darkness.
"Stay close to me."
Ling's pulse hammered. "What is that thing."
The shadow rose again—taller now, its form stretching like smoke pulled by invisible strings. No face. No eyes. Just a hallow shape that pulsed with a cold, hungry rhythm.
The girl's voice trembled.
"It's the part of the void that followed your soul back."
Ling's breath caught. "So, it's... connected to me?"
"It wants what it lost."
The shadow twisted sharply, turning toward Ling as if it could smell her fear. The ground beneath it cracked, threads of darkness spreading like roots.
Ling stumbled back. "I can't fight that!"
"You don't have to fight it."
The girl grabbed Ling's hands – both of them – and pressed them against Ling's own chest.
"You just have to accept what's already yours."
Ling felt the light inside her surge again – hot, bright, overwhelming. It rushed up her arms, through her spine, into her throat. Her vision blurred with white.
The shadow shrieked – a soundless vibration that rattled the air.
The girl tightened her grip.
"Ling, listen to me."
Ling forced her eyes open.
The girl's glow was flickering violently now, her form unstable, as if protecting Ling was tearing her apart.
"Your soul came back incomplete," she whispered. "This thing is the missing piece twisted into something wrong."
Ling's heart dropped.
"So, if it reaches me--"
"It will take rest of you."
The shadow lunged again.
Ling screamed as the darkness wrapped around her wrist – cold, burning, suffocating. Her knees buckled. The light inside her flickered.
The girl grabbed her other hand, pulling her back with all her strength.
"Ling, don't let go!"
Ling's voice broke.
"I'm trying!"
The shadow tightened its grip, dragging her toward the crack in the ground – toward the void.
The girl's glow flared one last time.
"Ling--call your soul back!"
Ling's breath caught.
"How?!"
The girl leaned in, her forehead touching Ling's.
"Say my name."
Ling froze.
The shadow yanked harder.
The girl's voice cracked.
"Say my name, Ling... and everything will return to you."
Ling opened her mouth—And the realm exploded with light.
Ling staggered backward, shielding her eyes as whit radiance tore through the darkness. The shadow shickered – a soundless vibration that cracked the air like glass. The girl held Ling's hand tightly, her glow flickering but determined.
The light dimmed just enough for Ling to see.
The shadow was still there. Still reaching. Still hungry.
The girl's voice trembled.
"Ling... say my name."
Ling's breath caught in her throat.
Her mind raced – flashes of the ritual, the chamber, the red thread, the moment she stepped back. She remembered fear. She remembered hesitation. But the name... the name had always slipped away like smoke.
The shadow lunged again.
Ling cried out as cold darkness wrapped around her ankle, dragging her toward the crack in the ground. The girl grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back with everything she had.
"Ling, look at me!"
Ling forced her eyes open.
The girl's face inches from hers – glowing, trembling, desperate. Her eyes shimmered with something Ling had never seen before.
Not fear. Not anger. But longing.
"You knew my name once," the girl whispered. "Before the void took it from you."
Ling's heartbeat thundered.
The shadow tightened its grip.
The girl cupped Ling's face with shaking hands.
"Say it... and your soul will return to you."
Ling's chest burned – the light inside her pulsing violently, trying to break free. Her throat tightened as a memory flickered at the edge of her mind.
A voice. A whisper. A name spoken in the dark.
The shadow pulled harder.
Ling gasped – and the memory snapped into place.
She whispered it.
Soft. Shaking. But real.
"Arin..."
The realm froze.
The shadow recoiled violently, its form twisting as if the name itself had struck it. The ground beneath them glowed with a sudden surge of light, threads of energy shooting upward like lightning.
The girl – Arin – inhaled sharply.
Her glow flared brighter than Ling had ever seen.
"You remembered me."
Ling's voice broke.
"I never forgot you... I just lost the part that knew."
Arin reached for her hand.
The shadow screamed – a silent, tearing vibration – and lunged one last time.
Ling didn't step back this time.
She stepped forward.
The light inside her erupted, blasting outward in a wave that tore through the shadow, ripping it apart thread by thread until nothing remained but fading wisps of darkness.
Silence fell.
Ling collapsed to her knees, breath shaking, the last of the light settling beneath her skin like embers.
Arin knelt bedide her, touching her shoulder gently.
"Your soul is whole again."
Ling looked up at her, eyes wide, voice barely a whisper.
"What happens now."
Arin's expression softened – but there was something new in her eyes.
Something Ling couldn't read.
"Now... the realm decides what to do with you."
The ground beneath them began glow.