"Yes," she whispered. "I'm... I'm in the sealed world. Elder Voss helped me build the
device."
"How old are you?" The male voice—Kai, she thought—was careful. Controlled.
"Thirteen. I just turned thirteen a few months ago."
A sharp intake of breath from the other side. Then the woman spoke again, and this
time her voice broke.
"It's her. Kai, it's really her."
Kira's hands trembled on the device. "What do you mean? Who—"
"Your mother," Krista said, the words tumbling out. "Your mother's name was Elara. She
was one of us. She was family."
The world tilted.
"Your mother," Krista said, the words tumbling out. "Your mother's name was Kamala.
She was one of us. She was family."
"You do," Kai said firmly. "You have us. The Chaos bloodline. Your mother was chosen
as the Traveler for her generation. She was supposed to bring you to the sealed world
when you were old enough, but—"
His voice cut off. Kira heard muffled conversation on the other end.
"You do," Kai said firmly. "You have us. The Chaos bloodline. Your mother was chosen
as the Traveler for her generation. She was supposed to go through the rift herself, but
—"
Silence. Then Krista spoke, gentle but devastating.
"There was an ambush. Thirteen years ago, on the day she was supposed to take you
through the rift. The Watchers found out somehow. They came for both of you."
Kira couldn't breathe. The workshop spun around her.
"There was an ambush. Thirteen years ago. Your mother had just given birth to you—
you were only days old. The Watchers found out about the mission somehow. They
came for her before she could make the crossing.""She saved you," Kai said quietly. "She fought them off long enough to get you through
the rift. She made sure you survived."
"No." Tears blurred Kira's vision. "No, that's not—I was a slave. I grew up in a dungeon.
If she saved me, why—"
"She saved you," Kai said quietly. "You weren't supposed to go through the rift. She
was. But when the Watchers attacked, she—"
He paused. When he spoke again, his voice was thick with emotion.
"She put you through instead. A newborn baby. She gave up her mission, her purpose,
everything she'd trained for. And then she stayed behind to fight them off. To give you
time to get away."
Kira pressed her hand to her mouth, trying to hold back a sob. Thirteen years. She'd
spent thirteen years thinking she was nothing. No one. Unwanted.
"The rift was supposed to take her to Elder Voss," Krista said. "To the settlement. But
you were so small, and the interference from the ambush—the rift destabilized. You
ended up somewhere else in the sealed world."
"I want to come back." The words burst out before she could stop them. "There has to
be a way. A rift, or—Malachar, can't we—"
And all along, her mother had thrown away everything—her mission, her life, her
purpose—to save her.
"But—"
Your mother knew this, he continued gently. She knew what she was asking of you.
What she was giving up.
"How?" Kira's voice cracked. "How did she know the rift would even work? How did she
know where to send me?"
Your mother made a choice, he continued gently. In that moment, she chose you over
everything else.
"How?" Kira's voice cracked. "How did she even know the rift would work? How did she
know where to send me?"
Kira sank onto the stool, her legs giving out. Her mother. A woman she'd never known,
never remembered. A woman with a gift so rare it had marked her for this impossible
task.
"That's why she was chosen as the Traveler," Kai added. "She could navigate the
passages between worlds better than anyone. In that split second, with the Watchers
closing in, she knew that rift led to the sealed world. She knew it was your only chance."Kira sank onto the stool, her legs giving out. Her mother. A woman she'd never known,
never remembered. A woman with a gift so rare it had marked her for an impossible
mission.
A woman who'd abandoned that mission to save her daughter.
"I don't understand," she whispered. "She was supposed to be the one. She was
supposed to do all this. Why did she—"
"Because you were her baby," Krista said softly, and her voice broke. "Because in that
moment, nothing else mattered. Not the mission. Not the bloodline. Not the seals. Just
you."
"Interference," Kai said, his voice tight. "The connection is degrading faster than we
thought. Kira, listen carefully. How many fragments have you collected?"
She wiped her eyes, trying to focus. "Three. We have three fragments."
"We need all of them," Krista said. "Every piece. The seals won't break until—"
Static crackled through the connection. The crystals dimmed, then brightened again.
"How many are there total?" Kira asked quickly.
"We're not sure. At least twelve, maybe more. The records were scattered when the
seal was created."
"Twelve." Kira's mind raced. "That's... that's going to take time."
"Time we don't have much of," Kai said grimly. "This device won't last forever. The
energy required to maintain a cross-world connection is immense. We're estimating
weeks, maybe a few months if we're lucky."
Malachar stirred in her mind. Then we need to move faster. Collect the fragments before
the connection fails completely.
"We're working on a plan," Kira said aloud. "Elder Voss has maps, potential locations.
We'll gather as many as we can."
"So will we," Krista said. "There are fragments in the main world too. We'll coordinate.
Figure out the most efficient route."
The device flickered again, more violently this time.
"Kira," Kai said urgently. "We need to end the transmission. The device can't handle
much more."
"Wait—" Panic seized her. "When will we talk again?""Soon," Krista promised. "As soon as we have a plan. As soon as we know more. But
Kira—"
Her voice softened.
"Your mother would be so proud of you. You're exactly what she hoped you'd be."
Tears spilled down Kira's cheeks. She couldn't speak.
"Your mother gave up everything for you. She believed you were worth more than any
mission. More than anything."
The connection cut out.
The crystals dimmed to a faint glow. The workshop fell silent except for Kira's ragged
breathing.
She sat there for a long time, staring at the device. At the fragile link between worlds.
Between her and the family she'd never known she had.
I'm sorry, Malachar said quietly. I know this is hard.
"She died for me." Kira's voice was hollow. "She died, and I didn't even know her name."
She died so you could live. So you could be here, now, doing what she couldn't finish.
"She wasn't supposed to send me." Kira's voice was hollow. "I wasn't supposed to be
here. She was."
She made a choice. In the moment that mattered most, she chose to save you.
"And now I'm doing her mission instead."
Yes.
Kira closed her eyes. The weight of it pressed down on her—the sacrifice, the
desperate choice, the life her mother had given up so she could live.
Her mother had chosen this. Had known what it would cost. Had believed Kira was
strong enough to carry it through.
"How many fragments did you say?" she asked.
Her mother had thrown away everything in a single, impossible moment. Had believed
Kira's life was worth more than her own mission, her own purpose, her own survival.
"And we have three."
Yes.Kira stood. Her legs were steadier now. Her hands had stopped shaking.
"Then we need to find the rest." She looked at the device, at its fading light. "Before this
thing dies. Before we lose contact completely."
You're sure?
She thought of her mother. Of a woman with a gift for rifts, who'd seen the path forward
and taken it, no matter the cost.
"I'm sure."
She thought of her mother. Of a woman with a gift for rifts, who'd seen the path forward
and abandoned it—for her daughter. Who'd stayed behind to die so a newborn baby
could live.
Then let's begin.