The first thing Luna felt was the cold.
Not just wind.
Cold that sank deeper.
Into her skin. Into her bones.
Like the air itself didn't want her here.
She hit the ground.
Soft.
Grass.
Real.
But something about it felt… off.
Too still.
Too quiet.
For a moment, she didn't move.
Her body felt heavy.
Disconnected.
Like she had been taken apart… and put back together wrong.
Did I fall?
No.
Her memory snapped back,
The bench.
The light.
The wind.
Her eyes opened.
And the sky above her stole the breath from her lungs.
It wasn't a sky.
It was an abyss filled with stars.
Not the weak, distant kind.
These burned.
Bright.
Alive.
Watching.
A pale river of light stretched across the darkness, twisting slowly like something breathing in the void.
Luna sat up.
Her hands pressed into the grass.
Cold.
Too cold.
"This… isn't the park."
Her voice sounded small.
Swallowed by something that didn't echo back.
She stood slowly.
Her legs shook.
Not from fear.
From something else.
Like gravity itself wasn't stable.
The world revealed itself.
Endless grassland.
But the horizon...
Wrong.
Broken.
Floating islands drifted in silence.
Massive.
Unnatural.
Some carried ruins.
Others… nothing.
Just empty land, hanging above an endless drop.
Bridges connected them.
Or used to.
Now they ended mid-air.
Cut.
Like something had torn them apart.
"This isn't real…"
Luna whispered.
But even she didn't believe it.
The wind moved.
And this time…
It didn't feel like air.
It felt like something brushing past her.
Watching her.
She laughed.
Short.
Uncertain.
"Great… I walked into a portal like an idiot."
Kai's face flashed in her mind.
The way he laughed.
The way he didn't believe her.
He would never believe this.
Then the thought hit harder,
What if I never tell him?
Her chest tightened.
Luna turned slowly.
The world stretched endlessly.
No paths.
No signs.
No life.
Just that broken stone arch in the distance.
Standing alone.
Like it had been waiting.
She walked toward it.
Each step felt… delayed.
Like the ground reacted a second too late.
The silence followed her.
Not peaceful.
Not empty.
Listening.
"Hello?"
Her voice fell flat.
No echo.
No response.
The wind shifted.
And something came with it.
A whisper.
Luna froze.
"…Hello?"
Again.
Faint.
Broken.
Not words.
Not yet.
But close.
Too close.
Her heartbeat rose.
"Is someone there?"
The whisper vanished.
Like it had never existed.
Luna swallowed.
"Okay… no… that's not normal."
She kept walking.
Faster now.
Toward the arch.
Toward something real.
Something solid.
Her thoughts spiraled.
What if I can't go back?
What if this place..
doesn't let people leave?
She stopped.
"No."
Her voice was firmer now.
"I'm going back."
The wind responded.
Soft.
Almost amused.
The arch loomed ahead.
Cracked stone.
Ancient.
Wrong.
Symbols covered its surface.
Carved deep.
Not worn away.
Like they refused to disappear.
Luna stepped closer.
Her fingers brushed the stone.
It pulsed.
Light flickered beneath her skin.
She jerked back.
"Okay....nope!"
The air changed instantly.
The wind stopped.
Completely.
Silence dropped like something heavy.
The stars flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The floating islands shifted.
Not drifting.
Moving.
Something far away made a sound.
Low.
Deep.
Alive.
Luna's stomach dropped.
"What… was that?"
The sound came again.
Closer.
The wind snapped back.
Violent.
Grass bent sharply.
Petals erupted into the air.
White.
Familiar.
Her eyes widened.
"How are these here-?"
They circled her.
Faster.
Tighter.
Then,
"…Luna…"
Her blood froze.
She turned instantly.
"Who said that?!"
No one.
Only empty land.
Again.
Closer.
Clearer.
"…Luna…"
Her breath broke.
"That's not funny!"
The wind roared.
The petals spiraled wildly.
Her thoughts fractured.
Something is here.
Something knows me.
Something followed me.
"…Luna…"
Right behind her.
She spun,
Nothing was there.
She stumbled back, covering her ears.
"STOP!"
Everything died.
The wind.
The petals.
The sound.
Gone.
Silence.
Luna stood there.
Shaking.
Breathing uneven.
"I-I'm not alone."
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
The sky looked normal again.
The islands drifted slowly.
The arch stood still.
But the feeling stayed.
Something here knew her.
Luna lowered her hands slowly.
Her voice barely a whisper,
"If you're real…"
A pause.
"Show yourself."
The wind returned.
Soft.
Gentle.
Like it was smiling.
And far beyond the floating islands…
Something ancient opened its eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 5.