The world trembled the moment Aria fell.

Her body, still in the spirit realm, lay motionless amid shattered starlight and collapsing illusions. But in the waking world, she gasped—faint, barely alive—her spirit tethered by the thinnest thread.

“She’s slipping!” Solene cried, her hands glowing furiously as she knelt at Aria’s side. “Her soul—it's fading too fast!”

Elena knelt beside her, trembling, gripping Aria’s blood-stained hand. “You promised you’d come back…” ...