Between Ash and Ice

The Edge of Nowhere

The silence stretched long after the stranger had disappeared. I remained still, fire dimming in my palms, listening to the rhythm of my own breathing. The cavern around me had swallowed the last of his presence, leaving only the lingering weight of an encounter unfinished.

A cold prickle ran down my spine.

Who was he?

Why had he watched me, but done nothing? No attack, no warning, not even a word. Just... gone.

I exhaled slowly, letting the fire in my hands die out completely. I wasn’t about to waste energy on shadows, not when I had no idea where I was or what else lurked in this godforsaken place.

With one last glance into the emptiness where he had stood, I turned and continued forward.

The cavern sloped upward, narrowing as I climbed. The walls pressed closer, forcing me to duck and weave through jagged stone. My legs ached, but I kept moving, pushing forward despite the exhaustion weighing down my limbs.

Then—light.

A faint glow shimmered ahead, barely more than a whisper of illumination, but enough to quicken my steps. I reached the opening and pulled myself through, emerging onto a ledge overlooking a vast, unfamiliar landscape.

The world stretched before me in a twisted, unnatural expanse. Dark peaks jutted toward a storm-laden sky, mist swirling between jagged cliffs and broken ruins. The horizon flickered with distant lightning, illuminating the remnants of something ancient and forgotten.

A realm untouched by time. Or perhaps, consumed by it.

I inhaled deeply, the air sharp with the scent of damp stone and something else—magic. It buzzed at the edge of my senses, old and waiting.

I was no longer in the cavern. No longer in the world I had known.

I had stepped into the unknown.

A gust of wind howled through the cliffs, carrying distant echoes that sent another shiver down my spine. I clenched my fists. I would not be afraid.

But as I stared into the abyss before me, one thought settled like iron in my gut.

I was not alone.