The light did not burn. It washed over me. As I regained consciousness, the rigid sensation of gravity had vanished entirely. I was no longer inside the rusted deck of a ship, but standing in the midst of an endless expanse, a space that resembled a giant library with walls made of nothingness, illuminated by millions of points of light pulsing in rhythm with my own breath.
Kael was beside me. He was no longer holding a pistol. In this world, weapons were irrelevant concepts. He stared at his hands, which now glowed with a soft luster, the same color as the residual energy in my arms.
"Where are we, Elian?" his voice was gentle, devoid of fear. Here, at the heart of the Great Void, fear felt like an unnecessary notation.
"We are inside the fundamental resonance," I replied, stepping for
