The moment they stepped through the portal, the world shattered.
Sound disappeared first.
Then weight.
Then breath.
---
Konin felt himself falling—but not falling.
Suspended.
Drifting.
Pulled through something that wasn’t air, wasn’t water, wasn’t anything he understood.
Light twisted around him in spirals, bending into impossible shapes. A low hum vibrated through his bones, deep and ancient, like the echo of something older than time itself.
Beside him, Tracy’s hand remained locked in his.
Tight.
Certain.
---
And then—
Silence.
---
They stopped.
---
Not with impact.
Not with force.
---
But with stillness.
---
Konin’s eyes snapped open.
---
Water.
---
They were surrounded by it.
Yet—
He could breathe.
---
He inhaled sharply, expecting to choke—but nothing h
