LILA’S POV
The world went silent.
Not quiet.
Not calm.
Empty.
The golden light around me flickered once… twice… then disappeared completely.
And suddenly
I wasn’t in the cell anymore.
I was standing in the forest.
But not the one I knew.
This one was… wrong.
The trees were twisted, their branches clawing at the sky like skeletal hands. The air felt thick, suffocating, laced with something dark that clung to my skin like smoke.
My breath hitched.
“No…”
I turned slowly.
Nothing moved.
Nothing lived.
And yet
I wasn’t alone.
“I was wondering how long it would take you to break.”
The voice came from behind me.
Soft.
Familiar.
Deadly.
I froze.
Then turned.
She stood there.
Exactly like me.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same body.
But where I burned gold…
she bled crimson.
