A whisper of light.
A thread of soul.
Shadow’s eyes were fixed on it, burning brighter with each step.
And with each step… memories began to stir.
A breeze brushed past his face, carrying a scent that didn’t belong to this ruined place—saltwater and lilies.
He paused, the scent catching him off guard.
A beach… golden sand. Her laughter echoing across the waves.
In his mind, the vision returned unbidden.
He saw himself, no longer cloaked in shadow, but in his wolf form, sunlit and alive. By his side sat Sasha, radiant, her silver hair swept by the breeze as she laughed and tossed him a seashell. They weren’t speaking of war or pain—only of peace, of dreams they’d never shared with another soul.
Varn noticed Shadow’s hesitation. “You good?”
Shadow gave a faint nod. “She’s close. And… I’m remembering her.”
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As they continued, more fragments surfaced. A shared night under starlight. A whispered promise. Her voice saying his name—not with fear, but with love.
The memories came sharper, stronger. Not as ghosts, but as truths returning to a soul once fractured.
Then, finally, they reached it.
A place unlike anything they’d seen.
A jagged scar in space, where reality twisted like fabric caught in a storm. The light Sasha had sent had vanished here, absorbed by the void.
“This is it,” Shadow said. His voice was different now. Grounded. Certain.
This is where she disappeared.
His claws extended—long, black, and shimmering with divine energy. His eyes glowed gold.
“I remember everything,” he whispered.
With a growl that shook the air, Shadow slashed open the seam in reality, rending the dimension like paper. A blinding burst of light surged out, and the looped world that had trapped Sasha was laid bare.
They stepped in.
Inside, the loop warped perception—repeating terrain, recycled time—but none of it could confuse Shadow now. Not anymore.
He followed the trail, no longer just sensing Sasha… but knowing her. Feeling her pain, her hope. Her call.
And finally—at the center of the spiraling trap—he found her.
Sasha.
Slumped against a stone altar, her body glowing faintly, her eyes wide as she recognized him.
“Shadow…”
Joy broke across her expression, even as tears streamed down her face. For a moment, nothing else existed but their shared gaze. Nothing but the love that had endured across worlds.
Shadow took a step forward, hand outstretched.
But the world did not stop for reunions.
A flash of silver—two shadows descending.
Adi and Hugo.
Twin blurs of motion, one wielding a blade of time, the other of dreams. In a heartbeat, they were upon her.
Shadow’s eyes widened.
“NO—!”
The chapter ends as Shadow watches, helpless, as their blades slice through the last light of Sasha.