Novel’s POV

“You know that’s against the rules, right?” I said, my voice echoing toward the faceless shadow of pure darkness.

I had woken up in the void again, the same endless expanse from my dreams, but this time, the air felt thick and heavy. It felt real, even though a small part of me knew this was all inside my head.

I stood at the edge of the river. The boxes that caged Alexei, Viktor, Emilia, and the others were no longer blurry shapes; they were vivid, looming closer than they had ever been before. I let out a sharp, eerie smile, closed my eyes, and took a deep...