It didn't start with pain.
It started with silence.
A suffocating, unnatural silence that swallowed everything Nyxara knew sound, thought, even the sense of her own body.
Then
It hit.
Not like an explosion.
Not like impact.
But like invasion.
Something flooded her.
Not from the outside.
From everywhere at once.
Her chest tightened
Her breath caught
And suddenly
She wasn't alone in her own mind.
"Nyxara."
Cassian's voice.
But not in front of her.
Not beside her.
Inside.
Too close.
Way too close.
Her eyes snapped open
Or at least, it felt like they did.
The darkness was still there
But now it was moving.
Twisting.
Splitting into overlapping fragments of reality.
She saw
Herself.
Standing.
Falling.
Burning.
All at once.
"…get out."
Her voice sounded distant.
Echoing in layers.
But it wasn't just hers.
It overlapped.
With his.
Cassian staggered
Or maybe she did.
It was getting harder to tell.
