The moment my fingers closed around the staff, the world vanished.
There was no pain or violent tug, just a sudden, weightless shift. The stone cavern, the broken mirror glass on the floor, and the voices of my friends all dissolved at once into a quiet, lavender-tinted void.
"Amara."
The voice reached straight into my chest. A figure materialized a few steps away, bathed in a soft, ethereal light.
It was Orisyl.
"Orisyl?" I took a step toward her. "Are you alright?"
"I am holding together, my child," she said gently, her smile warm despite the exhaustion in her posture. "But I do not have enough magic left to sustain this telepathic link for much longer. I needed to reach you before the connection severed."
