Someone destined.
Someone chosen.
Someone who would bind herself to me, whether she understood the consequences or not.
The thought turned my stomach.
Who would want that?
Who would willingly step into the orbit of something that could consume entire realms if left unchecked?
I exhaled sharply as I pushed through the heavy doors leading out onto the upper terrace.
The night greeted me immediately.
Cold.
Alive.
Endless.
The sky above Asgarheim was never still. Auroras twisted across it in ribbons of green and violet, the ley lines beneath the Institute rising upward, threading through the heavens like veins of living light.
Here, the multiverse did not feel distant.
It felt close.
Too close.
I stepped to the edge, letting the wind tear through me, letting the night wrap itself around my senses.
This—this was where I could breathe.
Where the pull of the moon steadied instead of overwhelmed.
Where I could almost pretend I was in control.
Almost.
Below, the Institute stretched wide—towers, courtyards, hidden corridors filled with students who belonged here in ways I did not.
They formed bonds.
Friendships.
Alliances.
I kept to myself.
Anonymous.
Alone.
It was easier that way.
Safer.
For them.
