Veilbound (Eddie Munson x OC)

Prologue

"Protect it Lith!"

"Don't let me go!"

Carrie jolted awake, her heart pounding against her ribs. The room was dark, the only light coming from the streetlamp outside her window, casting long shadows across her bedroom. She pressed her hand to her chest, willing her heartbeat to slow. The dream had felt so real.

Fragments of the vision lingered in her mind, disjointed and vivid. She closed her eyes, trying to piece them together. There had been a swirling vortex of colors, a sensation of being pulled through space and time. She couldn't make sense of it, but the feeling of urgency was unmistakable.

A voice had echoed faintly, almost drowned out by the roar of the chaos around them.

"We have to go now! It's not safe here."

In the dream, she had clung to him as the world around them fractured and warped. They had hurtled through scenes that shifted rapidly: a city bathed in neon light, a forest of crystalline trees, an endless desert with twin suns burning in the sky. Each vision was fleeting, like glimpses of forgotten memories.

Through it all, one word had resonated, cutting through the chaos: Lith.

Carrie opened her eyes, the name echoing in her mind. It felt familiar and foreign at the same time, like a melody she had forgotten but still knew by heart. She whispered it into the darkness, tasting its strange syllables on her tongue.

"Lith."

The dream felt more than just a figment of her imagination. It lingered, a ghost of a memory she couldn't fully grasp. She had always felt out of place, like there was something more to her than the life she knew in Hawkins. The sensation of power, of energy coursing through her veins, was too intense to ignore.

Stephen had always been protective, almost to a fault. His explanations for their frequent moves, his insistence on keeping a low profile, his evasive answers whenever she asked about her mother—all of it now made a strange kind of sense. He had been hiding something, protecting her from something.

From who she really was.

Carrie swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, crossing to the window. She stared out at the quiet street, her reflection a ghostly figure in the glass. The name reverberated in her mind, bringing with it a sense of urgency.

"Lith."

She was more than just an ordinary girl. She was someone with a past that spanned dimensions, with a destiny she couldn't yet comprehend. The dream had shown her that much. The truth was out there, waiting for her to uncover it.

And with that truth came danger. She could feel it, a shadow lurking just beyond her reach. Carrie took a deep breath, steeling herself. Whatever lay ahead, whatever the name Lith meant, she was ready to face it. She had to be.