The Call of Home

CHAPTER 11

I felt like a fetus, curled up and floating in the darkness. The thread sustaining my life gripped in my hand. Though the Void was hardly as comforting as the womb of a mother. It felt like months since I'd seen the light of day; the only light emitted around was the glow of my astral body. Over the time I have been here, I have heard glimpses and whispers of Seren from my tether, though day by day, it felt less comforting and more hopeless. I tried over and over to make contact, to find the door, conjure a window, anything to get back to anywhere else than here. I've had enough time to ruminate over that thing that was trying to shut me in. Nothing has come to visit me here, nothing besides that thread. If Purgatory was real, I believed this was it. After some time, I begged the being to just kill me already, shrieking and screaming for someone to just do it.

Nothing came of it.

So I stayed...floating and contemplating. That's all I could do. I did not need to eat, to sleep, to do much of anything. Time stretched and warped into something meaningless. My memories started to blur together like a forgotten dream. The warmth of Seren's voice, once a lifeline, now felt like a distant echo. Her whispers no longer offered solace—they only reminded me of how far away I was, of how unreachable life had become.

I flexed my fingers around the thread that anchored me to the world, testing its strength. The only proof I had that I was still tethered to anything. But lately, even that grip felt tenuous. The Void tugged at it, threatening to sever me from whatever remained of my existence. It wasn't violent—just constant, relentless, like slow erosion of stone by water. I felt like a lab rat, whoever, or whatever just wanting to see what would happen if someone was stuck here.

☾

A warmth I hadn't felt in what seemed like years broke through the darkness. It wasn't the faint murmur of Seren's voice—it was more powerful, more urgent. I gasped, my fingers tightening on the thread.

"Elyse..."

The voice was clearer this time, strong, purposeful. My heart surged, and I strained to follow it. I could feel the tether being pulled, not by me this time, but by something or someone on the other side.

Suddenly, light poured into the Void, bright and blinding, like the sun piercing through a clouded sky. My astral body trembled with the force of it, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I moved. I was being pulled—no, yanked—toward the source of that warmth. The Void shrieked in protest, but it couldn't hold me anymore. The tether snapped taut, and I was wrenched out of the abyss.

☾

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on a soft, woven mat, the smell of incense filling the air. My limbs felt heavy as if they hadn't been used in ages. I blinked, trying to focus. The light was warm and golden, bathing everything in a soft glow.

"Elyse..." The voice came again, and this time it was accompanied by a face. Carina, her eyes a deep, knowing amber, stared down at me. Relief washed over me in waves. Seren, Idris, Cerys, and Arwel stood behind her, their faces shadowed by concern.

I tried to speak, but my throat felt dry, my voice caught in the strangeness of returning.

"Shh, don't try to talk just yet," Carina said softly, placing a hand on my forehead. Her touch was soothing, grounding me in the present moment.

"Where am I?" I rasped, my voice barely more than a whisper.

"You're safe. You're with us again," Seren said, her voice cracking with emotion. She knelt beside me, her hand resting lightly on my arm. "We brought you to Carina. She's... she's the reason you're back."

Carina smiled faintly, but her expression was serious. "Elyse, you're more than what you think you are."

I blinked at her, confused, the weight of her words settling over me like a fog.