Reborn

20: Disorientation

Breaks:

[L1,2 or 3] represents the beginning of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives. There is more than one past life, which is why they're numbered. Though, these memories are usually told as she sleeps and Elena herself cannot remember them.

[/L1,2 or 3] represents the end of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives.

[P] represents the beginning of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

[/P] represents the end of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

~3~ is just a timeskip

A/N: New Arc starts here! Lets start it with a First Life memory huh? Let me know what you think of it! Enjoy!

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[L1]

Chunks of land floated above us, each one massive enough to hold a house. Roots thicker than tree trunks braided between them, knotting the sky together like some vast living net. From below, it looked like a single island ringed around the top of the volcano we had been climbing.

I blinked up at it. "...This wasn't here before."

Beside me, Yugo's gaze was locked on the drifting land. His tone was careful, but the spark in his eyes betrayed him. "We should check it out."

I smirked faintly. He always thought he was subtle. "Let's. I'm curious about those plants anyway." A portal flared open at my side, blue light licking at the air. I stepped through before hesitation could cool my curiosity.

We landed on stone dusted with moss. I had expected bare rock, but instead... ruins. Broken walls slumped in uneven lines, houses carved into stone with their ceilings caved in. An entire city once stood here, now a skeleton.

Yugo studied the shattered buildings. My attention, though, was dragged to the ground. Amidst the wreckage, crystal growths burst from the earth. Blue, each a different shade. Some glowed faintly where shadow touched them, their edges haloed in pale light. From their bases sprouted leaves and stems, roots weaving into the living bridges that tethered the islands together.

My breath caught. "Amazing..." I crouched by the nearest crystal, eyes wide. "They're not just stones. They're—flowers. Crystals shaped by the plants themselves."

"A rock that's a flower?" Yugo's voice was skeptical, but curious.

"Not a rock. Look—" I pointed to one pulsing faintly in shadow. "That one's glowing. It's alive."

"That's because it has life energy."

The voice was not Yugo's.

I spun, heart leaping into my throat. Yugo moved in an instant, stepping between me and the sound, his stance taut.

From the ruins shuffled something small — no taller than my knees. Its fur was a dull silver-blue, matted and wiry. Antennae of pure Wakfu sprouted from its head, glowing faintly. Black eyes, huge, with cross-shaped brown pupils, fixed on us as it crept closer. Its body was catlike, but its movements had a strange, hopping rhythm.

It clambered onto a broken wall and reared onto its hind legs. Its teeth flashed — small, razor-sharp. "What are you?"

I stared. Its mouth had moved. The voice was real. "Us? Not to be rude," I said carefully, "but I've never seen anything like you either."