The Mirage of Aether's Reach

Setting:
In the year 2315, humanity has cracked the secret of multidimensional travel, opening portals into alternate realities. However, one of the realities they accidentally uncover - called Aether - is not a world of life, but a living mirror of the human psyche, shaped by their thoughts, emotions, and fears. This place, both beautiful and terrifying, is a world of infinite landscapes, each representing a different dimension of a human mind.
Plot Overview:
The story follows Elara, a young scientist, who discovers a malfunctioning portal and inadvertently gets trapped in Aether, where reality bends and shifts based on her subconscious. In Aether, Elara is not only physically challenged by changing environments but also emotionally tested as her worst fears and most hidden desires manifest around her.
Elara must navigate this strange world to find the portal back home while trying to piece together why Aether exists, and why it seems to be connected to humanity's shared consciousness in ways no one could have predicted. Along the way, she encounters other lost travelers, both from her reality and others, and she begins to unravel an even deeper mystery: Aether is not just a reflection of the human mind, but a living entity - one that is slowly consuming human consciousness, feeding off the confusion and disorientation it creates.