Edge had never seen anything so dark before.

It was like all the light in the world had been swallowed by the darkness, and Edge was part of it. She wasn’t just surrounded by shadows; she was the shadows. They moved when she wanted them to, whispering to her in a slithery voice only she could understand. Sometimes the shadows fought her, coiling around her ankles, pulling her back. But she pressed on, each step heavier than the last.

Icy coldness settled onto her heart, and she couldn’t feel anything. Just the urge within her, telling her to keep pressing forward, to keep fighting.

How long had she been going? Hours? Days? Minutes? The path felt endless, as if there were no real destination to reach. Loneliness crept into her chest, and the shadows seemed to mock her, their whispers colder now, as if they were getting tired of her trying to control them.

Finally, she saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. It looked like the faint light of a dying star, barely flickering against the night. She reached for it, shadows tugging at her limbs. With the last of her strength, she broke free and fell, tumbling headlong into the brightness.

With the last of her fading strength, she pushed herself out of the darkness and stumbled forward. The light hit her eyes, blinding her.

The air around her grew hot and stagnant. She hit the ground hard, feeling the soft grass beneath her, warm and comforting, like a freshly washed blanket. For a moment, she just listened to the hush of wind through the trees. Shivers crept through her, silent and deadly.

Something felt off. As if the whole world was asleep, holding its breath and waiting for something.

Someone.

Edge gritted her teeth and forced her eyes open, refusing to look away from the brightness. She called out silently to the shadows, and they crept over her eyes, blocking most of the light but leaving just enough for her to see. When she finally pushed herself up with shaking arms, the world unfolded below.

A village, miles away, burning. Smoke rose into the darkened sky, thunder booming overhead. A thousand creatures—dragons—circled the village, their wings glinting in the firelight as they tried to protect their home.

Her eyes were glued to the scene, unable to look away. The sight was beautiful and terrible all at once, the kind of moment you only ever saw in nightmares, or dreams in disguise.

Suddenly, the steady rush of wings cut through the air. One of the dragons broke away from the sky and landed in front of her, breathing heavily. Its scales shimmered ocean blue, eyes the colour of smoke. Compared to the others, it was small, with short legs and a long body. Its tail and feet were webbed, probably belonging more to rivers than the air. Two curved horns shot up from its head, giving it a strange, yet beautiful look.

Backing up a step, Edge tried to control the fear crawling in her chest. In a small voice, she whispered, “It’s okay.”

The dragon cocked its head sideways, looking at her with sad, confused eyes. It stood up and walked toward her slowly, swishing its tail from side to side, debating whether she was the enemy.

At this point, she didn’t know.

Edge stood still, hands clenched at her sides, heart pounding so loud she was sure the dragon could hear it. She stared at the ground instead of the creature, hoping that she wouldn’t pose a threat. The dragon came so close she could feel its misty breath on her shoulder and piercing gaze.

“You’re okay,” Edge repeated, slowly bringing her eyes up to the creature. It didn’t flinch away. “I’m going to help. Well, try.”

The dragon cocked its head sideways. It seemed to be...listening to her. Maybe even understanding her.

It just stood there for a moment, then, with a soft snort, it flapped its wings and rose, vanishing into the chaos above.

“What the—” A new voice exclaimed, running up to where Edge was standing.

Edge practically jumped out of her skin, steadying herself so she didn’t take a tumble off the cliff. Her heart was going a million miles per hour as she faced the intruder. Well, intruders.

It was the kids from the plane. Well, two of them, anyway. Kilah and...Elias, was it? Both of their eyes almost popped out of their head as they looked around. When Elias turned to stare down the cliff, he had to take steadying breaths to stop his knees from shaking.

“Where the heck are we?” Kilah exclaimed, reeling on Edge like she held all the answers. “You! What are you doing here? Where is here? WHAT IS GOING ON?!”

Raising an eyebrow, that was the only response Edge gave.

Kilah started pacing, mumbling stuff that didn’t make sense. “The stranger...in the car! And the dagger, the crash...We were on a plane! Then you passed out. And the person in the clouds...did the plane crash? I thought it did, but—” Her voice broke off, eyes wide and wild.

Edge backed up a step, creating more distance between her and the blaring thoughts ballooning through her head. Something about when people are panicked made their thoughts way too loud.

Elias glanced at his hyperventilating friend. His voice was shaky but relatively calm as he mumbled, “Actually, I…I know this place.”

“You do?” Kilah pestered, staring him down. “Why didn’t you say so before?!”

He looked at Edge nervously before saying, “For a while I’ve had this...uh, dream. And it’s here. Well, uhm, not exactly here. Down there.” He pointed towards the smoking village.

“Down...there?” Kilah stared at the village. “Please tell me your dream ended well.”

Elias didn’t say anything.

“It...did, didn’t it?”

“Uh...” Elias stammered.

“Oh, god. We’re all going to die, aren’t we?” Kilah sank to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest.

“AHHH!” A scream cut through the conversation. They all whipped around, coming face to face with the other two kids on the plane. Liora looked around with wonder, while Kalmar was terrified.

Kalmar let himself drop to the ground, burying his face in the grass. His voice came out muffled as he said, “Is this heaven?”

“Heaven wouldn’t have a war going on, stupid,” Liora rolled her eyes, jerking her thumb towards the village.

“Hey!” Kalmar lifted his head. “Are you talking to me? Because, as you all know, I’m anything but stupid, thank you very much.

Kilah cleared her throat, “Guys. More important things to talk about. Like, for example, what are we going to do now?”

Nobody had an answer to that.

Eventually, Kilah turned towards Edge. “You’ve been quiet. What do you think about all this?”

Edge studied her, debating whether or not she should actually answer. She looked away, mind reeling at the turn of events. But...a strange calm filled her. It was like she felt almost...at home here.

“You had a dream,” Edge waited for Elias to nod before continuing. “So, we go down.”

“Go down?” Liora protested. “And then what? Wait to get killed?”

“No,” was the reply.

“Who made you the leader, anyway?” Liora countered, crossing her arms.

Kilah tried to interrupt the argument. “Nobody did, but—”

Liora stopped her. “I asked her, not you.”

Shadows fell across Edge’s face, and she narrowed her eyes. Why couldn’t Liora have been more like she was on the plane?

Quiet.

“I’m not the leader,” Edge said. “But I was asked. So, I answered. Take it or leave it. I don’t care.”

Apparently, Liora didn’t have a witty comeback to that, so she snapped her mouth shut. More silence followed.

“I think we should, maybe?” Elias said softly, plucking a blade of grass out of the earth and rolling it between his fingers. “I mean...who knows? Maybe the village could get us out of here.”

“If we all agree,” Kilah shrugged. “Then yeah, why not?”

“I don’t agr—” Liora started.

“Shut up, Liora,” Kilah sighed.

Kalmar stood up, brushing grass off his jeans. He mockingly bowed to Edge, winking at her as he did. “Lead on, O Captain of Leadershipness and Mysteryness”

Edge rolled her eyes, fully open to punching him in his annoying stomach. She restrained herself, however, trying her best not to react. She’d save the violence for the actual enemies.

Kilah opened her mouth to speak, but Liora’s scream cut through the air.

Edge snapped to attention, heart thumping. Her gaze snapped to Liora, then followed everyone else’s towards the end of the clearing.

A figure loomed, dark, tall, and horrible. Its fingers were bony, its head shrouded by a hood. It had no legs as far as she could tell, and its golden cloak swept the ground. Two glowing eyes fixed on the group, cold and calculating. A loud screech cracked through the air. The sound felt like daggers, and everybody doubled over, hands clamped to their ears.

Liora’s words were still heard above the chaos. “It’s him. The Silent Watcher—Semposo!”

The monster drew two swords, blood-red in colour with little jagged marks carved into it. Somehow, its voice filled Edge’s mind, but it stared intently at Liora.

“The one who runs. Who hides. I have found you.”

Liora backed up a step, towards the cliff face. Kalmar pulled Elias away, while Kilah seemed like she was going to stand her ground. As Semposo came closer, however, she shrank back with the others. The only one who stood their ground was Edge, who wasn’t thinking about how big the figure was or how powerful. One word echoed throughout her mind, pumping her blood with adrenaline.

Fight.

“Only one challenges me?” Semposo said, humour lining his voice. “Let her death be an example, then.”

Edge’s vision clouded over with shadows, and they pleaded with her to set them free.

‘We will protect you,” they whispered, “We’re safe, it’s not. These people aren’t. They hurt you. Let us help. Set us FREE!”

Her jaw clenched. She gave in, feeling the surge of power as the shadows peeled away from her skin and spilled into the clearing. They shrieked with joy, twisting and coiling, then snapped into shape.

Her own.

Three, five, seven shadow-Edges circled Semposo, their eyes empty and faces blank.

Semposo’s swords flashed, slicing through one imitation. It melted and reformed behind him, laughter echoing in Edge’s ears. Another darted forward, claws raking his cloak. He swung wildly, red blades carving arcs of light, but every strike only made the shadows multiply, growing larger and more menacing.

“Useless tricks,” Semposo spat, but there was a tremor in his voice now. “If you have any dignity, come at me yourself, Girl Who Commands the Shadows!”

Edge ignored his taunts. She kept her focus peeled on her powers. Semposo’s gold and crimson clock shimmered under the shadow’s grasp as he struggled, barely keeping ahead of their relentless assault.

Edge’s friends stood frozen, caught between awe and terror. The shadows’ laughter grew sharper, more crazed, echoing off the trees. Semposo twisted, managing to break free from their grasp, but just barely. He glared at Edge, fury blazing in his eyes.

“This isn’t over,” he hissed. With a burst of unnatural speed, Semposo tore away from the shadows, his form blurring. In a rush of wind and swirling gold, he vanished into the darkness beyond the clearing.

The shadow-Edges turned, their faces shifting, cold and cruel. One by one, they fixed their blank eyes on the group, hunger and malice radiating from them.

Edge’s breath caught. The real danger had only just begun.

“No!” Edge’s mind screamed, trying to rein back control. They were her creation. They saved her, took her here, kept her safe. But now seemed to be her worst enemies.

They lunged towards her friends, black swords swiping through the air. More screams from her friends followed, and Kilah groped around in her pocket. She eventually pulled out a tiny dagger, but that wouldn’t do much against the incoming storm.

Kilah desperately fended off one of their attacks, but more came at her, inches away from ending it all. More yet came at the others, and all they could do was back up towards the cliff.

“Stop!” Edge screamed, throwing herself between Kilah and the next death blow. The shadows stopped cold, sword basically resting on Edge’s neck. Her breath came in broken gasps, and her strength to even stand was dwindling quickly.

“We kill your enemies?” One of the shadow figures asked.

“No. Not these ones.” Edge breathed. She couldn’t tell if she said the words out loud or just in her head. Maybe both.

“But they hurt you! They will!” The shadow protested. “We protect. Yes?”

“No,” Edge repeated, her whole body trembling as she fought to regain control. “Leave.”

The shadows blinked, all eyes turning to stare her down. But Edge didn’t budge. Eventually, one by one, the shadows disappeared into dust. Their laughter echoed through her mind as they came back to her, resting inside yet again.

Edge collapsed, eyes closing involuntarily. Darkness flooded her mind, and she fought to stay conscious. The world felt cold around her, and it seemed to grow farther away by the second.

“Edge...” A voice broke through the darkness, and gentle hands gripped her arms. It took her a moment to register that it was Kalmar. But this time, he didn’t crack a joke. “Stay awake. Please.”

“She tried to kill us!” Liora argued somewhere above Edge.

“She saved us,” Kilah corrected.

Edge blinked, startled. She expected them to turn on her. To call her a freak and walk away. But...they were defending her? Since when did that happen in her world?

There was a small sound, like someone was opening a bottle. An instant later, icy water was splashed over her face, stinging like acid. Edge jerked upright, the last of the fog clearing from her head. The only thing she thought about now was how soaking wet she was, and which member of the group she was going to murder for it.

“Sorry,” Elias said, grinning sheepishly as he tried to hide the water bottle behind his back. “It did work, to be fair.”

Edge groaned, leaning back onto the grass. Another headache pounded behind her eyes. “Give me a second.”

“We probably shouldn’t stick around too long,” Kilah pointed out.

“Because?” Edge asked.

Kilah nodded toward the village, eyes wide. “I see a bunch of those monsters coming this way. They must be coming to get reinforcements, and if we don’t move soon, we’ll be part of whatever happens next.