The darkness was endless—not an absence of light, but a devouring presence that swallowed thought, sound, and memory alike. It was thick, almost tangible, pressing against her skin like the breath of something ancient and unspeakably vast. Hira fell into it with no sensation of speed or weight, just a slow unraveling of time itself, as if the moment stretched into eternity and eternity collapsed into a single blink.
She tried to scream, but the sound died in her throat, muffled by the void. Her limbs flailed, but there was no air, no resistance—only a terrible stillness that threatened to erase her.
Then the visions began.
