Claire was standing in the Nowhere.
The black sand stretched forever. That same eerie, soundless wind dragged over the endless nothingness. And ahead of her, where the sky cracked in non-luminous lines, the young woman from last time was waiting.
Claire began walking towards her. A slow dread coiled in her stomach.
"Well, here we go again," she whispered to herself.
The woman smiled. Soft. Like she had been expecting her.
Claire swallowed. "Alright, what now?"
The woman only watched her.
Claire took a step forward, heart hammering. "I died before. My heart stopped. I felt it. But I didn't come here." Her voice was sharp, but the panic was just slipping through. "I just woke up. So why now?"
The young woman tilted her head. "Because you didn't need to come to the Nowhere."
Silence.
Then—Claire exhaled, sharp. "That's not an answer."
"It is," the woman murmured. "You already knew why you couldn't die. Yet."
Claire's pulse increased.
