Chapter 151: The leap of Faith

The blinding light slowly receded, leaving a deafening silence in its wake. My eyes blinked against the glare, trying to make sense of the shifting landscape around me.

For a moment, everything felt still—too still, like the eye of a storm where destruction was held at bay by sheer will alone. I braced myself, heart pounding, as the realization set in: I was still here. I hadn't been erased.

But that was only part of it. The artifact had responded to my plea, bending to my will in a way I hadn’t thought possible.

I could feel its power settling inside me, a dormant force waiting to be unleashed again, but this time, it didn’t feel foreign or overwhelming. It felt like an extension of myself, something I could control.

Eli’s voice broke through the silence, filled with cautious hope. “Sera? Are you…?”

“I’m okay,” I replied, my voice surprisingly steady despite the chaos still simmering around us. I turned, meeting his gaze.

His eyes were wide with disbelief, but there was a glimmer