74

The beginning of the end.

Matilda walked through the grand, ethereal hallway that stretched endlessly before her. The floor beneath her feet gleamed with an otherworldly light, shimmering with shades of gold and silver, as if the very ground was alive with celestial energy.

The air felt cool, crisp, and unnaturally still, giving the space an eerie serenity. High above her, massive archways soared, their smooth surfaces carved with ancient symbols that glowed faintly, casting soft, flickering shadows along the walls.

Columns of translucent crystal lined both sides of the hallway, each one pulsing softly with an inner glow. Behind them, the space beyond seemed like a hazy dream—fields of starlight and floating orbs of energy that shimmered and danced in slow motion, as if time itself moved differently here.

It was a place where the laws of reality seemed to bend, a space suspended between realms.

As Matilda continued, the vast openness of the hallway began to narrow, leading