Run: 2026-02-19-01KHT0R75X4F9VGHMXVCSK4T6B

Aurora paused at the edge of Richmond Park, the morning fog clinging to her coat like a second skin. Nyx materialised from the shadow of an oak tree, their form coalescing from darkness into a humanoid silhouette. "The boundary stones are just ahead," Nyx whispered, their voice like rustling leaves. "Are you certain about this, Rory?" Aurora touched the small crescent-shaped scar on her left wrist, a habit she'd developed whenever facing uncertainty. "Eva insisted Isolde could help us understand this." She held up the Heartstone Pendant, watching as the deep crimson gemstone pulsed faintly in the misty light. Nyx gestured toward a cluster of ancient oaks. "The grove doesn't like to be found by those who don't belong. But you carry a piece of Hel with you." Their violet eyes glowed brighter as they studied the pendant. "Interesting." They moved deeper into the park, the city sounds fading behind them. When Aurora stepped between two massive standing stones, a shiver ran through her body. The air changed—crisper, charged with something ancient and wild. "We're through," Nyx confirmed, their form becoming more defined in the strange amber light filtering through the canopy above. Aurora gasped. Before them stretched a clearing that couldn't possibly exist in the middle of London. Wildflowers bloomed in impossible colours—blues so deep they seemed almost black, reds that shimmered like fire, whites that glowed with inner light. Trees twisted into shapes that defied natural growth patterns, their silver bark reflecting light despite the lack of direct sun. "Time moves differently here," Nyx warned. "An hour could pass outside while we experience only minutes, or days." Aurora knelt, reaching out to touch a flower with petals like stained glass. The moment her skin made contact, the bloom released a scent unlike anything she'd experienced—honey and thunder and something else she couldn't name. "The Veil is thinner here," a voice spoke from behind them. Aurora spun around to find a woman standing where no one had been moments before. Silver hair cascaded down her back, and her pale lavender eyes held wisdom that spanned centuries. Isolde Varga left no footprints in the soft moss as she approached. "I've been expecting you, Aurora Carter." Isolde's voice carried the musicality of a babbling brook. "The pendant brought you to me." "The Heartstone?" Aurora asked, her hand instinctively closing around the gem. "I don't understand how it works." Isolde smiled faintly. "It resonates with places where the boundaries between realms are weak. A compass for those who walk between worlds." Nyx stepped forward, their shadowy form seeming less substantial in the grove. "The Veil is failing. That's why we've come." Isolde gestured for them to follow her deeper into the clearing. As they walked, Aurora noticed how the air seemed to vibrate with contained energy. Small lights, like fireflies but glowing in every colour imaginable, danced between the leaves of the impossible trees. "The Fae Courts have noticed the growing instability," Isolde explained, pausing to touch a tree whose bark shimmered like mother-of-pearl at her contact. "What happens in one realm affects all others." Aurora watched as a bird with feathers like stained glass landed on a branch nearby. It cocked its head, studying her with eyes that seemed to hold galaxies. When it took flight again, it left trails of light in the air that slowly faded. "This place..." Aurora breathed, "it's beautiful but unsettling. Like it shouldn't exist, but it's more real than anything I've ever experienced." "That's the Fae realm touching Earth," Nyx explained, their voice a mere whisper. "Beauty and danger intertwined." Isolde stopped before a small pool of water that reflected not the sky above but stars and galaxies. "The reason I asked you to come is twofold." She reached into the air, her hand disappearing into nothingness before withdrawing a slender, leaf-shaped dagger that glowed with faint luminescence. "This was meant for you." Aurora took the Fae-Forged Blade, gasping at its cold temperature despite the warmth of the grove. "What is it?" "A weapon of the Fae Courts, given to those who walk between realms. It can cut through magical wards and is particularly effective against demons." Isolde's pale lavender eyes seemed to pierce through Aurora. "You will need it soon." The pendant at Aurora's throat grew warmer, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat. She looked from the blade to Isolde, then to Nyx, whose form flickered like a candle flame in a breeze. "What's the second reason?" Aurora asked, tightening her grip on the blade. Isolde knelt by the pool, her silver hair cascading over her shoulder like liquid moonlight. "The Veil is thinning not just between Earth and Hel, but between all realms." She touched the water's surface, and ripples spread outward, revealing images—creatures of shadow and flame, cities of impossible architecture, a figure with horns cloaked in darkness. "Prince Belphegor of Dymas grows bold. He seeks to expand his domain beyond Hel." Nyx drifted closer to the pool, their form becoming more distinct as they studied the visions. "The realms weren't meant to intersect like this. The consequences could be catastrophic." Aurora knelt beside Isolde, the Fae blade humming in her hand. "What can I do? I'm just a delivery person from Cardiff who got caught up in something bigger than herself." Isolde turned to face her, ageless eyes filled with something like pity. "You carry the Heartstone, child of two worlds. The pendant chose you for a reason." She pointed to a vision forming in the pool—a gateway pulsing with crimson energy, creatures gathering at its edges. "When the winter solstice comes, the Veil will be at its weakest. Prince Belphegor plans to breach it then." Aurora watched as the vision in the pool shifted, showing London streets filled with shadowy figures, the sky the colour of blood. "We have to stop him." Nyx's voice grew stronger, more defined. "The Wardens monitor such rifts, but they're overwhelmed. They need help." Isolde stood, her silver hair catching the impossible light of the grove. "That's where you come in, Aurora Carter. You can walk between realms without being torn apart. You can see what others cannot." She gestured around them. "This grove exists in the space between worlds, just as Nyx does. And now, so do you." Aurora rose to her feet, the weight of the Fae blade heavy in her hand, the Heartstone warm against her skin. Looking around the grove, she saw it with new eyes—not just as a beautiful, impossible place, but as a glimpse of what could happen if the boundaries between realms collapsed completely. "What do I need to do?" she asked, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands.