Beyond Reality : the beginning of the end : Ethan path

Alex never went to the bathroom.

The moment she left Ethan and Lian at the table, she slipped through the side exit of the bar and followed Sarah into the quiet streets of Snow Village. The main road was still lit, but the farther they went from the shops, the fewer lights remained. Soon, only the pale glow of the moon reflected against the snow accompanied their footsteps.

Sarah eventually left the road and headed toward the trees.

Alex followed until the last houses disappeared behind them.

Once they were far enough from the village, the necklace hanging around her neck came into her hand. She held it before Sarah's eyes, allowing its strange influence to take effect. The young woman managed only a few unsteady steps before her body gave in.

Alex caught her before she fell.

After laying her down in the snow, she took the clothes she needed and pulled a single strand of hair from her head.

That was enough.

The strand disappeared between Alex's teeth.

Her body changed almost immediately.

Her features shifted first, followed by her hair and the rest of her appearance. Bone and flesh rearranged themselves beneath the skin until the reflection in the snow-covered ground no longer belonged to Alex.

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It belonged to Sarah.

Without wasting any more time, she returned to the village and went to the dwarf.

***

The next thing Alex remembered was cold.

She opened her eyes to a white landscape stretching beneath a gray sky. Tall trees surrounded the area, their branches carrying heavy layers of snow that occasionally slipped to the ground with a soft rush.

Something felt wrong.

Movement came with difficulty.

Looking down revealed the reason.

Her body was no longer in one piece.

Instead of reacting with panic, Alex began putting herself back together. One part after another returned to its proper place, each movement strangely methodical. Throughout the process, a quiet tune escaped her lips.

There were no words to the melody.

Only a soft hum that continued as the pieces came together.

The behavior would have seemed absurd to anyone watching.

Alex herself did not seem to notice.

Something was missing.

Not from her body.

From her mind.

She could not remember what had happened.

The last thing she could reach was the bar.

After that came nothing.

The humming continued until the final piece returned.

Then the missing memory came back.

The bar.

Sarah.

The necklace.

The dwarf.

The mission.

Ethan.

Lian.

"Right..."

Alex rose from the snow.

A deep rumble rolled through the mountains before another followed it, louder than the first. Snow began breaking loose somewhere above the forest, sending a white mass between the trees.

An avalanche.

Her attention immediately shifted toward the slope below.

A familiar figure was running through the snow.

Ethan.

Lian was over his shoulder, while the avalanche swept down behind them, burying trees and swallowing the path they had taken.

"ETHAN!"

The distance was too great.

No response.

Alex started running.

Snow dragged against her legs with every step, forcing her to put more strength into each stride. The ground beneath her feet shifted as the avalanche tore through the forest, while branches snapped and disappeared beneath the rushing snow.

"ETHAN!"

Still nothing.

Ahead, Ethan continued toward the lower part of the slope, carrying Lian without slowing down.

Alex pushed harder.

"I'M COMING!"

He did not turn around.

There was no time to wonder where the dwarf had gone, how she had ended up separated from them, or what had happened during the missing part of her memory.

The only thing that mattered was the two figures disappearing farther into the white storm.

Alex ran after them.

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