No one pushed him.
No one told him to go first.
Which, somehow—
Made it worse.
Edrin stared at the blank space ahead.
"…I don't even know where I'd step."
Ronan crossed his arms. "Just… forward?"
"That's not helpful!"
Lyra knelt slightly, studying the edge where the world stopped.
"…There's no boundary," she said.
Edrin blinked.
"…What?"
"There's no edge," she repeated. "No transition. It just… isn't."
Edrin frowned.
"…So if I step—"
"You might not exist halfway through," Ronan finished.
"WHY WOULD YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT?!"
Kael stepped closer, stopping just before the nothing.
"…This is not absence."
Edrin looked at him.
"…We already said that."
Kael shook his head slightly.
"…Absence leaves space. This does not."
Silence.
Edrin swallowed.
"…So there's nowhere to be."
"Yes."
"…That's worse."
Lyra stood again.
"…We can't treat it like a place."
Edrin nodded slowly.
"…Okay."
A pause.
"…That doesn't help."
The echoes behind them remained still.
Watching.
But not following.
Edrin glanced back.
"…They're not even trying."
Lyra's voice softened.
"…They can't reach something that isn't there."
Edrin looked forward again.
"…Then why does the path lead here?"
No one answered.
Because that was the real question.
Ronan sighed.
"…Alright. We're stuck."
Edrin shook his head.
"…No."
Ronan raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
Edrin pointed forward.
"…We're being forced to think."
Ronan groaned.
"…I hate that."
"Me too."
Lyra stepped beside Edrin.
"…What are you thinking?"
Edrin hesitated.
Then—
"…What if we're looking at it wrong?"
Kael's gaze shifted slightly.
"…Explain."
Edrin scratched his head.
"…Everything here reacts, right?"
A pause.
"…The sky, the ground, the echoes—everything responds to something."
Lyra nodded slowly.
"…Yes."
Edrin looked at the nothing.
"…But this doesn't respond."
Ronan frowned.
"…So?"
"…So maybe it's not something we interact with."
Silence.
Kael spoke quietly.
"…Then what is it?"
Edrin swallowed.
"…What if it's something that interacts with us?"
A pause.
"…Not by pulling or pushing."
Another breath.
"…By removing."
Lyra's eyes widened slightly.
"…Edrin."
Ronan blinked.
"…That's worse than anything we've fought."
Edrin nodded.
"…Yeah."
He took a small step closer again.
Heart pounding.
"…When I got close…"
A pause.
"…I didn't feel it touching me."
Lyra watched him carefully.
"…What did you feel?"
Edrin hesitated.
Then said it.
"…Like something stopped existing."
Silence.
Kael's voice was low.
"…Not you."
Edrin shook his head.
"…No."
A pause.
"…The connection."
Lyra inhaled sharply.
"…So it didn't affect you directly."
"…It removed what connects you," Kael finished.
Edrin nodded.
"…Yeah."
Ronan frowned.
"…So if you step in…"
Edrin gave a weak smile.
"…I might not have anything left to connect me back."
Silence.
Lyra grabbed his arm tighter.
"…Then don't."
Edrin didn't pull away.
"…We don't have a path around it."
Kael added,
"…And the path does not end here."
Edrin nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…So this is part of it."
Ronan sighed.
"…Then we find a way through without losing everything."
Edrin blinked.
"…That would be ideal."
Lyra thought for a moment.
"…Edrin."
"…Yeah?"
"…When you connected to the echoes…"
A pause.
"…You didn't force it."
Edrin nodded.
"…Yeah."
"…You acknowledged them."
Edrin frowned.
"…What does that have to do with this?"
Lyra looked at the blank space.
"…Maybe this isn't something you step into."
Edrin blinked.
"…Then what?"
Lyra met his eyes.
"…Maybe it's something you refuse to lose."
Silence.
Ronan scratched his head.
"…That sounds… vague."
Edrin thought about it.
Then looked at the nothing again.
"…It removes connections."
A pause.
"…So I need to hold onto one."
Kael nodded.
"…Yes."
Edrin exhaled slowly.
"…Okay."
He looked back at the echoes.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
Then at Lyra.
Then at Ronan.
Then at Kael.
"…I need something real."
Ronan smirked.
"You've got plenty of that."
Edrin shook his head.
"…No."
A pause.
"…Something I won't let go of."
Lyra's expression softened.
"…Edrin…"
He took a breath.
Then—
Stepped forward.
Not into the nothing.
But right up to it.
Hand trembling.
Heart racing.
"…Alright."
A pause.
"…Let's see what happens if I don't disappear."
Ronan tensed.
Lyra didn't let go of his arm.
Kael stood ready.
Edrin closed his eyes for a brief second.
Then opened them.
And took one step forward.
Into—
Nothing.