Unlike anything he had ever felt, heat surged through Louis's body. It wasn't just warmth—it was something deeper, something alive.
His breath came in short gasps as the sensation spread through his chest, reaching his limbs, fingertips, and very bones. It was as if something vast and immeasurable had been locked away inside him, and now, at the sound of his own prayer, it stirred.
For a moment, he was aware of everything.
The wind brushed against his skin. The faint pulse of life in the trees. The quiet hum of the world around him, as though reality itself had taken a breath.
Then—
A sudden flash.
Louis's mind reeled as he was pulled somewhere else. He wasn't in the clearing anymore. He wasn't kneeling in the grass.
He was standing—but not in the mortal realm.
The world around him was vast and endless, a sky of brilliant gold stretching infinitely above. He stood upon a shimmering surface, like glass, yet it rippled beneath his feet like water.
