Chapter 11: Shadows Between Stars

The Void detection class turned out to be more intense than I expected. Professor Roth had converted one of the underground chambers into what she called a "reality threshold testing ground." In normal-person speak, that meant a room where we could safely observe tears in the fabric of space.

"Remember," Professor Roth said, her flame-hair casting dancing shadows on the stone walls, "the Void isn't just emptiness. It's anti-reality. The spaces where existence itself breaks down."

I stood in the center of a complex array of crystals, the Crown pulsing steadily as I reached out with my senses. Through its power, I could feel them—tiny fractures in reality, like hairline cracks in a mirror.

"There," I murmured, pointing to a spot that seemed to swallow light. "It's small, but growing."

Roth nodded approvingly. "Good. Now, try to seal it using the new technique we discussed."

I took a deep breath, gathering starlight into a concentrated beam. The Crown helped shape it, turning raw power into something more refined. I was about to release the energy when—

HELP US

The voice hit me like a physical blow, echoing not in my ears but in my mind. Through the crack in reality, something reached out—not physically, but with a desperate, ancient consciousness.

TRAPPED... SO LONG... HELP US

"Lyra?" Roth's voice seemed distant. "Your eyes are doing that galaxy thing again."

But I couldn't look away from the crack. Because now I could see them—countless lights trapped in the darkness between realities. Not Void creatures, but something else. Something familiar.

"Stars," I whispered. "There are stars trapped in the Void."

The Crown flared with recognition, sharing a memory that wasn't mine: a war, fought eons ago. Stars falling. A barrier raised in desperation, trapping friend and foe alike in the spaces between spaces.

"Oh dear," Professor Roth said, which seemed like an understatement.

I reached for the crack again, this time with understanding rather than fear. The trapped stars reached back, their light dimmed but not extinguished by their long imprisonment.

CROWN-BEARER... AT LAST...

"I'll help you," I promised. "But I need to understand—"

The crack suddenly widened, darkness pouring out like smoke. But with it came starlight—ancient, powerful, and very, very angry.

TOO LONG... TRAPPED TOO LONG...

"Lyra, step back!" Roth threw up a barrier of flame, but the darkness passed through it like it wasn't there.

The Crown blazed, responding to the presence of its ancient kin. Images flooded my mind: the original Star-touched, raising barriers against some terrible threat. The Crown, meant not to imprison but to protect. A choice made in desperation, with consequences that echoed through centuries.

FREE US... OR JOIN US...

The darkness reached for me with tendrils of corrupted starlight. I felt the Crown's power surge, ready to seal the breach—but something stopped me.

These weren't our enemies. They were victims, driven mad by endless imprisonment.

"Lyra!" Roth's voice was urgent now. "The breach is growing!"

Making a split-second decision that I hoped wouldn't end reality as we knew it, I did something completely insane.

I reached into the crack and grabbed the nearest tendril of starlight.

The Crown's power merged with the ancient light, creating a connection that burned through my very being. Through it, I sent not force or dominance, but understanding. Compassion. Truth.

See me, I projected. See what the Crown has become. See what we can build together.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then—

SISTER...

The darkness retreated, drawing back into the crack. But the starlight remained, slowly stabilizing from corrupt purple to pure silver.

SHOW US, the voices whispered. SHOW US THE WAY HOME.

"Professor," I said, my voice shaking slightly, "I think we're going to need a bigger classroom."

Roth stared at the now-stable tear in reality, through which ancient starlight pulsed with renewed hope.

"I'll contact your mother," she said faintly. "And Vale. And possibly everyone else who might have a clue about rehabilitating ancient stellar entities."

I nodded, already reaching for the pendant that connected me to Caspian's communication network. This was definitely a full-team situation.

The Crown hummed with approval, sharing another memory: the original Star-touched, building bridges instead of barriers. Creating connections instead of cages.

It wasn't just about keeping the Void out, I realized. It was about bringing the light back in.

Maya was going to have a field day with this one.

As if on cue, her voice echoed down the stairs: "Has anyone seen my sentient potion? It's developed a taste for quantum physics texts and—oh wow, are those ancient stellar beings? Cool! Think they'd be interested in some experimental stabilizing formulas?"

The trapped stars pulsed with what felt suspiciously like laughter.

Yeah, this was definitely going to complicate my semester.