Chapter Ten A
ONCE UPON THE PACIFIC L
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CHAPTER TEN A: INTO THE FORGOTTEN TIDES
The first thing he noticed was the silence.
Not just the absence of noise — but the presence of silence. A deep, dense stillness that pressed against his chest like a held breath.
The waves no longer lapped.
The wind no longer whispered.
The ocean had stopped.
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Milo stood at the edge of the boat, looking over the side.
No ripple.
No reflection.
Just a vast, glassy expanse… stretching into nothing.
It was as if he were sailing on a painted sea — a dream stitched into reality.
He checked his compass.
Spinning.
The radio?
Dead. No static. Not even a crackle.
The stars above… wrong.
They were too bright. Too close.
Some he didn't recognize at all — constellations like broken runes, carved by a different sky.
> "Where am I?" he whispered.
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A Change in the Air
He felt it in his bones before he saw it — a thinning of the veil.
The air shimmered like heat waves.
The boat moved without wind.
Ahead, a shape began to form — not land, not sky… something in-between.
It pulsed like a memory, and every heartbeat it gave off sent chills up his spine.
> "You've crossed over," the voice said softly.
It wasn't Eliora.
It wasn't even a voice, really.
It was the ocean itself.
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Stepping Ashore
The boat stopped with a whisper.
Not a jerk, not a crash. Just stillness.
He stepped onto the sand, but it didn't feel like sand.
It felt… like velvet soaked in time.
There were no footprints.
The air was warm — but not alive.
All around him, ruins.
Stone columns twisted like vines. Broken arches. Moss that glowed faintly in twilight.
And in the center — a lantern.
Ancient. Rusted. Still burning with a soft, blue flame.
He approached it.
Carved into the base, in a language both alien and familiar:
> "Only those who've lost everything may see the truth."
He touched it.
And the world rippled.
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Visions of What Was
The island breathed.
Shadows moved — not threatening, but watching.
Images flickered in the mist — a girl dancing with fireflies, a boy sketching on a shore, a kiss beneath a blood moon…
Eliora.
And then… the lantern flickered.
> "You're close now, Milo," her voice said.
"But the tide remembers more than you do…"
He turned.
And saw himself — younger, hopeful, holding Eliora's hand… and walking into the heart of the island.
But he wasn't following them.
He was becoming the memory.
To be continued....
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