The darkness disappeared, and the world beyond her window seemed to pause its breath. Stacey didn't inform her mom and dad. She put three vials of collected song, a handful of storm berries, and the compass, which was now buzzing with urgency, in her bag. She proceeded into the forest that hung between two floating ridges and into the Veil of Stillness, where everyone who entered lost their own identities. But Stacey didn't forget. Her name stuck to her like a light in the dark.

The route beyond the curtain wasn't built with stone; it was made up of floating pieces of lost truths that glowed dimly beneath her feet. She wandered through illusions and memories, past shattered stars and frozen images of people she had never met but somehow knew. It wasn't the distance that mattered on the way to the Lantern; it was the bravery. With each stride, a new truth sprang to life within her. She saw herself in the eyes of flying snakes and old oaks. The fingers of time drew her laughter in golden lines. Eirendale was not her home. She was a piece of the Lantern itself, lost in a clash of will and sadness, like a star that had fallen to earth.

The Lantern floated over a wounded heart surrounded by dwindling light as she got to the edge of the realm, when gravity broke down and stars cried out into the void. It gently turned, making a sound like shattered harmony. Guardians of the Flame, beings made of sunlight and darkness, stood in her way. They didn't talk, but they did judge. With the look of ages, they assessed her soul. She gave them her quiet first, and then the compass. They moved out of the way. The world flickered as she walked inside the Lantern. Inside, she saw a hollow room made of spiraling glass, with each wall showing a different life. Some were familiar to her, while others were strange.