Tome’s first instinct hadn’t been to panic when she had taken a sudden plunge head-first into the dark river. The last thing she saw had been Teru’s body glowing like a torch in the dark. When her body was twisting against the current to find which way was up or down she opened her eyes and saw her own hand in front of her.

But how?

She was overcome with a sudden sense of wonder—she was glowing too!

The cold water wasn’t cold. Her mouth hadn’t filled with water despite her gasp. The weight of the dove was still in her arm. It was still warm and soft. It’s coo of awe created shimmering bubbles that floated to the top and Tome knew which way was up. She kicked her legs as hard as she could towards a distant light that she saw scattered through the water above. She gasped and air filled her lungs, giving her the strength she needed to overcome the current. She remembered Teru’s advice—the light from their bodies illuminated the flow of the water around them.

Tome’s feet hit sand and gravity settled back over her body as her head broke through the water. She looked to the dove in her arm and its dark eyes were glimmering with light as it gazed ahead. Tome’s eyes followed it’s.

Before her was a scene of wonder unlike anything she saw.

The land itself flowed up through the air. The streams of water created celestial arms that refracted the light surrounding them. Slick rocks reflected the light like tiny starry pinpricks. At its center was Kageyama, the one everything else was orbiting.

And above him- the brightest object in the sky—

“There it is!” For the first time the dove spread its wings and took flight from Tome’s hands.