A burning sensation spread through my body, originating from my chest. It felt as if I was being smothered in lava. Gasping loudly for air, I sat up on the cool forest ground. I glanced down at the pendant around my neck. The inlaid crystal was glowing bright red. As I grabbed it, my palm sizzled. This had never happened before. The pendant was a family heirloom that had been passed down for generations and I had been wearing it for half my life. I traced the smooth crystal with my fingertips, as it slowly became cool to the touch. Legend had it that this pendant was able to store natural energy, greatly intensifying the power of its wearer. This was all a myth of course and I had never given it much thought, until this moment. 

Suddenly, I jumped to my feet. “Wait a minute!” I exclaimed. I remembered the energy orb, Elani’s disappearance, my decision to go after her. That hadn’t just been a dream, right? I spun around hastily observing my surroundings. I was still in the woods. But these trees! These trees were different! I had never seen foliage like this before. “There’s no river here either!”

Where in the world was I?!

The leaves of the nearby bushes rustled, as I heard a pair of weary feet trudging towards me.

Who?

A drop of sweat rolled down my temple, as I attempted to materialize my sword. I kept my eyes on the bushes. 

But the sword refused to appear. 

I cursed softly and prepared myself for the worst as the rustling grew louder. I was unsure of my current location, the past events and I had no intention of taking any chances with unidentified foes.

As the leaves of the bushes parted, my gaze met a pair of fiery, brown eyes and my guard dropped instantly.

“Oh my-! Elani!” I yelled, sprinting towards her and embracing her in a tight hug.

The side of her hand made a firm contact with my head. Whack!

“You absolute idiot!” She scolded me. “This is no time to be all smiles and giggles!”

I suppressed the urge to apologize. Though I understood her fury, this hadn’t been my intention and I had even risked my safety to go after her.

“Well it’s fine now, isn’t it? We’re clearly  both alive and well.”

Elani’s eyes widened to twice their original size. “Fine?!” She yelled, angrily gesturing to our surrounding environment. “Do you have even a clue where we are?”

“No,” I admitted shyly. “But, I mean, we couldn’t have gone that far. Still looks like a forest to me.”

Elani scoffed. She pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyebrows furrowing, as she exhaled deeply.

“Look, I know you aren’t the brightest when it comes to many things,” she said. “But I know for a fact that your ability to sense energy is unparalleled!” She pointed at me. “And tell me, Ria, what do you sense now?”

I shut my eyes and stretched out my imaginary antenna into the surroundings. Huh? I concentrated hard and tried to feel again. Nothing. This couldn’t be right. After a minute of repeating this process ceaselessly, I finally gave up.

My visibly nervous gaze met Elani’s cold one. “And?” she asked.

“Nothing,” I mumbled.

“What?” Elani gestured towards her ear.

“NOTHING!” I exclaimed.

Elani nodded with an accomplished expression on her face.

“You’ve outdone yourself this time, Asteria.” She crossed her arms and widened her stance. “We are no longer in our world.”

I struggled to find the right words, stammering and making hysterical gestures with my hands.

“I don’t even know how to teleport!” I finally burst out. “There’s no way!”

But Elani was no longer in the mood to listen to me.

“You really never know your limits!” she ranted. “Yeah, you’re powerful! That’s excellent! Great!” She eyed me menacingly. “But you never try to understand your powers fully and refuse to understand the dangers that come with them.”

She sighed, letting herself slump against the stem of a nearby tree, her arms still crossed. 

“And now we’re in this mess! Now I’m in this mess!”

“This really wasn’t my intention,” I mumbled, staring at the ground before apologizing profusely. 

“What’s done is done,” Elani finally stopped me. “We need to move forward now.”

Relieved, I immediately suggested the best solution I could think of. Surely, we could just portal back home.

Elani sucked her teeth. “Girl, did you ever pay attention in school?”

“Wow in all my life, I have never…” Her voice trailed off. She then spoke loudly and slowly, carefully enunciating every word. 

“You can’t teleport out of a world that doesn’t have natural energy!” She looked at me. “Or are you a god-like existence that can conjure up the necessary energy all by herself?”

I shook my head disappointedly. I deeply regretted my lack of understanding when it came to theoretical things. I was able to grasp concepts like fighting tactics and energy manipulation with ease but struggled with physics, maths… Heck, even time management and public speaking were a hassle.

“So what now?” I asked.

“I don't know. But we gotta get walking.” Elani gestured towards the bushes she had emerged from. “I found a path. Our best bet is following it and finding someone who can help us.”

She started walking, then stopped. “Also,” she added. “I’d refrain from using any unnecessary energy related skills for the time being.” 

She must have seen my confused stare, because she quickly elaborated. “This world clearly has no natural energy core,” she began. “Which means all your abilities will be drawn directly from your own power.”

I still didn’t understand and smiled at Elani awkwardly, while avoiding her eyes.

She sighed once more. “We’ll age quicker if we have to rely completely on our own power. Our lifespan may even be shortened to a mere 100 years!”

Something in my brain clicked and I let out a shocked gasp.

“You mean we’ll get wrinkles at 40?!”

“Maybe even earlier…”

“God forbid!” I exclaimed.

“God forbid!” Elani agreed, nodding her head.

My pace quickened as I rushed towards the direction of the footpath. Call me superficial but I wanted to get back home as soon as possible.

We followed the path, heading towards the setting sun. Its golden rays illuminated what lay ahead, though I was filled with great uncertainty.

We trudged on in silence for some time. When the sun was beginning to dip behind the distant mountains, we emerged from the woods onto a broader, cobblestone road that led through an avenue. Trees lined the road, their thick branches seemingly struggling to carry the weight of the multitude of vibrant purple and pink blossoms. Petals floated gracefully in the air every time the breeze gently shook the branches. It was a beautiful sight that reminded me somewhat of home. My gaze drifted towards a bench that was slightly hidden behind the tree trunks. 

On the bench sat a girl. The rays of the evening sun bounced off her glasses and painted the surrounding trees in specks of gold. She was humming peacefully, rhythmically tapping her foot to the beat of a song I had never heard before. She adjusted her earphone, selected a new song and continued grooving to the music.

I was so engrossed in observing her, that I jumped slightly when Elani tapped me on my shoulder.

“I’m gonna go talk to her.”