Reality overload

It’s not letting g me put my picture with the chapter I’m sorry guys idk what’s wrong with it but I’ll post the pictures in the comments 

We reached Hilgard just as the sky darkened into twilight, the torches along the wall flickering their light onto the path outside the gate. The air felt heavier than usual, as if the world itself were holding its breath.

Even the town guards seemed tense, their eyes darting toward the treeline as if expecting something to step out. And in a way they were right, as we walked up to the wooden palisades.

Geld was waiting for us at the town entrance, arms crossed, jaw set. When he saw us, his shoulders loosened a fraction.

“You’re back,” he said, relief softening his voice. “Good. The Elder’s been… uneasy. He said he needs to speak with you.”

His gaze landed on me specifically.

My stomach tightened. “Right. Okay…”

But first, there was something else I had to do.

“Geld, before we head to the Elder, there’s something I need to do… can we make a detour?” I had my mini map open, with a yellow dot pulsing in the direction I needed to go.

“…Of course… as long as it doesn’t take too long. The Elder will be fine for a little bit, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

I nodded my appreciation toward him with a smile. “Thanks, Geld. It won’t be long.”

I started heading to the widow’s house and only took minutes to reach it. The house sat near the well, its lantern glowing softly through the small window as I came up to the front door.

I hesitated, the carved pendant heavy in my hand. Feeling more real now that all of the things were happening around me. It wasn’t as simple as just being a game we played.

Charlie nudged me gently. “You can do it.”

I steeled myself and knocked.

We heard the footsteps and her voice calling out, “ONE MOMENT, I’M COMING.”

The door opened slowly. The widow stood there—tired, hollow‑eyed, her grief clinging to her like a second skin. When she saw the pendant in my hand, her breath hitched.

“…That’s my husband’s.”

“Mm…” I nodded to her.

I swallowed. “We found this in the caves, but nothing else, ma’am. We can only think… that he’s…”

I left the rest unsaid, my face solemn.

Her hands trembled as she reached out and took it. Tears welled instantly, spilling down her cheeks. She pressed the pendant to her forehead, shoulders shaking.

“He always said he’d come home… my Samuel…” she whispered. “Even if it was only a piece of him.”

I didn’t know what to say. My throat felt tight. “I’m sorry.” It was a poor excuse of an apology.

She nodded, clutching the pendant to her chest. “Thank you. For giving me the truth. For letting me grieve properly.”

Her voice cracked on that last word.

Behind her, two small faces peeked around the doorway—a boy no older than eight, and a girl maybe six. They clung to each other, wide‑eyed, staring at me with open curiosity and wonder.

Their gazes flicked from my pointed ears to the faint frost shimmering around my hair, to the soft glow of my skin.

I gave them a smile, their faces growing brighter as I did so.

Then the widow looked at me—really looked—and something in her expression shifted. Her eyes softened, tracing the same things her children were staring at. The ears, the frost, the stiffness of someone trying too hard to be strong.

“Oh… child,” she breathed, her voice trembling. “You look like you’ve been having a rough time.”

I blinked, startled. “I… I suppose so…”

Before I could say anything else, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.

A mother’s hug—full, warm, and protective—the kind that doesn’t ask permission. The kind that simply gathers you in because you look like you need it.

I froze, breath catching. Frost shimmered faintly in the air around us, but she didn’t flinch. She only held me tighter, one hand coming up to cradle the back of my head like I was something fragile.

Behind her, the children watched with even bigger eyes. The little girl was whispering something to her brother, pointing at the frost in the air as if it were the most magical thing she’d ever seen.

“Even elven girls must be careful out there,” the widow whispered into my hair. “No matter how strong they are.”

My chest tightened painfully. No one had ever said something like that to me. Not with that kind of gentle certainty, not with that kind of love. Not since my parents… She did this even though her husband had died, and I’m the one who told her he had died.

“I… I will,” I managed, voice small.

She pulled back just enough to cup my cheek, her thumb brushing away a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen.

“You brought my Samuel home,” she said softly. “You carry more kindness in you than you know. Don’t let this world take that from you, dear.”

My cheeks frosted instantly, a soft white bloom spreading across my skin.

The children gasped quietly, not scared, just amazed.

PING

She pressed it into my hand with trembling fingers.

“He carved this on the road… said it kept him safe.

I think… he’d want you to have it now.”

The charm was light, humble, and deeply personal, the kind of item that feels like a blessing rather than a reward.

The widow smiled… tired, grieving, but warm. “Go on now, little one. I know the Elder will be waiting. And… thank you.”

I nodded, unable to speak, and stepped back into the cool night air, her warmth and the children’s wide‑eyed wonder clinging to me like a memory I didn’t know I needed.

Charlie and Riley were teared up, unable to help it. Nate was bawling like a baby. Lucas was looking at me, but looked away when I turned to look at him…?

When I stepped back outside, the air felt heavier, but in a way that made the world feel real.

Geld led us to the Elder’s house next. The same place we’d eaten earlier, but now it felt different—tense, expectant. The torches inside flickering strangely.

The Elder stood in the center of the room, hands clasped behind his back, staring at the wall.

No… not the wall. A hairline crack in the air itself. Another tear. My breath caught.

The Elder didn’t turn as he spoke. “You feel it, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

The crack pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat. The edges shimmered with a cold light that made my skin prickle.

Riley’s wolf ears flattened. Charlie stepped closer to me. Lucas’s mouth fell open.

Nate whispered, “Nope. Nope. I don’t like that.”

The Elder finally turned, eyes ancient and tired. “The world is fluctuating. There are forces here I cannot comprehend. But I fear a change is coming… and it concerns everyone.”

My chest tightened. “Hestia told me something like that.”

His eyes widened. “Hestia? The goddess of creation? Child… that is beyond anything I expected.”

Before I could answer, the crack widened a fraction. The room dimmed. The torch flames bent toward the seam like they were being pulled in. A low hum vibrated through the floorboards.

Riley whimpered. “Kris… it’s doing the thing again.”

I started to panic when Charlie grabbed my wrist. “Kris, breathe.”

I tried. The cold inside me surged. I didn’t understand it, but it terrified me either way. Frost crept across the floorboards beneath my feet.

The Elder stepped closer, voice trembling. “This is only the beginning. And though you are not its cause… your presence seems to provoke a reaction.”

Lucas’s jaw tightened. “What does that mean for us?”

The Elder didn’t answer. He didn’t even pretend to. Instead, he stepped further from it. Simply because he didn’t know what else to do.

The crack flared open enough for all of us to see through.

And what we saw was… a mall.

Bright lights. Shiny tile floors. People walking with shopping bags. A food court sign glowing overhead. A kid holding a pretzel. A woman scrolling her phone. A couple arguing near a shoe store.

My world.

My throat closed. “That’s…” I stopped before saying too much. I don’t know why, but I felt like Hestia wanted me to hold off on saying anything.

The Elder blinked, confused. “…What? Child, what do you mean?”

I swallowed hard. “I’ve seen this before, but I didn’t know what it was.” I looked at my party, subtly telling them not to say anything. They all gave nods, trusting me.

The Elder stared through the tear, baffled. “It looks like another world… parallel to ours? With so many people? So much light?”

But then the people in the mall began to notice the tear. A woman gasped and pointed. A teenager dropped his drink. A man in a hoodie pulled out his phone and started recording. Someone shouted,

“What the hell is that!”

And then, like someone possessed, the man in the hoodie made a very rash decision. It was impulsive and scared the hell out of me.

He stepped forward.

His foot crossed the threshold.

Then his leg.

Then his torso.

Then his whole body. Like he stepped through a wall of water. Then he stepped free. He was in DOL… Our entire party froze.

Riley’s tail puffed up.

Charlie’s ears shot straight up.

Lucas’s hand clenched.

Nate squeaked like a broken flute.

The Elder stumbled back, horrified. “Child… he crossed… he crossed!!”

The man stared around in awe, but his eyes stopped when they rested on me.

“You’re real,” he breathed. “You’re… this is…”

My stomach dropped. Nope. Absolutely not.

“W… what are you, crazy? You have to go back!!!”

He looked at me, stunned. “Oh… I can understand you… Are you an elf?”

“Please, you have to go back, you can’t stay!!!”

I urged him, panicked. But he wasn’t listening. Like he was mesmerized or something.

“Aaah, screw it!”

I lunged forward and shoved him… hard… both hands spinning him around as I shoved him. Frost burst from my palms on instinct.

He stumbled forward through the tear, arms flailing. “HEY…!”

The tear spasmed violently.

The hum spiked into a shrill vibration.

The Elder shouted, “Child, away from it!”

I tried to jump back just as the tear snapped shut like a steel trap. I was too late. The force of it closing sent me flying into the opposite wall and knocked the wind out of my lungs.

The lanterns flared.

Silence swallowed the room.

Charlie ran and grabbed my shoulders. “Kris! Are you okay!”

I was shaking, frost creeping across my palms. “He… he stepped through. He stepped into our world. I had to push him back.”

The Elder looked pale. “That man stepped into our world… saw ours. Truly saw it. And now…” He left the rest unsaid. Everyone had a look of mortified concern plastered on their faces.

On the mall side?

Chaos.

People screamed. Others backed away. Some ran. But most crowded around the man in the hoodie as he scrambled up, clutching his phone like it was the only thing anchoring him to reality.

“She… she pushed me,” he gasped. “The elf girl. She… she touched me.”

A teenager grabbed his arm. “Dude, I saw her! She was like a fairy!”

The man nodded frantically. “Beautiful. She was… she was beautiful. Like unreal. Like she wasn’t supposed to exist.”

He replayed the footage, and everyone leaned in.

The video captured the elf in perfect clarity. Her eyes glowed with an otherworldly light, bright enough to cut through the dimness of the scene.

Frost clung to the tips of her pointed ears, delicate and crystalline, and every breath she exhaled fogged the air in a soft, shimmering plume. One hand was outstretched, caught mid‑motion as she shoved the man forward with surprising force.

Behind her, the others appeared only in fragments—Charlie’s twitching ears, Riley’s swaying tail, the gleam of Lucas’s armor—but the elf remained the center of the frame. The lens lingered on her, drawn to the cold radiance that seemed to pulse from her skin.

The crowd watching couldn’t look away.

A woman whispered, “She looked… real.”

A man shook his head. “No CGI ever looked like that.”

A teenager muttered, “Bro, this is gonna go viral.”

The man swallowed hard, thumb hovering over the upload button. “People need to see this,” he whispered. “It was another world.”

And then he hit post.

The internet detonated.

Within an hour, the video hit ten thousand views as comments flooded in.

“She’s so pretty.”

“What filter is this?”

“Is that an ELF?”

“Wait—she SHOVED him.”

“Bro, this isn’t CGI.”

Someone slowed the footage down and posted a stitched reaction: “That’s physical contact. That’s not CGI.” That clip alone hit fifty thousand views.

Five hours, one hundred thousand views. Streamers reacted live. “Okay, hold up— that girl? That elf girl? She looks REAL.” Another creator zoomed in on my eyes. “No VFX artist can do this. Look at the frost.”

Ten hours, half a million views. Reddit, Discord, fandoms, conspiracy forums—all of them lit up. People argued, analyzed, enhanced, and theorized. But the most common comment was the same…

“Who is she?”

Fifteen hours, two million views. News bots picked it up. “Elf Girl Trend Takes Over TikTok.” “Experts Say Footage Shows No Signs of Editing.” “Is This First Contact?” Fan art appeared. Edits. Memes. Someone wrote: “When the elf girl from another dimension shoves you but you’re into it.”

The next day, five million views. #1 trending everywhere. People slowed the footage, zoomed in, debated, and obsessed. But the man who posted it? He was on livestream, shaking, overwhelmed, repeating the same thing:

“She was beautiful. She was real. She touched me. It really was another world.”

And the chat was eating it up.

Until an unknown poster shared a video with the same girl fighting a man in black.