Reality overload

The moment we stepped outside the gate, the world erupted, cameras flashing, reporters shouting, government officials trying to look calm while clearly panicking inside.

A man in a suit stepped forward, hands raised in a polite greeting.

”Thank you for coming out. We’d like to begin with—”

He didn’t get to finish.

Because Eldrin moved.

He strode forward like a prophet walking into destiny, staff striking the ground with a sound that cracked through the courtyard like a divine bell.

Every camera swung toward him.

And Eldrin spoke with the full force of a man who had waited his entire life for this moment.

”You stand before Queen Zora,” he thundered, ”born of the sacred flame, daughter of Hestia, Mother of Creation!”

The reporters gasped.

The officials froze.

Charlie muttered, ”Oh boy,” under her breath.

But Eldrin wasn’t done. It was like watching an accident in slow motion, but you couldn’t stop in time.

He lifted his staff high, the metal catching the camera lights like fire.

”By divine blood, she is the rightful Sovereign Queen of the kingdom of Solarae! Chosen protector of our! Heir to the First Flame!”

My heart stopped.

Charlie’s hand brushed mine, grounding me.

Eldrin turned slightly, sweeping his arm toward her.

”And beside her stands Charlie, her sister in blood and spirit, the second daughter of the Goddess, forged by flame and fate!”

Charlie blinked. ”Wait...what...Eldrin...”

But Eldrin was in full ceremonial mode, unstoppable.

”Behold the daughters of the Eternal Flame!” he proclaimed. ”Born of divinity! Marked by destiny! Returned to us in our hour of greatest need!”

The reporters exploded into frantic shouting.

The officials scrambled to regain control.

Cameras flashed like lightning.

And I sat there, spine straight, breath steady, trying not to pass out as the entire world learned I was a divine princess‑queen hybrid with a sister.

Charlie leaned in, whispering, ”Well... that’s one way to break the news.”

I didn’t trust myself to speak yet. I just kept quiet and kept breathing.

Eldrin’s proclamation was still echoing off the courtyard walls when reporters surged forward like a tidal wave.

”Did he say goddess?”

”Are they really divine?”

”Are you claiming lineage from a God?”

”Is this a new religion?”

”Is she the ruler of a foreign nation?”

Microphones thrust toward me like spears.

Cameras flashed so fast the air felt strobing.

Someone shouted, ”Is she immortal?” and another yelled, ”Do you know why people are transforming?”

The government officials panicked.

The man in the suit raised both hands. ”Everyone, please...one at a time...we need order!”

Another official scrambled for a megaphone. ”Step back! Step back! Maintain the perimeter!”

A third was frantically whispering into an earpiece, ”No, he said divine blood. Yes, divine. No, I don’t know what that means...”

Reporters pressed against the police tape like a living wall, microphones jutting out like metal thorns. Their voices collided in the air, overlapping until they weren’t even words anymore, just a rising, frantic roar.

”Is she divine—”

”Are you a goddess—”

”Is Hestia real—”

”Is she dangerous—”

”Can you prove—”

Charlie tried to say something beside me, but her voice was swallowed whole. Lucas shifted, tense. Riley muttered a curse. Reia’s eyes darted, calculating. Nate was dumbfounded, Eldrin and Kathrine stood behind me.

But none of it mattered.

Because I couldn’t hear.

Not them.

Not myself.

Not anything.

Just noise.

I inhaled slowly, the way Kathrine taught me, but the air felt thin. Like it was being stolen by the crowd.

For reasons I still do t understand.

I didn’t panic.

I didn’t freeze.

I didn’t spiral.

I just got... irritated.

I straightened.

My spine aligned like someone had pulled a string through the crown of my head. My shoulders rolled back. My chin lifted. My breath steadied. The world sharpened around me, every detail snapping into focus.

The heat of the lights.

The tremble of the microphones.

The flutter of a reporter’s notepad.

The faint scent of Charlie’s shampoo.

The weight of something growing in my chest.

Power...

The crowd didn’t notice.

They were too loud.

Too frantic.

Too consumed by their own noise.

So I spoke.

Not loudly, or forcefully. Just... decisively.

”BE QUIET.”

My voice cut through the air like a blade of cold winter chill.

The power that rippled out of me wasn’t an attack. It wasn’t loss of control. It was presence. Like Hestia giving me a nod of approval.

A soft, shimmering pulse, like the air itself bowed.

Microphones crackled.

Cameras flickered.

The wind stilled.

And the noise died.

Instantly.

Reporters froze mid‑breath, eyes wide. Officials straightened like soldiers. Even the guards at the gate stopped shifting their weight.

Silence fell so completely it felt like the world could feel my heat racing at this very this moment.

Charlie stared at me, stunned.

Lucas and Nate stiffened.

Riley whispered, ”Holy hell...”

Reia looked like she’d just witnessed a miracle.

And Eldrin... Eldrin bowed his head so deeply his braid brushed the ground.

”The flame commands,” he murmured.

I didn’t tremble.

I didn’t falter.

I simply looked at the crowd. Calm, steady, regal...and said

”Thank you.” 

The silence I’d somehow created pressed over the courtyard like a weighted blanket. It wasn’t peaceful. It wasn’t calming. It was the kind of silence that made your ears ring because everything had stopped too fast.

The reporters didn’t even dare shuffle their feet.

The camera operators held their breath.

Even the wind seemed to hesitate before crossing the space around me.

When I realized what I had just done. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my teeth.

[Okay. Okay.]

Kathrine said shoulders back, chin up, breathe slow.

Just... do that. Do that and maybe you won’t faint in front of the entire country.

I lifted my chin a little.

Straightened my spine.

Tried to breathe without shaking.

Inside, I was a full‑blown alarm siren.

Omgomgomgomg what am I doing—

Apparently I looked like a queen carved from marble to everyone else.

I could feel every eye on me, with a strange, electric awareness. Like they were seeing me for the first time. Like they finally understood something I absolutely did NOT understand.

A man in a dark suit, the one who’d tried to speak earlier stepped forward.

Slowly.

As if approaching a wild animal or a holy relic.

His badge glinted under the lights. His hands were visible, palms open, a gesture of respect. His throat bobbed as he swallowed.

”Your... Your Majesty,” he said, voice trembling at the edges.

The title rolled across the courtyard like a ripple in still water.

Inside my skull...

WHAT DO YOU MEAN MAJESTY I’M JUST TRYING NOT TO SCREAM!!

Charlie’s fingers tightened around mine.

Eldrin smiled...proud, vindicated, reverent.

They all thought I was doing this on purpose.

They all thought this was poise.

They all thought this was power.

I turned and looked at Kathrine who gave me a small thumbs up.

I calmed down inside apparently I was doing good. So be it they want a queen I’ll give them a Queen...

The official continued, choosing each word like it might explode. I looked at him as calmly as I could. It must have worked because the man started stuttering.

”We... ah... we would like to... ah...sit with you. And discuss matters. Calmly. If that is...ah...acceptable.”

He gestured toward the long folding table behind him, the one with the government seal stamped across the front, microphones arranged neatly, chairs waiting like supplicants.

He didn’t step closer.

He didn’t dare.

He waited.

For me.

Wouldn’t it be better if we talked somewhere more privately. I though. Why were the doing all of this out in the open? I looked at the man standing in front of me.

Kathrine’s voice echoed in my head.

Queens don’t rush. Queens don’t scramble. Queens don’t fill silence. They let the world come to them.

So I let the silence stretch.

Mostly because my brain couldn’t think of anything to say.

They all mistook it for regal patience.

I walked forward slowly, and lowered myself into the chair because my knees felt like jelly and I was terrified I’d miss and fall.

(Image isn’t quite accurate it I loved it so much I had to use it it made Kathrine look to young... it tried fixing it but didn’t want to fight with the AI)

But the movement came out smooth.

Graceful somehow.

Charlie squeezed my hand under the table like holy crap you’re killing it.

I Lifted my chin, and tried to look like I wasn’t dying inside.

Umm why weren’t they sitting...should I say something...crap. Aah screw it...be queenly...

”We may sit,” I said.

[THERE THAT SHOULD BE QUEENLY ENOUGH I HOPE...]

The official exhaled like I’d just pardoned him.

”Th—thank you, Your Majesty.”

Behind me, Eldrin bowed his head.

”The flame commands,” he murmured.

And everyone believed it.

Everyone.

Meanwhile I sat there thinking

I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.

Chairs scraped softly as they pulled them out. Jolting me out of my thoughts.

Jackets rustled.

Someone’s pen clicked nervously...once...before the man beside him elbowed him sharply.

They sat.

All of them.

Hands folded.

Spines straight.

Eyes forward.

Like schoolchildren waiting for the teacher to speak. It made me relax just a little.

Even the reporters didn’t dare shift their weight. A camera operator blinked too loudly and immediately looked guilty.

Charlie leaned in, her voice barely a breath.

”You just mom‑voiced an entire press corps.”

I didn’t look at her, but the corner of my mouth twitched upward by a fraction.

Eldrin stood behind me, hands clasped behind his back, radiating smug religious pride.

”The flame commands,” he murmured again, like a mantra.

The lead official cleared his throat, quietly, carefully, and adjusted the microphone in front of him.

”Your Majesty,” he began, voice trembling at the edges, ”thank you for... ah... granting us this audience.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgment.

Trying to remember what Kathrine said.

Shoulders back. Chin up. Breathe slow. Don’t let them see you panic.

Okay.

Okay.

I could do that. I can do this no problem...

The official swallowed.

”We... would like to begin with a simple question.”

He paused.

Gathered courage.

Tried again.

”Where... did you come from?”

Crap...

My brain immediately stopped.

Where we come from.

Right.

Right.

The world.

The name of the world.

What was it called again, I tried recalling the name on the DLO case.

My mind was as blank the white void.

Oh no. Oh no no no—

I kept my face perfectly still, because I had no idea what else to do.

Apparently that looked regal.

The official waited.

The entire courtyard waited.

Even the wind waited.

I had nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

The question hung in the air like a fragile glass ornament.

I lifted one hand, slow, graceful, deliberate.

Crap I hope this worked...

The officials froze.

The reporters froze.

Kathrine, sweet Hestia thank the goddess, stepped forward from behind me, calm and composed, her presence sliding into the silence like she’d been waiting for this exact moment.

She leaned down to whisper in my ear. ”Don’t worry Zora. Would you like me to tell them?”

I nodded and then realized what she had done. 

She made it look like I was conferring, making me nod so that it looked like I had agreed with her counsel.

(This is Kathrine aged like its supposed to be)

Holy Hestia she is smart. She was already a step ahead. She winked at me and straightened 

”Of course your grace...Allow me,” she said smoothly, bowing her head just enough to be respectful without lowering herself.

The official nearly sagged in relief.

I nearly sagged in relief.

Kathrine continued, voice steady, confident, queen‑adjacent in a way I absolutely was not.

”We come from the realm of Elyndor,” she said, Ah! That was it! I thought to myself.

She continued. ”A world bound by ancient magic, and divine lineage.”

The officials nodded like this made perfect sense.

The reporters scribbled frantically.

Eldrin murmured something reverent behind me.

Charlie leaned in, whispering under her breath.

”Thank god she she is a genius, because you looked like you were about to pass out.”

I didn’t move.

Didn’t blink.

I just kept my posture perfect and prayed no one noticed the sheer panic behind my eyes.

Kathrine stepped back behind me, her hand brushing my shoulder, a silent I’ve got you.

The official cleared his throat again, softer this time, like he was afraid the sound alone might offend me.

”Your Majesty... we’ve had... incidents. Other people. Other structures. Appearing out of nowhere.”

He hesitated.

”We need to understand how you came to be here.”

A murmur rippled through the reporters.

Cameras refocused.

Everyone leaned in.

Inside, I wasn’t panicking this time.

No...this question.

This one I knew.

This one I’d been waiting for.

Kathrine’s voice echoed in my head.

If you know the truth, speak it plainly. Queens don’t hide from it.

I lifted my chin, not because I was trying to look regal, but because I felt the heat of anger coil in my chest.

Cross.

This was the perfect moment to expose him. The want this in the open then so be it, I’ll use it to our advantage.

I folded my hands on the table, steady and deliberate. A haze of cold flowing off of me. Everyone’s eyes locked onto me and my leaky magic.

”My mother,” I began, voice calm and even, ”told me why this is happening.”

The courtyard stilled again.

”She told me that a man from this realm. A man you know as Cross of Horizon veil Creator of DLO, tampered with forces beyond his understanding.”

A ripple of recognition moved through the officials.

Someone stiffened.

Someone else whispered to their colleague.

Good.

Let them hear it.

”He reached into the fabric of reality itself,” I continued, ”and tore at it. He broke something fundamental. Something that held our worlds apart.”

I didn’t raise my voice.

I didn’t need to.

Every word landed like a stone dropped into still water.

”He did this knowingly. Recklessly. For power.”my magic flared on the last.

Charlie muttered under her breath, ”Drag him down Zora.”

I kept going.

”And because of his actions, the boundary between our worlds has fractured. What you are seeing, people appearing, structures shifting, magic bleeding through...is the result.”

The official swallowed hard.

”So... what does that mean?”

I met his eyes, steady and unflinching.

”It means your world and mine are becoming one,” I said. ”Not by fate. Not by prophecy. But because of one man who tampered with reality.”

A gasp rippled through the reporters.

I leaned back slightly, a small movement, but it felt like claiming space.

”And now,” I said, ”we must deal with the consequences he unleashed.”

The silence that followed was deafening. The weight of truth settling over them.