On a night without moon.

She grabbed the crystal and held it in the air. Twisting it three times, she pulled it down like a zipper. As the crystal descended, it tore open a cut in the fabric of reality.

A breeze spilled through from the beach on the other side. Her hair lifted with the wind. She stood up from the bed, grabbed a couple of bags filled with more crystals and a few books, and stepped closer.

Carefully, she passed through the cut and felt sand under her feet. She pulled the crystal back up, sealing the portal, then reached into one of the bags and took out another crystal. She kissed it and tossed it a few steps ahead.

When it struck the sand, it exploded into green and blue fire, settling into a steady flame no larger than a campfire.

She began setting everything up.

Above her, the sky shifted through layers of color—yellow to red, blue to purple, then deeper purple into dark blue. The first star was already out. There was no time to waste.

She took out a book and flipped through it until she reached the maps. Holding it up against the night sky, she turned and twisted it until it aligned. She placed the book gently into the sand.

With one hand raised, she took a deep breath. In a single motion, she brought the hand down, index and middle finger extended. Without touching the book, she pressed against it as if an invisible surface resisted her.

A gust of wind burst outward, blowing her hair back. A circle of sand—about two feet wide, almost touching the fire—etched itself into the beach.

She had transferred the map from the book into the sand.

The stars needed to match the dots perfectly, or it wouldn’t work. She looked up. More stars were appearing as the sky darkened.

“There’s still time,” she thought.

She returned the book to the bag and removed another—older, fragile, its pages barely holding together.

“Yep… the words,” she muttered, tracing the lines with her finger. “Repeat them six times.”

She closed the book.

From the bag, she took four crystals and placed them at the four cardinal points around the circle. Standing outside it, facing north, she pressed her hands together in prayer. She whispered three almost inaudible words, then snapped her hands open.

Between them floated a cloud of glowing dust.

She whispered another word and inhaled deeply. The dust streamed into her palms, and the crystals sank into the sand.

She looked up again. Almost time.

She walked to the fire and placed her hand straight into its center. The flames wrapped around her without burning, then vanished as she closed her hand around the crystal hidden within.

She placed the crystal and the old book back into the bag and slung it over her shoulders. She tied her shoes together and looped them around her neck.

Stepping into the circle, she whispered the words from the book. Ancient letters surfaced in the sand, glowing faintly as they formed a ring around her. She reached the center, sat in lotus position, and rested her hands upward on her knees.

She looked to the sky and continued whispering, the words now nearly completing the circle. Her voice slowly rose—from a whisper to a low chant. In response, glowing particles poured from her hands and began orbiting her, their speed matching the pitch of her voice.

The moon was new. Darkness ruled the sky. But the beach glowed in soft blue light.

When she spoke the final words, the stars aligned perfectly. The ancient script completed its circle.

The particles snapped into beams of brilliant white light, each one connecting a star in the sky to a matching point in the sand.

Her eyes burned white. Everything froze.

The circle began to spin, slowly at first, bending the beams with it. Faster. Smaller. The circle collapsed inward until only a single beam remained—aimed directly at her forehead, piercing straight through her.

Light seeped into her veins, setting them aglow.

A minute passed. The stars drifted out of alignment. The beams vanished.

She remained glowing.

She stood and walked toward the water. Each step turned the sand beneath her feet into glass.

The shoelaces around her neck burned away. Her shoes dropped onto the beach.

As she entered the sea, the water boiled where it touched her. Fully submerged, she felt it—the power.

She could raise an island with a finger. Summon a storm with a glance.

The rhythm of her breath became the movement of the sea.