Chapter 18
The Threshold
Standing at the precipice of escape, Jackson faces a final, critical decision. Does he leave Z Land behind, or is there something more he needs to do, or perhaps, something he is meant to be?
The air crackled with an energy I’d never felt before, a humming resonance that vibrated in my bones and whispered secrets against my eardrums. Before me, a shimmering curtain of light pulsed, a gateway that seemed to swallow the very darkness of Z Land. It was the Threshold, the final hurdle Elara had spoken of, the point of no return. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, a frantic rhythm of fear and exhilaration. Behind me lay the twisted trees, the whispering shadows, the creatures that haunted my waking nightmares. Before me… before me lay the unknown, the promise of home, of a life I couldn’t quite recall but desperately yearned for.
Elara’s words echoed in my mind, her voice