Three months after the truce, Luna discovered the cost of her desperate innovation. She woke one morning to find her connection to Asher felt muted, distant. Not gone, but fundamentally changed.
"Something's wrong with me," she told Elena during an examination. "My emotional connections feel different. Weaker."
"Explain," Elena said, running diagnostic spells.
"It's like there's a barrier between me and everyone else. I can feel pack bonds, but they're filtered through something. I can sense Asher's emotions, but they don't touch me the same way. Everything feels... removed."
Elena's expression grew concerned. "This might be a consequence of what you did to yourself. When you anchor your bridge nature to your own essence instead of the realms, you fundamentally change how you connect t
