Valentine did not fall.
The moment she crossed the threshold, gravity ceased to behave like gravity. There was no drop, no lurch, no sense of motion her body could define. Instead, she felt pressure, not against her skin, but against her existence itself, as if the place she had entered was examining whether she had the right to be there.
Light surrounded her, but it was not brightness. It was awareness.
She inhaled sharply.
The air was thin but breathable, carrying a metallic tang that vibrated against her lungs. Beneath her feet stretched a surface that looked like glass but felt warm, pulsing faintly in response to her presence. Every step sent ripples outward, not across space, but through layers of reality.
“This is the Expanse,” a voice said.
Valentine turned.
The speaker was
