“Yes.”
Carl holds up a sign: “CARL SUPPORTS TEAM RESOLVE!”
From the basement, the stone booms encouragement.
“THE STONE BELIEVES IN DIRECTNESS!”
I notice something else. Carl is more solid than yesterday. Not just shadow anymore but something between shadow and substance. And when I look at my hand in the light, is it just me or can I see through it slightly? Just barely, like looking through frosted glass, but...
“Stenrik, look at my hand.”
He takes it, examines it in the light. Turns it over. His expression goes carefully neutral. “You’re translucent.”
“What?” I snatch my hand back, hold it up to the emergency lighting. I can see through my fingers—not completely, but like looking through frosted glass. The bones are visible as darker shadows beneath. “Oh my god. Oh my god, I’m disappearing.”
“You’re not disappearing. You’re adapting. Like Keith. Like Carl.”
“I’m becoming a shadow creature?” My voice goes up an octave.
“The worlds are blending. You’re human in a thinning barrier.”
“So I might turn into a shadow creature before we complete the ceremony?”
“Or you might stabilize once the ceremony is complete. We don’t know.”
“Or I might end up like Keith with quarterly reviews and a LinkedIn profile!”
“Keith’s integration is successful!” Keith calls out.
“Keith, not helping!”
“So if we don’t complete the ceremony by the solstice, by tomorrow I might be fully...” I trail off, staring at my see-through fingers.
“Integrated,” Keith supplies helpfully. “Keith recommends choosing a clear purpose! Very helpful for the transition!”
I look at Carl. “When did you manifest?”
“Wednesday night! When the barrier broke! Carl felt the pull and answered.”
“So you’re on day two too.”
Carl examines his increasingly solid form. “Carl is getting more substantial. Carl likes it! Carl chose friendship over formlessness.”
“And I’m choosing...” I look at Stenrik, at my translucent hand, at the dimmed Chronicle. “What am I choosing?”
“That’s what tonight is about,” he says quietly. “Choosing what you become.”
The Chronicle glows brighter, more text appearing:
Transformation is choice. What you become depends on what you choose to be.
“We’re all changing,” I realize. “The barrier thinning isn’t just letting shadows in. It’s changing everything.”
“Adapting,” Stenrik corrects. “The two worlds are finding equilibrium.”
“Through corporate shadow creatures?”
“Through chosen forms,” Keith corrects. “Keith chose this. Carl is choosing something else.”
