The night began like any other—a quiet evening in the Hyuga household. Jasmine had just finished dinner with Lila and Mei, the three of them sharing laughter and stories, a rare moment of joy in their otherwise tumultuous lives. They had been working hard to rebuild their sense of normalcy, but the shadows of their father still loomed large.
As they cleaned up, Jasmine felt a sense of unease settle in the pit of her stomach. It was a feeling she couldn't shake, as if something terrible was about to happen. She brushed it off, focusing instead on her sisters, who were animatedly discussing their plans for the weekend.
"Let's go to the park tomorrow!" Lila suggested, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "We can have a picnic and just enjoy the day!"
"Sounds perfect," Jasmine replied, forcing a smile despite the nagging feeling in her gut.
Later that evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Jasmine decided to take a walk to clear her head. She slipped on her jacket and stepped outside, the cool night air hitting her face. The streets were quiet, the only sounds being the distant hum of traffic and the rustle of leaves in the wind.
But as she wandered, her thoughts turned dark. She couldn't shake the feeling that their father was slipping further into madness. She had heard him shouting at the walls earlier, his voice filled with a rage that sent shivers down her spine. What if he lost control one day? What if he took it out on them?
Lost in her thoughts, Jasmine barely noticed the car speeding down the street until it was too late. She turned just in time to see the headlights blinding her, and before she could react, the vehicle slammed into her, sending her flying through the air.
The world spun as she hit the ground, pain exploding through her body. Dazed and gasping for breath, she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. The car screeched to a halt, and the driver—a young man with bloodshot eyes—stumbled out, his expression a mix of shock and panic.
"Oh my God! What did I do?" he shouted, his voice trembling. Instead of helping, he turned and ran, leaving Jasmine lying in the street, her vision blurring.
"Help! Someone, please!" she cried, but her voice barely rose above a whisper. Darkness began to creep in at the edges of her vision, and she felt her body growing cold.
As she lay there, her thoughts raced. What about Lila and Mei? They were home alone, unaware of the horror unfolding outside. She needed to get back to them. She couldn't leave them like this.
In the distance, she heard sirens approaching, but they seemed so far away, as if they were coming from another world. Just as her consciousness began to slip away, she felt a surge of determination. No, she wouldn't let this be the end. She would fight.
When the paramedics arrived, they worked quickly, their voices a blur of urgency. "Stay with me, Jasmine," one of them said, applying pressure to her wounds. "We're going to get you to the hospital."
As they loaded her into the ambulance, Jasmine felt a flicker of hope. She could survive this. She had to survive this. But as the lights of the ambulance flashed by, she felt the darkness pulling her under once again.
Jasmine awoke in a hospital bed, the sterile smell of antiseptic filling her nostrils. Panic surged through her as she tried to sit up, but pain shot through her body, forcing her back down. "Lila! Mei!" she called out, her voice hoarse and weak.
A nurse rushed in, her expression a mix of concern and compassion. "You're going to be okay, Jasmine. You were in an accident, but you're safe now."
"Where are my sisters?" Jasmine gasped, fear tightening around her heart.
"They're fine; they're at home," the nurse reassured her, but Jasmine could see the worry in her eyes. "You need to rest now. You've been through a lot."
But Jasmine couldn't rest. The image of the driver's face haunted her, the look of indifference as he fled the scene. Rage bubbled within her. He had taken everything from her, and now he was free to live his life while she lay here fighting for hers.
As days passed, Jasmine's condition improved, but her mind was consumed with thoughts of revenge. She couldn't just let this go. She needed to make him pay for what he had done.
With the help of her sisters, who visited every day, Jasmine began to piece together a plan. She learned everything she could about the driver, a spoiled kid named Tyler who had been drinking and driving. He thought he could get away with it, but Jasmine would make sure he faced the consequences.
One night, after a particularly painful day of physical therapy, Jasmine made her decision. She would confront Tyler. She didn't need a gun; she would use a knife. It would be personal, a way to show him the pain he had caused.
With determination coursing through her veins, she gathered her sisters. "We're going to find him," she said, her voice steady. "I need you both to trust me."
Lila looked concerned, but Mei nodded, her eyes fierce with loyalty. "We're with you, Jasmine. Whatever it takes."
The following night, they set out, Jasmine's heart racing. They tracked Tyler down to a party at a rundown warehouse on the outskirts of town. As they approached, the thumping bass of music vibrated through the air, and Jasmine felt a rush of adrenaline.
Inside, the atmosphere was chaotic, filled with laughter and shouts. Jasmine spotted Tyler across the room, a drink in hand, surrounded by friends. The sight of him ignited a fire within her.
"Stay close," she whispered to her sisters as they moved through the crowd. Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat echoing her resolve.
When they reached him, Jasmine's breath caught in her throat. Tyler turned, surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?" he slurred, a smirk playing on his lips.
"You think you can just walk away?" Jasmine hissed, pulling out the knife she had hidden in her jacket. "You took everything from me!"
Before he could react, she lunged forward, but in that moment, chaos erupted. Someone bumped into her, throwing off her aim. The knife grazed Tyler's arm instead of plunging into his heart.
He howled in pain, stumbling back as the crowd gasped. Jasmine felt a surge of panic as people began to scatter, some screaming, others rushing to help Tyler.
"Jasmine, we have to go!" Lila shouted, grabbing her arm.
But Jasmine couldn't move. She watched as Tyler clutched his bleeding arm, fear replacing the arrogance in his eyes. "You'll pay for this!" he yelled, but Jasmine didn't care. She had made her point.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced her side, and Jasmine looked down to see blood soaking through her shirt. She hadn't realized that in the chaos, she had been injured. The world began to spin as the adrenaline faded, replaced by a wave of exhaustion.
"Jasmine!" Mei screamed, her voice distant as she fell to the ground. The last thing Jasmine saw was the panic in her sisters' eyes before darkness enveloped her.
When Jasmine opened her eyes again, she was back in the hospital, the sterile smell of antiseptic filling her nostrils once more. But this time, something felt different. A heaviness settled in her chest, and as she looked around, she realized she was alone.
"Lila? Mei?" she called weakly, but there was no response. Panic surged through her as she tried to move, but pain shot through her body, and she collapsed back onto the bed.
A doctor entered, his expression grave. "Jasmine, you've been through a traumatic experience. You lost a lot of blood, and your injuries are serious. We're doing everything we can."
"Where are my sisters?" she gasped, fear gripping her heart.
"They unfortunately did not make it," he told her with melancholy. "But you need to focus on your recovery."
Jasmine, shocked by the news and unable to voice any words, felt the darkness creeping in again. She had sought revenge, but it had cost her dearly. As the doctor spoke, her vision blurred, and she felt herself slipping away.
In her final moments, Jasmine thought of her sisters, the love they shared, and the life they had fought so hard to build. She had wanted to protect them, but instead, she had put them in danger.
As the darkness closed in, Jasmine felt a sense of peace wash over her. She had fought for her life and her family, and in that fight, she had found her strength. She hoped that wherever she was going, she would find them again.
And then, silence.
The brightness was overwhelming, as if the sun itself had been captured and condensed into a single, blinding moment. Jasmine felt weightless, suspended in a void where pain no longer existed. The transition was seamless—one moment she was fading in a hospital bed, grief crushing her chest, and the next she was floating through this endless radiance.
Time had no meaning here. It could have been seconds or centuries that she drifted, cocooned in warmth. Gradually, the light began to shift, taking form around her. Jasmine felt her consciousness solidifying, her thoughts becoming clearer, sharper.
Then came sensation—the gentle pressure of being held, cradled against something soft. The brightness dimmed enough for her to perceive shapes, colors bleeding into her vision like watercolors on wet paper. Jasmine blinked, her new eyes struggling to focus.
Above her, a face materialized—a woman with features so perfect they seemed carved from moonlight itself. Her skin glowed with an inner luminescence, framed by flowing hair that shifted between silver and lavender depending on how the light caught it. Her eyes were the most striking—deep pools of violet that seemed to contain galaxies, ancient and knowing.
"Welcome, little one," the woman whispered, her voice like wind chimes in a gentle breeze. "Your journey begins anew."
Jasmine tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn't form words. Instead, a small, unfamiliar sound escaped her lips—the cry of an infant. Panic surged through her as realization dawned. The tiny hands she saw reaching upward were her own. The small body wrapped in silken cloth belonged to her.
She had been reborn.
Memories of her past life flooded her mind—Lila and Mei, their father, the accident, the failed revenge, the hospital. Yet remarkably, these memories didn't bring pain, only a profound understanding that felt beyond her years.
"Yes, you remember," the ethereal woman said, reading her thoughts. "Few souls retain their memories across the veil, but yours is special, Jasmine. Your love for your sisters was so powerful it transcended death itself."
The woman rose, carrying Jasmine to a window that overlooked a landscape unlike anything she had ever seen. Rolling hills of emerald grass stretched toward mountains that gleamed like amethyst in the distance. The sky above was painted in impossible hues of pink and gold, while twin suns—one silver, one gold—hung low on the horizon.
"This is Aethoria," the woman explained, her voice melodic. "A realm between realms. You are the first human soul to be reborn here in a thousand years."
Jasmine's infant eyes widened, trying to absorb the magnificence of this new world. Crystal spires rose from the valley below, a city that seemed built from light itself. Beings with translucent wings flitted between towers, while others walked paths that glimmered like stardust.
"I am Belga, a High Elf skilled in Spirit Magic, which allows me to see your past life. In this new life, I am your mother. You have an older sister, but she is currently with your father."
Your father is Gaelen, a Master of Dimensional Magic. They've been waiting for you."
Jasmine felt a flutter of emotion at the mention of a sister. After losing Lila and Mei, the thought of having family again filled her with both hope and trepidation. But questions swirled in her infant mind: Why was she here? What purpose did this rebirth serve?
As if sensing her thoughts, Belga smiled. "In time, all will be revealed. Your soul was chosen, Jasmine. The trauma you endured, the love you still carry—these make you uniquely suited for what lies ahead."
Days passed in a blur of new sensations. Despite her adult consciousness, Jasmine was trapped in an infant's body, dependent on Belga for everything. It was both frustrating and humbling. Each night, Belga would sing lullabies in a language that seemed to shimmer in the air, words that Jasmine somehow understood despite never having heard them before.
On the seventh day, the door to their chamber opened, and a tall, imposing figure entered. His hair was the color of midnight, adorned with silver threads that resembled stars. His eyes matched Belga's in their otherworldly depth, but where hers were violet, his were a deep blue that reminded Jasmine of Earth's oceans.
"Gaelen," Belga greeted him warmly. "She's awake."
Behind him trailed a small girl, perhaps five years old by human standards, though Jasmine somehow knew that time worked differently here. The child had her mother's silver-lavender hair but her father's oceanic eyes. She approached Jasmine's cradle cautiously.
"This is Lyra," Belga said. "Your sister."
Lyra peered at Jasmine, her expression a mixture of curiosity and uncertainty. "She doesn't look special," the girl said bluntly.
Gaelen chuckled, a sound like distant thunder. "Neither did you when you were her size, little star." He turned his attention to Jasmine, studying her with an intensity that seemed to peer into her very soul. "But she is special. Her aura is unlike anything I've seen—part human, part something else entirely."
"Will she remember her Earth sisters?" Lyra asked, surprising Jasmine. How did this child know about Lila and Mei?
"She already does," Belga answered. "And that memory will be her greatest strength—and perhaps her greatest weakness."
Gaelen nodded solemnly. "The Council will want to see her soon. They've felt her arrival. The prophecy speaks of a soul twice-born who carries the memory of love and loss."
Jasmine felt a chill despite the warmth of her blankets. Prophecy? Council? What had she been reborn into?
"Not yet," Belga said firmly. "She needs time to adjust, to grow. The human souls
that cross the veil rarely retain their memories, and none have ever been born into our kind. She is unique."
"She is dangerous," Gaelen countered, though his voice held no malice. "The Shadowbound will sense her too. If the prophecy is true, she's the key they've been seeking."
Jasmine's infant mind raced with questions. Shadowbound? A key to what? She wanted to cry out in frustration at her inability to speak, to demand answers.
As if sensing her distress, Lyra reached into the cradle and placed a small hand on Jasmine's forehead. The touch was electric, sending warmth cascading through Jasmine's tiny body.
"Don't worry," Lyra whispered, her voice suddenly older, wiser than her appearance suggested. "I'll teach you everything. We're sisters now."
In that moment, something shifted inside Jasmine—a connection forming between her and this strange child that felt oddly familiar. It reminded her of the bond she'd shared with Lila and Mei, yet it was different—deeper, more primal, as if their very souls were intertwining.
Belga gasped softly. "Lyra, what have you done?"
The girl withdrew her hand, looking slightly guilty. "Soul-binding. I just wanted to help her feel less alone."
Gaelen knelt beside his daughter, his expression a mixture of pride and concern. "That magic is beyond your years, little star. Soul-binding is ancient magic, rarely attempted even by the High Council."
"I didn't try," Lyra said simply. "It just happened."
Jasmine felt the connection pulsing between them, a golden thread tying her to this new sister. Through it, she sensed fragments of Lyra's thoughts—her excitement at having a sister, her fear of the "Shadowbound," her determination to protect Jasmine.
"It's done now," Belga sighed, looking between her daughters with newfound worry. "The binding cannot be undone. Your fates are now intertwined."
Gaelen straightened, his tall form casting a long shadow in the ethereal light. "We must accelerate her training then. If they're bound, Lyra's magic will flow to her, and she'll need to learn control quickly." He glanced out the window toward the crystal city. "And we must inform the Council immediately. This changes everything."
"What about her human limitations?" Belga asked, gently stroking Jasmine's cheek.
"We don't know that she has any," Gaelen replied. "No human has ever been reborn as one of us. She may develop abilities beyond our understanding."
As they spoke, Jasmine felt her consciousness expanding, touching the edges of this new reality. The soul-binding with Lyra had awakened something within her—a sense of the magic that permeated this realm. It flowed around her like currents in an invisible