Page 42 of Langiappe & Lost Legends

"The crystal," Maeve said, moving to examine one of the tears with the casual air of someone inspecting an interesting wallpaper pattern, "was never meant to be used like this. They're forcing it to bridge realities and tear open pathways between dimensions. It's rather like using a delicate surgical tool as a sledgehammer."

That comparison made my healer's soul cringe. Through the growing number of rifts, I could see more of what the Lost Legends were doing. The crystal's corruption was spreading like a disease. Its pure energy was being twisted into something dark and hungry. Each pulse sent new cuts ripping through everything and creating alternatives that shouldn’t exist.

"They've started the final ritual," Phi announced. Her detection equipment was actually smoking. My scientifically-minded sister looked more worried than I'd seen her since our mother was fighting breast cancer. "These rifts are preparation for something bigger."

"Much bigger," Maeve agreed, waving her hand in a gesture that left trails across multiple dimensions. Show-off. "They're trying to break down the barriers between their constructs completely. They want to access all possible timelines simultaneously so they can pick and choose which to include in their remaking."

I immediately understood the implications. "The human mind isn't meant to process multiple realities at once," I said, already thinking about the catastrophic effects this would have. "Even supernatural beings aren't built for that kind of exposure."

"Why risk it?" Lia asked as she clenched her sparking fists.

"Power, of course," Maeve replied with another reality-bending gesture. "If you can access every possible reality, you can create the one where you have everything you want. You can rewrite history to your liking. Become gods of your own infinite multiverse."

"That sounds..." Dea started.

"Completely insane?" Lia suggested.

"I was going to say catastrophically dangerous, but that works too." Dea laughed nervously.

Another tear ripped open. This one was larger than the others. Through it, we had a clear view of the Lost Legends in their robes. They were arranged around the crystal in a pattern that made me recoil in horror. What they were doing was like watching someone perform open-heart surgery with a rusty spoon. It was technically possible but guaranteed to end in disaster.

"There might be a way," Maeve said thoughtfully, "to separate the crystal from their influence. To sever their connection before they complete the ritual."

I felt my stomach drop. In my experience, when someone says something like that in that tone of voice, they're about to suggest something that's going to hurt. A lot. "I'm sensing a 'but' coming," I replied as I reached for my magic. Something told me I was going to need to be powered up and ready to go.

"But," Maeve confirmed with a smile that somehow existed in several dimensions at once, "the cost would be significant." She paused, watching another rift form. "Breaking that kind of connection, especially when they're using your own power to strengthen it... Let's just say it would leave marks. That would be painful."

"Define 'marks'," Dani demanded. She was using her 'don't bullshit me' voice. It usually made even the scariest supernatural beings think twice.

Maeve didn't seem impressed. "Think of reality as a tapestry," she explained, gesturing to everything around us. "What they're doing is pulling threads loose and unraveling the pattern. To stop them, you'd need to cut those threads entirely. The tapestry would heal. Eventually. However, the scars would remain as permanent tears in the fabric of space-time."

My instincts were screaming now. Reality wasn't meant to scar. The implications for the natural flow of energy and the balance of power... "And what would that mean for New Orleans? And the rest of the planet?" I asked, already dreading the answer.

"Oh, nothing too dramatic," Maeve said with disturbing cheerfulness. "There would be some permanent dimensional instabilities. Areas where time flows differently. Places where reality might be a bit... flexible."

"Fantastic," I muttered. "Because this city wasn't weird enough already."

My heart skipped a beat when the Lost Legends began the next phase of their ritual. The crystal's corruption was spreading faster now. I could feel reality stretching thin like skin pulled too tight over a wound. Taking the additional power from them doesn’t seem to have impacted them in the least.

"We're running out of time," Phi announced as she checked her readings with hands that barely shook. "These rifts are spreading exponentially. Once they reach critical mass..."

"Reality goes boom?" Lia suggested, her usual snark barely hiding real fear.

"More like reality goes 'oops, I forgot how to exist' and then everything everywhere everywhen happens simultaneously," Maeve corrected with entirely too much enthusiasm. "Which would be fascinating to watch, assuming anyone survived to do the watching."

I took a deep breath and centered myself. "What's the actual cost?" I asked through the chaos. "For separating the crystal from them?"

Maeve's expression turned serious, which was somehow more unsettling than her previous cheer. "It would require a sacrifice. A willing severance of your own connection to the crystal. Not permanently," she added quickly, seeing our expressions, "but long enough to create a, let's call it a power vacuum. Something to disrupt their ritual at its peak."

I immediately understood what she wasn't saying. "The backlash would be catastrophic," I said quietly. "That much corrupted energy flowing back through a severed connection..."

"Most people wouldn't survive it," Maeve confirmed as she cut me off. "Even with your enhanced abilities, it would be unpleasant."

"Unpleasant like that time I tried to heal a possessed alligator? Or unpleasant like that time we thought Lia was going to die from swelling in her brain after being attacked by a Skinwalker?" I asked, trying to gauge just how bad this would be.

"More like having your entire existence temporarily scattered across multiple dimensions," she replied. "With a side of possibly being erased from history. Temporarily. Probably."

I looked at my sisters. I saw the same conflict in their faces that I felt. Resolve and determination quickly followed. We'd come too far to back down now. Even if the cost was higher than we'd expected. Besides, what was a little temporal dissolution between families? That's when it hit me. Our connection. The very thing that had always been our strength.

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