Triple Temptation
Blaze screamed, lunging forward to grab him.
But Ash was already stepping through. The sensation was like walking through a wall of liquid needles. His vision blurred, his hearing died, and for a moment, there was only the absolute, crushing silence of the void. He felt the "heartless" barrier scan his soul, searching for the warmth of a pack, the heat of a title, the pulse of a future. Finding none, it let him pass.
He stumbled out onto the other side, falling to his knees in the deep, violet snow. His lungs burned as they sucked in the thin, frozen air. He expected to see the ice cathedral. He expected to see Rhea, or Silas, or even the Shadow King himself.