Much to her surprise, Cora hadn't stepped into her aunts' broom closet at all.

She whimpered as she took in her bizarre new surroundings. Luna and Noctis were nowhere in sight. A long, distorted corridor stretched before her eyes. Hundreds upon hundreds of doors in various shapes and sizes and colors lined the walls. Everything seemed to shimmer like a mirage as ethereal lights flickered on and off through the shadows.

Cora immediately tried to turn back, reaching for the doorknob on the red door behind her, but the icy hand tightened its hold on her—as though it had read her mind. She glanced down at the translucent blue fingers. They were wrapped around her flesh, locking her in place. Her head grew faint. The hand wasn't attached to a body. It was floating in the air.

"What is going on? Where am I?" Cora babbled in a high-pitched voice. "And where, in heaven's name, is the rest of your body?"

The hand pulled her away from the red door and further into the hallway. She stumbled.

A sing-songy voice emerged from the darkness, "Vos huc pertinent, non sunt..."

"I belong here? Not there?" Cora translated under her breath. She felt utterly lost and confused. "Who are you? And why are you speaking to me in Latin? Show yourself!"

The hand nudged her towards one of the doors. "Eligere ianuam..."

Cora shook her head violently. "No, I do not wish to open any of these strange doors! I need to find my aunts' cats. Then, we're going home!"

She heard a soft giggling sound. A woman's laugh. Then, the hand faded away. The voice grew silent. Cora was left alone once more in the eerie, ever shifting hall of doors. She backtracked and tried again to open the red door behind her. It wouldn't budge.

She set out to find an exit, calling out for Luna and Noctis as she ventured further and further down the hallway. After wandering around for what felt like hours, Cora eventually broke down in tears. Her legs were sore, and her stomach kept twisting and turning in distress. She kept pinching herself. Oh, how she wished this was a bad dream! She thought of the severed hand. She thought of the phantom voice. They seemed to understand the rules of this very peculiar place. Perhaps there was a way out hidden behind one of the blasted doors.

Sniffling and hiccuping, Cora finally decided to give in. She looked at the first door to her right. It was painted a bright emerald green with intricate carvings all over. She opened it. Inside, a massive human-sized chess board spilled across the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Defying the laws of gravity, a white queen and a black queen faced off on the ceiling while their kings protruded at horizontal angles from black and white squares along the walls. The rest of the chess pieces, however, were missing. When Cora found no other openings or doors inside, she sighed in disappointment.

She closed the door and tried for another. The second door she chose stood waist-high—as though designed for a toddler half her size—and it opened into a velvety night sky. Cora glanced all around, nearly falling into the indigo-blue void in her stupor, but thankfully she caught herself in time. Land didn't seem to exist in this realm. Just space and stars and sky. Millions of stars gleamed back at her. This must be what infinity looked like. Her mouth hung open in awe.

She closed the door and released a shaky breath. Was she even in Crestbridge still? Had she died and gone somewhere else? Heaven? Or hell? Cora's mind raced back to all the mind-numbing lessons about space and time and universes and multiverses with her crazy aunts. Had she stepped into some sort of altered dimension? Another reality?

A familiar voice interrupted her frenzied thoughts, "Hello, Cora. We're so happy you finally found us."

"My dear girl, we knew you had it in you!" a second voice exclaimed happily.

Cora glanced up and nearly fainted. It was Aunt Mathilde and Aunt Amelia in the flesh—except, now, they appeared much younger and healthier than ever before. Aunt Mathilde had a head full of snowy-white hair, and Aunt Amelia's cheeks glowed rosy and pink.

"Aunt Mathilde! Aunt Amelia!" Cora gasped in relief. "I've been worried sick. What ever happened to you two?"

"Come, child." Aunt Mathilde beckoned. "We have much to tell you..."