It was a simple task, in theory. She only had to open portals non-stop, and hope to whatever higher power there was to hear that she didn’t pass out from exhaustion. Perhaps it was the fact that Jack was a wizened, old wizard by comparison, but he didn’t think it was that hard.

[color=6644ff]”You have the power within you, Annika.”[/color] He held the shadows away from a recess in reality, like drawing open curtains. And he had taught her similar techniques before while leaving enough room for her to discover her own. [color=6644ff]”Think without thinking. Walk without knowing what lurks around the corner. Doing so is critical in this lesson, child. I have set foot in countless universes, and it is a rare grace to know what lies beyond the thresholds.”[/color]

She was only a kid. She [i]had[/i] to learn from his mistakes when Jack was her she, or she’d only repeat them herself. He’d been mortally wounded once, lacking the power to do what he could do now. Never again.

[color=6644ff]”Disregard the strain it puts on you, think only of moving forward. If you stumble, I will be there in your shadow.”[/color]