The second volume in this saga takes a bit of a different path than the first. In the first volume, I compiled stories my mother shared with me, along with passages from my parents’ journals and, occasionally, archived news articles. For this and the following portions of the saga, I conducted in-depth interviews with several people who had returned from what we now call the _Ether Realm_ — a liminal place where many beings remain, waiting for a balancing to take place. As you will discover, their stories are closely entwined with my parents’, and by extension, my own. To maintain the literary style of the first book, I have taken the liberty — a privilege I have not treated lightly — of presenting these interviews in the third person. My greatest concern was to honor the original storytellers, preserving their voices while weaving their accounts into the overarching perspective of the saga. Many of those I interviewed had only recently begun to recall their time on Earth and how it shaped their journey into and throughout the _Ether Realm_. For many, revisiting these memories was painful, as they grappled with failings rooted in tribalism, fear, greed, and hate — forces that once held great sway over our world. Yet telling their stories proved healing, and many expressed a desire to aid those trapped in discordance in the _Ether Realm_. The telling of my parents' story became a catalyst for the emergence of many "modern-day Bodhisattvas" — individuals committed to guiding others toward awakening. It is uplifting to realize that which was once dismissed as myth were truths hidden in plain sight. Humanity could have side stepped so much pain and suffering. Instead they often chose other paths. As a result, countless souls are waiting still in the _Ether Realm_ for their paths of truth to lead them into liberation. Through this saga — and the countless others like it — those who can cross the boundary between realms have helped shift hearts away from the roots of suffering, both there and here. I have written this saga to highlight this redemption, to showcase love, and to catalyze hope. I pray these paths of light become apparent to you as you make your way through the ensuing volumes of this saga. -- Aurora A. Kellogg