I'm speculating and I have no freinds.

[Fawkes]

The shards are different dimensions, not separated by physical space.

I don't think we know enough about what our multiverse looks like to say that for certain.

[Iscah]

I don't think we know enough about what our multiverse looks like to say that for certain.

We certainly don't know enough to state they aren't parallel dimensions, as YojimboM did.

I don't think I've ever seen any reference in-game to the possibility that they exist in real space. They are "reflections", "parallel worlds", "dimensions", "mirrored planes". And as I said in my last post, there are practical indications that the people who do understand the shards enough to travel between them (ie. the Ascians and G'raha Tia) perceive them as dimensions, not locations separated by physical space.

While it doesn't directly rule out a revelation that contradicts this understanding, there would be very little point to such a revelation - it would change little or nothing in practical terms and make the concept of "dimensional collapse" and Rejoining a lot messier.