At first, it was referred to as "The Sleeping Beauty Phenomenon," as that was what it had initially looked like to those who awoke unaffected by the Cataclysm.
In the nation of Vindyr, many goods and services became inaccessible due to the people operating them no longer being sentient. Families panicked and struggled to gather any amount of resources they could, as if preparing for an oncoming apocalypse. They would then sit next to their sleeping loved ones, waiting by the hour for when they would wake up.
But that time would never come.
As the people grew restless, so did their outrage towards the government of Vindyr. However, the higher-ups were also in no shape to be looking out for others besides themselves. They were coping the same way the commonfolk were, by tending to their affected loved ones first, and neglecting their responsibilities as government officials. The people would essentially be shouting at a government that had no longer existed and disappeared seemingly overnight.
After that, there was nothing left to do but pray. Pray to the god who was no longer here— Yuria. The people of Vindyr all came to the same conclusion that this disaster must have came about due to the disappearance of Yuria. With no guardian angel to protect the human realm from outside threats, it was only natural that something like this would occur. What lingered in the minds of those still able to think was when their next punishment would come. That's right; this was their punishment for allowing their god to go missing. It was simply divine retribution for the neglect of the sole being who kept their realm stable.
It was ironic, the way people chose to pray now, of all times, when there was no longer anyone or anything to pray to.
In small villages scattered throughout the outskirts of Vindyr, there were bandits and pillagers from outside who would raid these defenseless villages, usually filled with only a small handful of able-bodied people. The houses would be barren, except the occasional sleeping victim of the Cataclysm.
These victims would soon be given the name of "Severed," as if their souls had been disconnected from the world itself.
Vindyr was in a state of total social and economic collapse. There was no one to take control of such an unprecedented situation, and the people were left only to fend for themselves or simply try to take refuge in another nation.
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There were those who would come to wake up from their "frozen" state days later, however, just as Helsyn did. One of these few, special people would be a noble young woman, named Nephelin Enseraph.
Her family held a good amount of power and influence over the politics of Vindyr, and with no other noble family being able to step up, the remnants of the Enseraph family decided to take the opportunity to be leaders for their lost people.
Nephelin would be the next heir of the Enseraph family, but with both of her parents being Severed, she had to take up that mantle as soon as possible.
As news of this spread throughout what was left of Vindyr, the people began to have hope that there was maybe some way to save the place they once called home. Not only that, but the possibility of a Severed awaking from their eternal slumber also spread throughout the nation. Those who would awaken from their Severed state would come to be known as "Lucids," however, Nephelin would be the only known Lucid, and this phenomenon was attributed to her noble blood lineage.
Many people began to hail Nephelin as some sort of savior, akin to a god. They awaited their new "queen" to come and grace them with orders on what to do, but she would not make a public appearance for days to come. Thus, the people of the destroyed nation of Vindyr simply waited, and waited, day after day, for Nephelin to show up before the people and say the words they needed to hear.
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In the meantime, those who lived in small villages struggled the most as there was no means of communication or spreading news fast enough. As far as the villagefolk had known, they were done for, abandoned by anyone who had the power to help them. They were also the easiest targets to plunder for nearby bandits who caught wind of the disaster.
In one of these small villages, there was a little girl who had awoken from her slumber. A Lucid. She would not be aware of what happened to her parents, her fellow villagers, or herself.
The white-haired girl, wearing a sundress, walked upstairs to see her parents, both in a deep sleep. She tried to shake them awake, but to no avail.
In a panic, she went outside to ask for help from any of the other adults around her. But there was no one. Only people who seemed to be stuck in a state of eternal slumber.
Unbeknownst to her, anyone who was unaffected by the Cataclysm had completely abandoned the village, thinking everyone would simply sleep until the end of time. This was not a strange thought, as it was similar to what the villagers in Helsyn's village did. It was only natural to leave the Severed behind, and to try to find a new home.
Nonetheless, here was a little girl, lost and afraid, with no one to help her. Despite checking all the houses through the windows and knocking on their doors, there was absolutely no trace of human sentience anywhere to be found. Depressed, the lone girl stumbled back to her home, and sat in bed as she felt tears coming.
However, there was no time for tears. She heard people talking outside, and peeked out the window to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be bandits in shady get-ups. She had never seen bandits before, but figured they looked suspicious, causing her to hide under her bed.
The little girl could hear the group of people breaking windows and entering homes, looking for anything of value.
"Shit, there really is nothing in these tiny villages," one bandit muttered as he opened and closed multiple drawers.
"Well, it's always worth it to check because some of them might have surprisingly pricey jewelry somewhere," a female voice responded casually.
"Don't forget to check the bodies too," the third ruffian said in a gruff voice.
After a couple minutes passed, the group of pillagers entered the house the little girl was in. As they scrummaged the house, she realized it would only be a matter of time before they would find her. But she could do nothing but simply continue to hold her breath and try to make herself as small as possible under her bed.
She could hear their footsteps causing the wood floor beneath them to creak loudly as they entered the room she was in. They were now only mere steps away from her. She could vaguely see their shoes moving and shuffling around the room.
One of the bandit's, supposedly the female one, grabbed a doll off the girl's bed.
"Huh, I used to have one of these before," she remarked, before accidentally dropping the doll on the ground.
As she bent down to pick it up, she thought she saw something under the bed. Strands of white hair. As she looked deeper, she made eye contact with a little girl with her hand over her mouth, and her eyes widened in horror.
"Hey... there's a girl here."
After a few moments of struggle and yelling, they restrained the girl and had her hands tied up.
"White hair, huh. That'll fetch a hefty price on the slave market," said the one with a menacing voice.
The bruised and battered girl simply resigned in defeat, and looked down at the ground, wondering what was going to happen to her.
"Alright, go ahead and check upsta—"
The man's orders were interrupted by loud footsteps outside. It was impossible to ignore as they weren't any regular footsteps, but especially loud ones that seemed to reverberate against the pavement. It was almost as if the person outside was wearing... high heels?
"Shit. If worst comes to worst, light the whole damn place on fire."
One of the bandit's nodded in response as they all began to pull out knives.
As the footsteps got louder and louder, the door swung open.
The three bandits gawked in awe at the sight they saw. It was a girl wearing the most extravagant outfit they had ever seen.
"B-Boss, we gotta get our hands on that."
"Shhh, shut up, I know."
Helsyn, upon making her "grand" entrance, simply stood in front of the doorway and took a good look at her surroundings. She sighed and thought for a moment about what to say.
"Uhm... it looks like you guys are up to no good, so I'd like you to hand over that girl over there to me and we could move on...?"
The three kidnappers simply looked at each other in silence, their grips on their knives loosening, as they were dumbfounded at not only the girl's appearance, but the way she spoke so nonchalantly.
"Fuck it, light the place on fire."
The female bandit took out a box of matches and lit them on fire before tossing them onto the ground.
It was nothing at first, but the fire would spread quickly in a home made out of solely wood. Helsyn took this as a way of them saying they didn't want to negotiate, so she simply obliged.
She extended her right arm as she slowly walked towards her assailants, a skeleton forming from her shoulder down to her hand. The three figured it was some sort of magic and knew that the woman standing before them was not someone to be underestimated. They each felt shivers go down their spines as a purple aura of pure malice emanated from the woman's arm.
"Close your eyes if you can, little girl."
Helsyn spoke with confidence, but she actually doesn't know how to fight. She had never gotten into an altercation before in her life, but she simply put faith into her newfound abilities to carry her through this predicament.
Helsyn forced the skeleton's fingers to sharpen like she did before, and swiped at who appeared to be their ringleader.
The man swiftly stepped backwards, being grazed only slightly.
But Helsyn didn't have time for games, as the fire around them spread faster and faster. She continued swiping violently at no specific target, but made sure she wouldn't hurt the girl tied up in the corner of the room.
Her reckless strategy of simply attacking repeatedly in front of her seems to have had some merit, as one of the lackeys collapsed, covered in the blood of his own guts.
Before the other bandits could mourn the death of one of their friends, Helsyn grabbed the female bandit with her right arm and tossed her with immense strength through the wall of the house, busting it open completely.
The last remaining enemy lunged forward and attempted to stab Helsyn in a swift flurry.
She used her skeleton arm to block any fatal cuts, but sustained multiple small cuts on her torso and shoulders.
"Goddamnit, my clothes...!
Helsyn grabbed the man by his throat in anger, and easily snapped it, just like she had done before. She tossed the man's body through the same hole she had just created moments earlier, and looked at the horrified girl who had just witnessed a traumatic event before her. She used a sharpened skeleton finger to cut the restraints off of the girl's hands.
Helsyn quickly grabbed the girl with both arms and rushed out of the burning house, with most of it collapsing shortly after.
As Helsyn turned around to look at the carnage, she saw two bodies burning in the rubble. She turned back at the little girl, who stared at the collapsed remains of her home, as tears streamed down her face.
Helsyn connected the pieces together and realized what had just happened to this poor girl. She wasn't good in situations like these, but figured she should provide at least a little bit of comfort.
Helsyn sighed, and wrapped her arms around the white-haired girl in a gentle embrace, whilst patting her head.
"Don't look... It'll be okay. I'll protect you."
The blue-eyed girl burst out in tears and was now full on bawling her eyes out at the loss of both her home and her parents.
Helsyn didn't actually know if she could keep her word about protecting the little girl, as taking care of her was never her intention. But she didn't know what to do with this child, and leaving her to fend for herself would be rather cruel.
"I'll... take you to some place safe, okay?"
Helsyn continued to awkwardly comfort the girl, who had now seemed to look up and down at her curiously.
"What is it?"
The girl stared into Helsyn's red eyes, which made Helsyn feel a bit uncomfortable.
"You're... really pretty, miss."
Helsyn simply scoffed and looked away in embarassment.
"My name's Helsyn. Or Hel for short. ...What about you?"
"Arien."
The little girl seemed to smile gently at her new friend, despite the tragic events of what had just unfolded moments earlier.
Helsyn looked back at the girl's soft smile, and seemed to wonder how she could smile in a situation like this. A strange feeling arose in Helsyn's chest, and she couldn't quite make out what it was. All she knew was that seeing this little girl smile was something special.
"Come on, we can't stay here forever. Let's go."
As the two continued to walk away from the village that had been set ablaze, Helsyn felt a small hand tug against hers. She looked down, confused, but quickly realized what the girl had wanted. Helsyn tightened her hand around the little girl's, and they continued to walk aimlessly across the rural outskirts of Vindyr.