As daylight serenely yielded to the evening, the sky unfolded its canvas, adorned with a beautiful transition of orange and pink. The sun gently sank beyond the horizon, leaving a lingering warmth that caressed everything below.

Seated across from each other in a cozy corner of a cafe, a young man in glasses regarded the beverage before him with a raise of his eyebrows. "That was quite bland," he observed, looking over. "Is this your usual choice?"

His counterpart was a striking young man, lounged back in his chair, his casual demeanor at odds with the charming ambiance of the cafe. Nonchalantly, he replied, "Well... it's on the cheaper side," with his fingers idly tapping against the surface of the wooden table.

"When'd you become so thrifty..... Anyway, as I was saying, try to add a bit more substance to the initial part of the presentation, and regarding the data," he gulped down the last bit of his drink. "It won't interest anyone in its current form. It feels… dry."

The young man in glasses continued, "When you look—really look— Are you listening, Arden?"

Arden met the other party's gaze.

"Yeah… yes," he replied, a hint of seriousness in his tone.

A thoughtful silence hung in the air, broken by a weary sigh.

"I believe we've covered enough for today. Let's call it a day."

"Yeah, that was productive… and exhausting," Arden replied.

After a moment's hesitation, he rose from his seat and looked towards a waiter.

"It's alright. I'll take care of the bill."

There was a slight pause.

"Thank you, Oren," Arden said with appreciation before making his way towards the door.

Just as he reached the exit, a voice called out, "Oren, is that you?"

As Oren turned around, a subtle cringe was displayed on his features. He was someone who loathed being unprepared, and unfortunately, he found himself in precisely that situation.

'Why'd she come to this part of campus today??'

Observing Oren's discomfort, Arden shifted his gaze toward the source of the voice—a young woman.

She carried herself confidently, her demeanor complementing Oren's reserved nature. Beside her stood a friend, another girl of similar age.

Oren composed himself and tried to take control of the situation. He tried to give a confident laugh, gesturing towards Arden.

"This is great timing… Let me introduce you to someone."

"Ard, this is Aine, my… girlfriend. Aine, meet my cousin, Ard—Arden."

…

'That was close', Arden thought as he walked back to his room.

As he strolled by an arena, the rhythm of casual games and practice harmonized with the soft evening glow.

It was a picturesque scene.

He spotted a couple of familiar faces among the people in the practice sessions, and exchanged light hand waves with them.

A gentle breeze brought him back to his thoughts.

He had nearly found himself entangled with the trio. After the pleasantries, the girl accompanying Aine had approached him, initiating a conversation. 

As all of them were getting ready to take seats, he skillfully crafted an excuse to leave the scene.

Social situations like these proved draining for him.

When one observed Arden - often referred to as Ard – from a distance, they might deem him fortunate in many regards. His striking appearance and tall stature caught eyes wherever he went. It was easy to assume his path through life would be relatively smooth.

Ard was an individual who was initially very vibrant in his academic and social life. 

However, there are very few who can hold onto their blessings. For him, things took a turn when an accident left his face scarred for several months, disrupting the trajectory he once had

He slowly became withdrawn, steering clear of social interactions for an extended period. 

Even after recovering physically and, to an extent, emotionally, he found himself unable to revert to his former self.

Although he maintained friendly interactions with numerous people to uphold a certain social status, he actively tried to minimize such engagements.

Ard suddenly felt a twinge of guilt when he considered Oren covering the expenses for him. Both were college students, and despite Oren being a couple of years older, Ard was aware that the other's financial situation wasn't significantly better than his own, especially considering his new relationship...circumstances

' I'll send it back '

He unlocked his phone and began scrolling through the notifications, but as soon as he noticed several messages from his mother, his already sour mood took a darker turn.

His mother, a woman as strict as she was caring, never held back in forcefully expressing her thoughts from time to time.

The message conveyed a different tone than what he expected, to his pleasant surprise.

She was informing him that both her and his father would be away during the first couple of weeks of his semester break, leaving him alone in the house.

He smiled slightly, feeling his spirits lifting.

However, while typing up a response on his phone, all his thoughts abruptly came to a halt. 

He sighted a blonde-haired young woman in the distance, strolling in his opposite direction alongside a young man. 

'F*ck' 

The next few seconds felt unnaturally long.

A subtle tension seemed to linger in the air.

As they nearly crossed paths, he casually glanced to the side, suddenly meeting the familiar doe like eyes.

Both swiftly looked away, with him shifting his gaze farther to the side, pretending to look at something else, and her fixing her gaze forward. 

Feeling himself grow weary, Ard sighed.

'Maybe I'll just go to bed' 

….

'They seem brighter than usual'

Arden stood on the balcony of his room, taking in the starry sky.

He slowly sipped his drink, reflecting on the day's events.

This had become a routine, one that brought him moments of peace.

Routines like these were rare for him as he was now at a phase in life where the days seemed to pass by in a blur, forming an unpleasant haze. 

"Ard" He heard a call coming from his room "New round" 

It was Trev, one of Ard's roommates and closest friends.

With his vibrant blonde hair, glasses, and reasonably tall stature, Trev was a person who embodied the spirit of a lively young man.

Sharing the room with them was Avien, another of Ard's closest pals. Physically, Avien was similar to Trev but with a slightly chubbier build and had dark hair like that of Arden's.

Gaming consumed a significant portion of their shared time, much like tonight.

"Carry on" Ard replied "I'll be there"

Attempting to regain his tranquility, he shifted his focus back to the sky. 

As he eased back into his meditative state, he discerned an unusual shift—the familiar constellations had vanished, replaced by entirely new star patterns.

The abrupt transition seemed utterly out of place and arbitrary, contributing to the emotional roller coaster Ard had experienced throughout the day.

He continued to gaze as the new pattern of stars started to shift, engaging in a complex dance. A sudden intuition struck him—an instinctive feeling of danger, unlike any he had experienced before.

It was spot on.

The quality of reality seemed to change as something came into view—an eye.

The eye appeared unimaginably distant, yet it enveloped the entire sky.

The world seemed to stop in fright.

Beautiful, vast, majestic—the description of the phenomenon exceeded the scope of such words.

As the eye seemingly continued staring at Ard, the only thing he was able to glean was the vibrant colors within its gaze.

Everything that was happening felt like it was part of a hazy reality... akin to that of a dream.

As he felt its focus shifting away from him, he sensed everything around him disintegrating.

Rather than disintegration, it was almost as if everything was willingly extinguishing itself. 

Just as he was about to be enveloped in the chaos, Arden felt the focus of the eye snap back onto him. His 'instinct' made a comeback as he seemed to make out a myriad of emotions—surprise, confusion, wonder—but one stood out—reverence.

What came next felt like a blur, as the surroundings, the moon, the stars all appeared to put themselves back together.

Ard snapped back to his senses.

The scene around him remained unchanged from a few seconds ago.

It felt as if everything was questioning the audacity of his memory from a few seconds ago.

'What.....'

Thoroughly bewildered, he quickly turned away, making his way back to the room.

Trev briefly glanced at Ard before redirecting his attention to the screen.

"You look pale...What happened" 

Ard didn't reply, staring at Trev as if startled by the question.

There was a moment of silence. Trev turned to look at him again, this time more carefully. He removed his headphones.

"What's wrong, Ard?" He stared for a bit more and started to get up. "Ard... Arden!"

Ard felt a grip on his arms and met Trev's worried eyes.

Trev shook him a bit and, with a momentary hesitation, called out, "Avien!"

He started to slowly move Ard towards a sofa. "Avien you bastard! Hurry up!"

Avien came rushing into the room

"Call the center! The emergency-" Trev was cut off as he felt a grip on his arm.

Arden slowly got up "I'm fine - Don't call anywhere .....I'm fine"

There was a brief silence.

"Ard, you are not-"

"I'm fine.....Just tired.....I thought I saw something out there....Just tired"