The night sky was calm, painted in a thousand hues of darkness, yet brimming with unseen, ancient power. In this silent vastness, a single soul drifted. It was neither here nor there, caught in a liminal space, floating in the endless void between worlds.
This soul had a name once. Aric. Just moments ago—though time itself felt fractured—he had been standing at the edge of his life, a life cut short in an instant, with no warning and no mercy. A flash, a gasp, and then… nothing. Now, he found himself in this strange, ethereal expanse, watching as fragments of light drifted past him like delicate shards of glass, glimmering with memories that didn't quite feel like his own.
A voice, deep and ancient, broke the silence. It resonated not with sound, but with meaning, vibrating within his very essence.
"Awaken, Celestial Vanguard."
The words struck Aric, and suddenly, images flooded his mind—scenes of battlefields soaked in blood, towering spires of stone, and a face shrouded in darkness. He saw hands raised to the heavens, conjuring flames that turned armies to ash, and felt the weight of a blade heavy with purpose. His heart quickened, yet his mind wrestled with confusion. Was this his life? It felt like a memory, but from a life far greater, far more powerful than the one he remembered.
The voice spoke again, softer this time, almost a whisper within his soul.
"You have forgotten, but you will remember. This realm awaits you, Celestial Vanguard, as it has before. You are the guardian, the warrior, and the reckoning. Return to us."
Before he could comprehend, the void twisted, drawing him downward as though gravity had just found him. Colors and light swirled around him, building until his senses drowned under their weight. The darkness gave way to something new—a realm where the air hummed with an unfamiliar, untamed energy. Magic. It thrummed around him, sinking into his skin, fusing with his very bones. It felt natural, like something he'd known all his life, and yet foreign, like stepping into the world for the first time.
The weight of his body returned, solid and real. He blinked against the brightness as his senses came alive. The smell of damp earth and wildflowers filled his nose; the distant song of birds echoed around him. Sunlight filtered through the trees, warm against his skin. He was lying on the ground, cradled by the earth itself. And in that moment, he knew—this was a new world, a place bound by magic and mystery.
As he sat up, his heart pounded with a strange sense of familiarity and purpose. Memories were hidden somewhere deep within him, ancient and powerful. He was not merely Aric; he was something far greater, something forged in battle and legend, a name once revered and feared across the ages.
He was the Celestial Vanguard. And in this realm, he would rise once more.