"I'll do whatever I can to win this endless war..." she said, her voice matter-of-fact yet tinged with sadness. Her back was to me as she gazed at the magnificent spectacle of the sun rising on the horizon, the wind gently blowing her long gray hair.
I couldn't see her face because of the sunlight flooding my sight, but when she turned towards me and spoke again, her words carried a quiet intensity: "And for that, I'll need you by my side..."
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I felt a cold floor beneath me as I slowly opened my eyes, and what I saw was pretty unfamiliar to me. I tried to stand up, but my numb legs and arms, as if I hadn't used them for a couple of days, wouldn't let me.
Resigned, I sat on the floor, hoping to get a better look at my surroundings. The space was dim, but I could make out that I was in a vast underground cave. Enormous roots snaked across the ceiling, their gnarled forms glowing faintly with a mysterious red light that filtered in from somewhere above.
As far as I could see, there was nothing in the cave except for me and a yellow scarf on the ground near me.
"Where in the world am I?" I muttered, my voice echoing faintly. A sudden drop of water fell onto my hand, startling me. It took only a moment to realize it wasn't water at all.
"Tears?"
The dream I just had. I couldn't even remember it, yet the feeling it left behind lingered, like an echo I couldn't shake.
Out of nowhere, an image flared in my mind: a blurry figure, a blinding light, and a searing pain in my chest. The vision disappeared before I could make sense of it, leaving behind a deep unease. Instinctively, I touched my torso as if checking for that phantom pain.
"What was that?" My mind flooded with questions, but one stood out among them. It was an obvious question, the kind I would never even mind asking myself in this kind of situation, but still I had no idea what the answer to this question was, and that made me anxious.
"Wh... who the heck am I?"
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I was sitting there, lost in my thoughts, still bewildered by the fact that I had woken up in a strange place with no clue as to where or who I was.
With the flash I just had, and that dream I couldn't even remember, I had the feeling I was forgetting something important, and I didn't like that.
The state of my body did little to ease my worries. I felt heavy, unable to stand. I was even struggling to stay seated, my arm trembling slightly as it held me up.
The coldness of the ground still seeping through my palm crept through my skin, gnawing at my bones. My muscles ached, stiff as though I had been lying there for years. Even the air felt strange—heavy, metallic, with a faint, almost bitter taste.
On top of that, the atmosphere of the cave was oppressive. The faint sound of water droplets echoed in the distance, emphasizing the emptiness around me.
Shadows danced across the walls, flickering in the sinister red glow filtering through the roots above. The silence was so absolute that even the faintest sound felt deafening.
As I stared into the impenetrable darkness, the faint sound of something—perhaps footsteps?—echoed faintly. I almost jumped out of my skin when the red light abruptly flickered for an instant, casting dancing shadows across the cavern.
I couldn't stop images of a beast lurking in the shadows and threatening to attack me from flashing in my mind. What would I do if it were the case? I would probably not be able to do anything.
I barely had enough strength to stay seated, let alone fight a beast. And considering the state of my legs, fleeing wouldn't be an option either. Plus, where would I even flee to? I knew nothing about this place and couldn't even see it properly.
My breath shortened, my heart beating so fast, as if it was going to pop out of my chest. I could feel sweat forming all over my face and my whole body shaking out of horror, gripped by vivid visions of being swept on the ground and torn apart by a fierce demonic beast's razor-sharp fangs...
'Plip'
A louder drop of water hit the floor, snapping me back to reality. The sound grounded me, and I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.
"Now isn't the time to have these kinds of thoughts." I muttered, shaking my head. If there were beasts, my worries would change nothing to my desperate situation, it would be the end. And if I was actually alone, worrying would be nothing but a total waste of time. In any case, worrying was totally useless.
"Maybe someone I knew will come and find me," I said softly, looking up at the glowing roots. "I just hope they would be here to help, not harm." I slowly added, getting once more lost in my mind. Except this time, it wasn't out of fear and worries, it didn't feel like that.
Curiosity? Unbelief? Upset? Doubt? Excitement? It didn't feel like any of those. It was something else, a more... soft feeling? It was something more like... maybe... subjugation?
I hadn't realized until then, since I was too engrossed in my situation, but this red light coming from outside the cave seemed to have something special. Something... familiar?
It was a strange feeling. The crimson light, combined with the atmosphere in the cave, gave a sinister sensation, enough to make even a seasoned adventurer or an experienced warrior fall on their knees out of pure terror.
But still, I was subjugated by its sight.
It was a hypnotic red light I could almost hear calling me. It made me feel a hint of... nostalgia. As if I was used to it... it was comforting me. Comforting me with the thought that all would be alright, that I had no need to be afraid... that I was not far from home.
"Home?" I laughed bitterly. "Do I even have a home?"
My body, though still weak, felt stronger than before. With some effort, I managed to push myself to my feet. My legs wobbled but held, and I reached for the yellow scarf lying nearby, that I rolled around my neck.
Suddenly, a weird noise coming from above took my attention back to the ceiling.
The noise continued but nothing happened. I just stood there, my glare to the top, wondering what this sound could come from.
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Elsewhere
Void's POV
"Haaa, what a magnificent sight! I wish I could go back in the time I could have this kind of moment every single day."
The vast sky stretched above me, a tapestry of shimmering stars that seemed close enough to touch yet impossibly far away.
The sense of the soft breeze caressing my skin and my hair was so comforting I would like I could to stay there forever.
Moments like this were rare—brief respites that allowed me to forget, even only for a moment, the ceaseless clash of thoughts in my mind.
But the serenity was broken as a crimson light erupted behind me, its glow casting long shadows on the cliff where I stood.
The light was accompanied by a low, mechanical hum—one I knew all too well.
All of it, however, disappeared as soon as it came, leaving behind a big change in the near atmosphere, a restrained still suffocating mental pressure.
"I've just finished the job here, Young Master" a voice said behind me.
"Perfect timing, Lysy." I replied in the childish voice I'd grown accustomed to. "But could you stop calling me young Master? What about 'great master void'? Sounds cool right ? Young master is a little... awkward".
She immediatly said, annoyance clear in her voice "you Know what's even more awkward? being called 'Lysy' by someone who look half my age"
"Come on! You liked it, didn't you?"
"Yes I used to like it... when I was height!" She added, even more annoyed. "Anyway, I'll stop calling you 'young master' when you will stop calling me Lysy."
"How rude...". Raising my right hand, I summoned a plain, white mask that hovered just above my palm. As I pressed the mask to my face, I added, breaking the silence that had been set "The 'star' has awakened."
"'The star'?" Lysy asked, confusion clear in her voice.
"Yes," I said, turning to face her. My voice carried a note of anticipation. "And I want to meet him first, at least this time."
After a brief silence, she finally asked, "What the heck do you mean by 'him'?"
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Back in the cave
???? POV
I watched above, unable to say nor do anything as i was seeing the very thing I was afraid of occurring right before my eyes.
A beast... a flying beast entering by the crack of the ceiling. And it wasn't alone.