Elara stood by the window, her robe loosely draped around her, the weight of her fragmented memories pressing down on her shoulders. The air in the room felt heavy, suffocating, and she craved the release of fresh wind, the sensation of freedom. But the dirty winds of this area made that impossible; to open the window was to invite pollution and chaos into her already fractured world. She remained there, still as a statue, her mind racing with thoughts she wished she could confront and seek the real truth behind them torturing her .
At first, she had felt like an imposter in this body, living a life that wasn't hers. But now, standing there, she realized something far more unsettling: she felt like a stranger to herself—a stranger who had betrayed her own soul time and time again.
Her mind spiraled into decisions she couldn't remember but saw glimpses of in fragmented flashes. Were those choices even hers? And what about her present and future decisions? Could she trust herself to make the right ones now?
The quiet of the room was broken by the faint sound of footsteps, steady and deliberate. She didn't turn immediately, her gaze fixed on the frost-laden window before her. Yet, through the hazy reflection in the glass, she saw him—Darius.
He stood several steps away, his tall frame casting a shadow that reached toward her like an unspoken apology. His expression was soft, but the guilt etched across his features was impossible to ignore.
"I know we've never truly talked about the serious matters we face," he began, his voice low and steady. "But I needed to come forward and apologize, starshine."
Elara froze at the term of endearment, her chest tightening as if the word carried a weight she wasn't ready to bear.
"You mean the world to me," Darius continued. "Still do and forever will. And I'm sorry. Sorry for keeping you in the dark. Sorry for betraying you in the past, though it was never truly my intention, nor was it entirely my doing. Strange things happen in this world, Elara, a world filled with beings who can manipulate reality. Sometimes you find yourself paying for sins you never committed."
He paused, his gaze dropping to the floor for a moment before he lifted his eyes to hers again. "But this isn't about them, or the world. This is about me and you. And there is a me and you. There always has been. There always will be—even if the world crumbles to dust, our names will still soar the skies together."
Elara said nothing, her grip on the robe tightening . The words he spoke stirred something deep inside her, but it wasn't warmth—it was a cold, distant ache.
Darius spoke again , his tone softening. "I'm willing to do anything, starshine . Anything to win you back. I'm tired of pretending like we're strangers."
'But we are ,' she thought to herself bitterly , hurting her own heart ,'We are strangers.' The words sat on her tongue, but she didn't voice them.
She knew that once, in another time, another life, she would have clung to the idea of "me and you." She would have fought for it. But now, standing in the shadows of her fractured memories, she could see the truth. She never really knew him. He had always been a stranger, and perhaps he always would be.
Darius seemed to sense her silence, but he pressed on. "I know telling you about your past, about anything related to you, could interfere with your awakening in the wrong way. But I'm willing to try—if you are. Let's work this out together."
His voice was sincere, filled with hope, but it hung in the air like a fragile thread, waiting for her response. When it never came, he exhaled deeply, his final words barely above a whisper.
"I love you, starshine."
His voice cracked as he said it, the rawness of his emotions cutting through the space between them. He turned to leave, his footsteps heavy with unspoken grief.
But just as he reached the door, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes locking onto someone standing in the doorway—Given.
---
"…And Lord Daniel was approached in return for something he desired," Given said, his voice sharp with urgency. "Freedom from the chains of the Lunareth Kingdom."
The words hung in the air, their weight undeniable. Given's tone was firm, unapologetic, though he realized a beat too late how harsh they sounded. But it didn't matter.
More pressing matters loomed before them, and there was no time to waste.