Collide: The Memory of Stars

Axel's POV

The air in the room felt thick, like the very essence of time had been stretched taut, holding everything in suspended animation. Aldric's tale lingered in the space around us, heavy with meaning.

Selene sat close, her presence a steady pulse beside me, but it was his words,Aldric's, that filled the silence between us. And then he spoke of how to restore what had been lost, his voice both ancient and kind, laced with a somber hope that seemed to hang in the air like the last whisper before dawn.

"There is a story," Aldric continued, his gaze softening as he looked down at us both, "that has been passed down through the ages. It is a tale of a god who had lost their light, who had wandered the endless dark, waiting for the moment when their flame would reignite."

I felt Selene's hand move slightly against mine, a subtle shift of comfort.

Aldric's eyes grew distant, as if he were remembering something ancient and beautiful.

"Once, the god's power waned, stolen by forces they could not fight. The darkness swallowed their brilliance, and all that remained was the ember of hope, flickering in the silence. But the god did not despair.

Instead, they sought the heart of the void, a place where nothing could exist—where even the gods feared to tread. And in that very place, they found their power again. Not through force or fury, but through surrender. The god did not wrestle with the void, nor did they seek to regain their light. They simply allowed themselves to be."

He paused, and for a moment, I thought the room had gone even quieter. The weight of those words pressed down on my chest, filling the space between breaths. To be. Not to fight. Not to force. But simply to exist. To trust.

"By allowing the darkness to wash over them, they found the spark that was always within, the power that had never truly left. It was not the struggle, but the surrender to the stillness, to the understanding that what they sought had never been gone." Aldric's voice grew lower now, almost a whisper

"And with that surrender, the power returned in full, greater than ever before."

His words settled over me like a slow-burning ember. If what he said was true, then my power… it was never truly gone. It was only waiting.

I clenched my fists. "You're telling us to wait? To stop fighting? That's all it takes?"

Aldric shook his head, a knowing smile forming.

"Not wait, Axel. Accept. Let go of your resistance. Power does not thrive in struggle. It returns when you are willing to embrace what you are."

I swallowed hard. Could it really be that simple?

Before I could question him further, the world around me seemed to shift.

Everything faded.

The room. The people. The sounds.And I was somewhere else.

The void.

But it was different this time.Where once there was endless darkness, now there was something new—a faint glow, pulsing in the distance like a distant star. I could feel it calling me, its warmth unfamiliar yet eerily comforting.

My feet moved on instinct, though there was no ground beneath me, only the sensation of forward motion, drawn to that light like a force I had always known but never recognized.

A whisper stirred in the silence.

"Axel!"

The voice was light and singsong, almost taunting.

I froze. My heart clenched. That voice—

"You're alive?" I whispered, my throat tight.

The light pulsed.

"Oh, I'm more than alive!" The voice laughed, high and carefree, like a child playing a game.

"I've been watching you struggle. It's been hilarious."

My fingers curled into fists.

"You disappeared. My power disappeared. I lost everything."

The glow flickered, and suddenly, I felt something jab my forehead—light, yet somehow annoyingly firm.

"Dummy," the voice huffed. "You didn't lose anything."

I blinked. "What?"

"You felt like you sacrificed it, yeah?" The light wobbled, almost like it was bouncing in amusement.

"But that was just me! I took it back for a bit. Thought it'd be fun to see what you'd do."

A sharp laugh rang through the void.

"Wait—" My stomach twisted.

"You mean—?"

"You never sacrificed anything," the god said, far too delighted with himself.

"I just let you believe you did. Ohhh, the look on your face!"

The glow pulsed in excitement. "Priceless."

My hands twitched. "You—"

"Listen, listen," the god interrupted, voice almost pleading, but it was clear he was still enjoying himself.

"You were all, 'I must give up my holy power for my beloved Selene!' and, wow, that was dramatic. Very moving. But come on. I lent you that power. You really think I'd just let you throw it away?"

I stared at the glowing form, words caught in my throat.

He giggled. "I took it back. Thought you two needed a little push—y'know, grow closer and all that. And look! It worked!"

"You manipulative brat," I hissed, but the anger melted into exasperation.

"Eh, I prefer 'divine strategist,'" the god said, clearly pleased with himself.

"Anyway, no hard feelings, right? I suppose I could give you a little of it back. Just a bit, though!"

The glow flared, and a familiar warmth flooded through me. Not as overwhelming as before, but it was there—steady, alive.

I exhaled.

I wasn't lost anymore. I never had been.

"…Thanks," I muttered.

The god snickered. "No need to get all sappy now."

And just like that, the light flickered—and was gone.

Third Person POV

Back in the dimly lit room, the silence stretched between them as if the world itself had paused to listen to the weight of Aldric's words.

Selene remained still, feeling the shape of them settle into her chest, but Axel—he had gone rigid beside her, his breath held like he was bracing for something unseen.

Then, his body wavered, his form shifting ever so slightly, as if caught in the grasp of something beyond the room, beyond time itself.

And just like that, Axel exhaled, his hands unclenching at his sides. The tension in his posture melted away, replaced by something different—something unreadable.

Selene turned toward him, concern flickering across her features. "Axel?"

His eyes snapped open, but they were not the same as before. There was something different in them now, something new. A faint, golden shimmer flickered in their depths, like the last traces of a flame rekindled after a while of dormancy.

Aldric grinned, leaning back as if satisfied.

"Ah, there it is. The moment of understanding. Welcome back, Axel."

Axel didn't respond immediately. His hand flexed at his side, fingers twitching as if testing something unseen. He let out a slow breath, then looked toward Aldric, his voice quiet but certain.

"It was never gone."

Aldric simply nodded. "It never is."

The room settled into a heavy silence after Aldric's tale of power and sacrifice. But before it could stretch further, Aldric clapped his hands together, his usual jolly demeanor returning.

"Well then, enough of the doom and gloom," Aldric said, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he clapped his hands together.

"We've got riddles and mysteries to sort out, and if I'm going to be your guide, I can't have you all looking so serious. You'll age me ten years!" His laughter bubbled up, genuine and infectious, causing a small smile to tug at Selene's lips, despite the gravity of the situation.

Aldric then turned to her, his eyes twinkling.

"Now then, my dear. The blind see more than those who claim sight. Are you ready to understand?"

Selene tilted her head slightly, sensing the deeper meaning in his words.

"What do you mean?" Aldric leaned closer, lowering his voice.

"To find what is lost, you must see beyond the eyes. You must listen to the silence, to the whispers between heartbeats. Sight is not merely what is before you—it is also what lingers in the spaces unseen."

Selene sat motionless, absorbing Aldric's words, feeling them settle deep within her like ripples spreading across an unseen ocean.

The blind see more than those who claim sight. It wasn't just a riddle—it was a truth, one that had followed her since she had lost her vision. She had felt it in the quiet, in the moments when the world spoke to her in ways it never had before.

"So, where were we? Ah, yes," Aldric continued, crossing his arms and adopting a mock serious expression that made his eyes gleam with amusement.

"The ancient power of the sea, the currents, the darkness beneath. All that business." He waggled his eyebrows at Selene.

"I suppose I'm expected to explain exactly how you'll get your sight back, hmm?"

Selene nodded, her expression steady, though her curiosity piqued. There was something in Aldric's playful manner that made her feel like he wasn't just talking about sight in the physical sense, but about something deeper. Something she hadn't even begun to comprehend.

"Very well, very well," Aldric sighed dramatically, as though the answer were a long-winded story.

"To find your way, young one, you must look within, and then—" he paused for dramatic effect, his voice turning conspiratorial,

"you must look around you. The answers are always closer than we think, you see. You just have to know where to look." Selene blinked, confused for a moment.

"Look within and around me?"

"Exactly!" Aldric said with a wide grin, as if it were the simplest answer in the world.

"See, the power you seek isn't just in the grand, sweeping ocean of destiny. Oh no, it's in the little ripples. The tiny, almost imperceptible movements. The things you might overlook if you aren't careful." He leaned closer to Selene, his eyes gleaming with an unspoken secret.

"And most importantly, don't forget—there's always a choice."

"A choice?" Selene repeated, her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, let's just say that the ocean, the deep, dark depths you'll be diving into, isn't as kind as it seems at first," Aldric continued, his voice lowering, suddenly serious.

"The deeper you go, the more the shadows will try to pull you under. They will offer you illusions—promises of power, of control. It's not a place you want to get lost in, my dear. That's why you must choose carefully." His tone softened again, his eyes warm and reassuring.

"You've already made the most important choice, though." Selene's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't realized it, but in that moment, it felt as though Aldric was telling her that everything she had already done, all the pain she had endured, was part of a bigger decision. A decision that had been made long before this conversation.

"What's the choice?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper, her mind reeling from the weight of his words.

Aldric smiled brightly again, his usual jolly demeanor returning as if it had never left.

"Ah, my dear, that's the beauty of it! You've already chosen. You've already taken the first step by seeking the truth. You just have to trust yourself and go deeper. The answers will reveal themselves to you—just don't let the shadows fool you into thinking they are the only path."

The room seemed to hum with a strange energy, as though Aldric's words had stirred something ancient and powerful. Selene could feel it, deep in her bones—a stirring of something long dormant. Her heart seemed to recognize the truth in his words long before her mind could fully comprehend it

Aldric chuckled softly.

"You feel it, don't you? The shift? The understanding lurking just at the edges of your mind." Selene hesitated before nodding.

"I don't know how to describe it, but… yes."

"Good," Aldric murmured, leaning back.

"Then you are closer than you think. But you must be careful. Just as sight can deceive, so can the truths that hide in the dark. Tell me, Selene, when you dream—what do you see?"

Her breath caught. Her dreams. They had changed since she lost her sight, turning into something vivid, something that felt more real than dreams had any right to be.

She saw flashes of places she had never been, faces she had never met, yet they felt… familiar. Like echoes of something long forgotten.

"I see places," she admitted slowly.

"Places I don't know, but they feel like I should. And sometimes… I see a woman. A golden-haired woman. She speaks, but I never understand her words." Aldric exhaled, a thoughtful hum escaping his lips.

"Ah, the golden-haired one. She lingers, doesn't she? A presence both distant and near, as if she exists outside of time. You feel drawn to her, don't you?" Selene clenched her hands in her lap.

"Yes. But I don't know why."

"Because she remembers you," Aldric said, his voice lower now, almost reverent.

"And one day, you will remember her." A shiver ran down Selene's spine.

"What does that mean?"

"Ah, but that is not for me to answer." Aldric's tone turned teasing, but there was something deeper beneath it, something unreadable.

"I am merely a guide, not the keeper of fate. However, if you wish to understand, you must listen. Truly listen. The answers are not in the past, nor in the future. They are in the now. In every step you take, in every breath you draw. Do not seek them with desperation. Let them come to you." Selene frowned, frustration flickering in her chest.

"That's easy for you to say. But how can I possibly just… wait for answers?" Aldric chuckled again, the sound warm and knowing.

"Ah, my dear, you misunderstand. It is not waiting. It is welcoming. There is a difference. You do not chase the wind, but if you open your hands, you will feel it move through you. Do you see?" She was silent for a long moment, her mind grasping at his words, rolling them over like smooth stones in her palm. Then, slowly, she exhaled.

"I think… I understand." Aldric smiled, his amusement gentle.

"Good. Then your journey has already begun."

To be continued.