Collide: The Memory of Stars

Third Person's POV

The air around the training ground had become heavy, thick with an unseen weight that pressed against the skin.

Selene's grip tightened around the long, thin sword in her hand, its dark surface shimmering faintly as it pulsed with her energy.

The blade had taken its final shape—sleek, deadly, an extension of herself. But it was unstable. The more she willed it into existence, the more it sapped her strength.

Aldric watched her with a critical gaze, arms crossed as he analyzed her form.

"You're forcing it too much," he said, stepping forward.

"You're not just wielding a sword. You're shaping a part of yourself. That kind of connection can't be forced. It has to flow."

Selene exhaled slowly, trying to release the tension in her body. The sword flickered, the edges blurring for a brief moment before solidifying again.

Axel, standing a short distance away, remained silent, observing with an unreadable expression.

Khael, however, was restless. His training had been put on hold as something inside him stirred—fragments of memory slipping through his mind like sand through his fingers.

"I remember something," Khael muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else.

Selene lowered her blade slightly, turning toward him.

"What did you say?"

Khael clenched his fists, his small frame trembling slightly.

"It's not clear. Just flashes, like… like I was supposed to tell you something before. But it's slipping away. Every time I try to reach for it, it disappears."

Aldric's brow furrowed.

"That's how lost memories work. They come back in pieces. Forcing them won't help."

Khael shook his head.

"No. This isn't just a memory. It's a warning. I know it is. And it has to do with... her. The cursed one."

Selene's stomach tightened. The words sent a chill through her, as if an unseen force had whispered them directly into her ear. She exchanged a glance with Axel, who had gone rigid at Khael's words.

"You're certain?" Axel finally asked, his voice low.

Khael nodded. "I don't know how, but I can feel it. I was supposed to warn Selene about her."

A heavy silence settled over them, thick with an unspoken fear.

----

Far from where they stood, deep beneath the ruined core of Eldoria, a presence stirred.

The world above had long since forgotten this place—a once-majestic kingdom, now swallowed whole by the creeping tendrils of dark matter.

What had once been towering spires were now twisted ruins, their surfaces pulsing with an eerie, inky substance. The ground itself seemed to breathe, shifting and writhing like a living thing. Eldoria had become the home of the forsaken—the land of dark matter, where the sky had been replaced by a swirling abyss of black and violet mist.

And at the heart of it all, encased in a cocoon of shadow, lay Vherezoth.

Her form was half-submerged in the void-like mass, her presence both terrifying and mesmerizing. Even in slumber, she radiated an unnatural beauty—long, silken hair as dark as the abyss, cascading down her form like liquid night.

Her skin was flawless, pale with an otherworldly glow, contrasting sharply against the darkness that surrounded her. Her lips, slightly parted, carried a ghost of a smile, as if she dreamt of something beyond human understanding.

The dark matter that encased her pulsed in time with a heartbeat—not her own, but the rhythm of the void itself. It whispered to her, urging her to wake, to rise, to reclaim what had been taken. The presence of power had stirred her—the faint tremors of an energy that had once sealed her away.

A single breath escaped her lips, so faint it could have been imagined.

Then, in a voice barely more than a whisper, the name of destruction was spoken.

"Vherezoth..."

The dark matter trembled violently at the sound, surging outward like ripples on a still lake. A call had been made. And soon, there would be an answer.

----

Back at the training ground, Selene awoke with a start.

The air in her tent was stifling, thick with something unseen. She sat up, pressing a hand to her chest as her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

The whisper still echoed in her mind, the name repeating over and over, like a chant from a forgotten time.

Vherezoth.

She barely had time to steady herself before she noticed it—the shadows in the corner of the tent, stretching unnaturally, shifting even though there was no light to cast them. Then, out of the darkness, a voice—not hers, not from this world.

"She moves. The void strains against its cage."

The voice was soft, almost melodic, but the weight of its words made her blood run cold. It was her own voice—yet not. It belonged to the shadowed version of herself, the presence that lurked at the edge of her consciousness.

Selene swallowed hard. "What do you mean?"

The shadow figure did not move, but its golden eyes gleamed in the darkness.

"You called her name. Even in sleep, she listens."

A sudden chill crept up Selene's spine. "I didn't—"

"Not with words," the shadow interrupted.

"With power."

Realization dawned. She had been training, pushing the limits of her strength, shaping her weapon from the darkness inside her. And in doing so, she had unknowingly reached beyond herself—beyond this world.

She had been heard.

---

Aldric sensed it before anyone else.

The old warrior's face darkened as he felt the shift in the air, an instinct honed through years of battle.

Something was coming—something that did not belong to this world.

"We need to leave," he announced suddenly, breaking the morning silence.

"Now."

Khael, still groggy from restless sleep, blinked in confusion.

"What? Why?"

Aldric turned to Selene, his single eye unreadable.

"You felt it, didn't you?"

Selene hesitated.

"I… I think I did."

Axel, who had been silent for most of the morning, finally spoke.

"It's not just a feeling. The void is shifting. That means she's waking up."

A deep silence fell over them as the truth settled in. The cursed one was no longer just a distant legend or an ancient threat locked away beneath the earth.

She was listening.

And soon, she would wake.

They soon made preparations and immediately set foot out

The night air was thick with tension, the silence pressing against them like a heavy weight.

Though they moved swiftly, every step felt watched, as though something unseen crawled just beneath the fabric of reality. Selene gripped the hilt of her sword tighter, her instincts screaming at her that they weren't alone.

Axel suddenly stopped, his eyes narrowing at the shifting shadows ahead.

"We need to move faster," he said in a low voice.

"They're already here."

Before anyone could react, the darkness itself began to pulse, the ground beneath them twisting unnaturally. Wisps of thick, ink-like mist slithered from the trees, coiling together like serpents, their presence wrong—unnatural.

A deep, guttural voice echoed through the clearing, speaking in a language long forgotten by most.

"Ithzara'va mori kael'esh varu. Ri'zenak qorr Vherezoth esh'ta durn!"

(Translation: "The seal is weakening. Our queen must awaken!")

The mist twisted violently, and from its depths, humanoid figures began to take shape. They were featureless, their bodies a moving void, yet their presence alone exuded power.

A second voice, colder and filled with malice, followed.

"Tzah'ri ekrath! Selene'ka va eris!"

("She must be awoken! Selene, the key of our queen!")

Selene felt a shiver run down her spine. The words rang inside her skull, more than just sound—they were knowledge, memories she should not have.

Her grip on her sword tightened, and beside her, Khael let out a sharp breath, flames flickering to life around his fists.

"They're after you," Axel murmured, his expression dark.

"They know what you are." Aldric let out a dry chuckle, though there was no humor in it.

"Then I suppose we should make them regret speaking so freely." The creatures lunged, moving with impossible speed. Selene barely had time to react as she brought her sword up, parrying an attack that felt like striking against shifting smoke.

The force of the impact sent her stumbling back, but she adjusted quickly, slashing at the figure in front of her.

Her blade cut through it, but instead of falling, it simply reformed, its empty face turning toward her once more.

Axel was already moving, his instincts honed from battles before. His form blurred as he dodged and countered, his movements precise.

Beside him, Khael's flames roared, lighting up the battlefield as he sent wave after wave of fire at the approaching shadows.

But the dark matter did not burn. It absorbed.

For every wisp of fire that touched it, the creatures grew denser, more defined. Their voices grew louder, chanting as they pressed forward.

"Vherezoth'ka qorr mori. Ithzara kael'esh varu!"

("Vherezoth must return. The seal must break!")

Selene's breath came in sharp gasps as realization struck her. They weren't just here to fight.

They were feeding off the energy, the battle itself fueling their cause.

"We can't keep this up forever!" Khael shouted, his frustration evident.

"They're getting stronger!"

Aldric cursed under his breath. "Then we don't fight them. We escape."

Selene glanced at Axel, who nodded.

"If we let this go on, they'll only keep coming. We need to move. Now."

The ground trembled as the dark matter surged, the chanting growing louder, an ancient call demanding the return of something long buried.

Selene had no doubt.

Vherezoth was listening.

To be continued.