Collide: The Memory of Stars

Third Person POV

The moment the first wave of dark entities surged forward, Selene moved, her instincts sharpened by countless battles before.

She felt the weight of her sword in her hands, the familiar sensation grounding her as she took a defensive stance.

The creatures were fast, their bodies shifting between physical form and shadow, making them difficult to predict. But Selene had fought them before—she knew their weaknesses.

With a sharp exhale, she swung her sword in a calculated arc, the blade cutting through the nearest enemy.

A burst of blue energy crackled through the air as the creature shrieked, dissolving into the dark mist that once gave it form.

She didn't have time to celebrate—another one lunged from behind. But Axel was there, his movements swift as he intercepted with his summoned sword, its ethereal glow slashing through the enemy before it could reach her.

Aldric, standing a distance away, was focused entirely on his enchantments. His staff was firmly planted in the ground, his hands weaving intricate patterns through the air. Glowing symbols materialized around him, forming a protective ring as he began to chant.

The words were ancient, heavy with power, and the air around them pulsed with raw energy.

He was constructing the first of the seals—an intricate barrier that would slow their enemies, disrupting the dark matter's movement and forcing them into a corporeal state.

"Selene! Keep them away from me until this is finished!" Aldric called, his voice barely audible over the clash of weapons and the howls of their foes.

Selene didn't hesitate. She pushed forward, positioning herself between Aldric and the advancing creatures. Her senses heightened, she reached inward, calling upon the power she had carefully maintained since her last awakening. A faint shimmer surrounded her blade as the runes embedded in its surface came to life. She moved like a storm, each strike deliberate, each step calculated.

Khael, a few feet away, fought alongside Tyra. His flames danced across the battlefield, licking at the dark matter creatures and forcing them to retreat.

He was precise, using bursts of fire to cut off their approach, while Tyra—true to her word—simply broke through the strongest of them.

She wielded her power with reckless confidence, her sheer strength enough to shatter one of the more solidified entities into fragmented pieces that evaporated on impact.

But Selene was running out of time. More enemies were pouring in, their numbers unrelenting.

Sweat dripped down her temple as she cut down another creature, her breath quickening.

"Aldric, how much longer?" she demanded, glancing over her shoulder.

The wizard gritted his teeth. The symbols surrounding him flickered, the power within them unstable.

"It's almost done! But the last seal requires a sacrifice of energy—someone must channel their strength into it!" Selene didn't think. She stepped forward, pressing her hand against the forming seal.

A surge of power pulled at her, the magical script recognizing her energy. It felt as if her very essence was being drained, but she gritted her teeth and bore through it. The symbols glowed brighter, their light cutting through the darkness.

A deafening screech filled the air as the magic activated. The creatures halted, their movements becoming sluggish as the seal bound them in place. It wouldn't last forever, but it was enough.

Axel was the first to react.

"Now! While they're weakened!" He surged forward, his sword cutting through the immobilized enemies. Khael's flames roared, consuming those that tried to resist.

Tyra shattered another, her grin feral as she reveled in the destruction.

Selene, breathing hard, took a step back. Her vision blurred slightly, but she forced herself to stay standing. Aldric caught her arm, steadying her.

"You did well," he murmured, his voice hoarse from the effort.

She nodded, watching as the battlefield slowly cleared. The first wave had been stopped, but she knew this was only the beginning.

Selene stood still, her chest rising and falling with each controlled breath. The battlefield was behind her now, the echoes of the fight still ringing in her ears, but in this place, there was only silence.

An empty void stretched endlessly around her, neither light nor darkness, only a strange, pulsing nothingness.

And then, a shape began to form—a shifting presence, not quite solid, not quite ethereal. It loomed before her, amorphous yet familiar. The being inside her.

"You hesitate too much," the voice whispered, smooth as silk yet carrying a weight that pressed against her mind.

"For someone who claims to be determined, you're still afraid." Selene clenched her fists, her fingers digging into her palms.

"I don't have time for your riddles." The presence pulsed, shifting like flickering embers caught between existence and void.

"Oh, but you do. After all, this is where you truly listen. Out there, you drown in doubts, in fears, in the weight of things you can't control. Here, you can't ignore me." Selene's jaw tightened.

"If you're here to mock me, I don't need it right now." A low chuckle, not quite a laugh, echoed around her.

"Then what do you need, Selene Reassurance? A promise that everything will be fine? You already know I don't deal in such things." She exhaled sharply, forcing herself to stay steady.

"Aldric's seal is holding—for now. But I felt it. The way the dark matter fought against it, the way it tried to unravel the magic itself. That wasn't just an attack. It was learning. Adapting. If we don't move fast, it's going to break through." The presence stilled, then twisted in a slow, deliberate motion.

"And what will you do when it does?"

Selene hesitated. She hated that it was asking the very question she had been asking herself.

"We have a plan," she said at last, though the words felt too thin against the weight of the void. "We just have to get to the portal before—"

"Before what? Before it reaches you? Before the world tips beyond saving? You think you're running toward salvation, but what if I told you you're running in circles? What if you're exactly where you were meant to be?"

Selene narrowed her eyes.

"Enough of your games. If you have something useful to say, say it."The presence pulsed again, its form momentarily stretching toward her.

"Oh, Selene… I'm always useful. You just don't like the answers I give."For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then, the presence began to recede, fading into the void.

"Tick tock," it murmured as it vanished.

"I wonder how much longer that seal will last."

Selene's breath came faster as the weight of reality rushed back in, the void dissolving into the chaos of the real world. She was back—back where she needed to be, standing in the remnants of battle, her heart still hammering in her chest.

But the words lingered, curling at the edges of her thoughts.

And she hated that she was starting to wonder if they were right.

Aldric was still near the outer edges of the battlefield, carefully reinforcing the last of the seals, ensuring that whatever remnants of the dark matter creatures were left would not be able to regroup.

Axel approached her first, kneeling beside her with a bottle of water in hand.

"Drink. You look like you're about to pass out."

Selene gave a small chuckle but took the bottle, drinking deeply.

"We got lucky."

"Luck had nothing to do with it," Axel muttered.

"You held your ground. And you saw how well we fought together." He glanced towards Khael, who was inspecting his burned sleeve with an annoyed frown, and Tyra, who was sharpening one of her daggers as if the battle hadn't been enough of a workout.

Selene nodded, rubbing her temples.

"Still, I can't shake the feeling that this was just the beginning. They let us win too easily."

"They were testing us," Tyra said without looking up.

"The ones serving Vherezoth aren't mindless. They wanted to see what we're capable of."

Aldric finally rejoined them, wiping his hands on his robe.

"The seals will hold for now. But Tyra's right. That wasn't their full force. They're waiting. Watching." Khael scowled.

"Then we should really hunt them down instead of running."

"No," Aldric said firmly.

"We don't fight on their terms. We use the time we have to reach the portal before they bring their true strength against us."

Selene looked up at him, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten.

"And what happens when we do? What exactly is waiting for us on the other side?"

Aldric hesitated, then sighed.

"That's something we should discuss when we're all ready. For now, rest. You'll need your strength for what comes next." Despite the weight of his words, Selene couldn't help but glance toward the darkness beyond the battlefield, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the hilt of her sword.

The wind was eerily still as the group moved forward, their steps slow and deliberate.

The weight of the battle still clung to them, the stench of charred remains and dissipated dark matter lingering in the air.

Every breath felt heavy, as if the very world had momentarily paused, waiting for their next move.

Selene walked beside Axel, her body aching but her mind sharper than ever. She could still feel the raw energy of the fight coursing through her veins, the memory of her blade cutting through the formless creatures burned into her mind.

Her fingers twitched at her sides, the sensation of power both comforting and unnerving.

Aldric, slightly behind them, moved with weary determination. His staff, which had pulsed with light during the battle, was now dim, its energy depleted but not extinguished. He muttered something under his breath, his aged fingers tracing symbols in the air.

Small, flickering sigils formed before fading into nothingness. Whatever he was doing, he wasn't finished yet.

Tyra strode ahead, her presence as steady as ever. There was something almost predatory in the way she moved—like she was expecting another ambush at any moment.

Her hands twitched at her sides, itching for another fight, but her expression remained unreadable.

Khael, ever observant, glanced between them all. His golden eyes held something thoughtful, as if he were analyzing every wound, every breath, every lingering tremor in their fingers.

"We shouldn't stay here too long," he finally said. "If those things were just a taste of what's to come, we need to be gone before the next wave finds us." Aldric nodded.

"The path forward is still treacherous, but we have gained time. The seals I placed should keep the remaining entities from sensing our direct location—at least for now." Selene exhaled sharply, running a hand through her dark hair.

"How long do we have?" Aldric hesitated. "A few hours at best. Maybe less if they're more persistent than I expect." Axel's grip on his sword tightened, his jaw clenching.

"Then we move now. There's no time to waste." Tyra smirked faintly, her gaze shifting toward Selene.

"You held your own back there. I'll admit, I wasn't sure if you had it in you." Selene met her gaze without hesitation.

"I don't have the luxury of hesitation anymore. None of us do." Tyra chuckled, nodding in approval.

"Good. Then let's keep moving. I'll take point." As they pressed forward, the silence between them wasn't empty—it was filled with an unspoken understanding. They had survived the battle, but the war was far from over.

The group finally arrived at the portal after what felt like an endless battle.

The moment they reached the portal, the air around them grew heavier, charged with an unnatural force. The swirling vortex of energy pulsed in the distance, its edges flickering like unstable lightning.

But between them and salvation stood the three dark figures—knights forged from the deepest shadows, their armor pulsing with the same eerie energy as the dark matter.

Tyra cracked her knuckles, rolling her shoulders as she smirked.

"Looks like we've got company. Kid, stay close." Khael huffed but didn't argue. His golden eyes flickered with embers, ready to burn through anything that got in their way.

Axel's grip tightened on his sword, his expression hardening.

"They won't let us through easily. Be ready."

The three shadow knights moved in unison, their forms shifting between solid and mist, as if reality itself couldn't decide whether they truly existed. Then, without warning, they lunged.

Selene barely had time to react before one of them was upon her, its massive blade cutting through the air. She twisted her body, narrowly avoiding the strike, but the force of it sent a tremor through the ground.

She retaliated, her sword meeting the knight's in a shower of sparks. The impact numbed her arms, the sheer weight behind the attack far greater than she had anticipated.

Axel was already clashing with another, his blade moving with precision. Tyra, true to her word, was demolishing anything in her path. She tore through one of the knights' armor with sheer brute force, her hands glowing with power as she struck.

Khael darted between them, his flames searing the darkness itself, keeping the knights from overwhelming any single person.

But Selene was struggling. Each strike of the knight she faced grew heavier, more relentless, as if testing her limits.

Her breathing grew ragged, and she felt something stir inside her. The pressure in her chest swelled, pushing against her control. The air around them trembled. Then, the world itself quaked.

A deep voice, laced with mockery, slithered through her mind.

"You really can't do anything without me, huh?" A cold shiver ran down Selene's spine as her body froze. Her grip on her sword loosened as a dark mist began to curl around her fingers.

She tried to push it back, to force it down, but it was already too late. Her vision darkened, and in an instant, her body moved on its own.

The shadow within her—her own fragmented power—took over. The trembling earth stilled, the chaotic energy settled, and suddenly, the knights hesitated. Selene's lips curled into a smirk, though it was not her own.

"Is this all? Mere scraps? How disappointing." With a flick of her wrist, a pulse of raw energy erupted from her body. The nearest knight staggered, its once-imposing form suddenly seeming fragile before the overwhelming presence before it.

Then, in a single motion, Selene—or rather, the entity within her—vanished and reappeared behind the knight. The blade in her hand, now darker than the void, sliced clean through its body.

The knight didn't even have time to react. It crumbled into nothingness. Axel and the others barely moved, shock flickering in their eyes. But they did not question it.

The remaining knights faltered. They sensed it now—the shift, the imbalance, the sheer force radiating from Selene.

The entity laughed softly, a sound that sent a ripple of unease through the battlefield.

"Pathetic."

The last two knights charged, desperate, but it was already over. A single slash from Selene's blade carved through them as if they were nothing but mist.

The battle had ended, but the weight of it still lingered in the air. The three shadowed knights had been reduced to nothing, their forms dissipating into the void.

The silence that followed was thick, almost suffocating. No one spoke as the dust settled, their gazes all fixed on Selene, who stood at the center of it all.

Her breathing was ragged, her body swaying unsteadily. The power that had momentarily taken over her had vanished, leaving her drained.

The presence within her, that mocking fragment of herself, had receded into the depths of her being, satisfied with its display of dominance.

Selene's vision blurred. Her body, overwhelmed by the strain, refused to hold itself up any longer. A sharp breath left her lips as her knees buckled beneath her, and before she could collapse completely, Axel was already by her side, catching her just in time.

"Selene!" Axel's voice was urgent, concern etched in every syllable.

Khael's golden eyes were wide as he took a step closer.

"She's completely out," he muttered.

Tyra crossed her arms, letting out a slow exhale.

"She'll be fine, kid. Whatever that was, it drained her, but it didn't break her."Aldric knelt beside them, placing a hand over Selene's forehead.

A faint glow emanated from his palm, his magic examining her condition.

"She's merely exhausted," he confirmed.

"Her body isn't used to wielding such power, especially not when another presence within her takes control. She needs rest." Axel's jaw tightened, but he nodded. He carefully adjusted Selene in his arms before glancing at the others.

"We need to find shelter before we proceed. Entering the portal in this state will only put us at a disadvantage."

"There's a cave not far from here," Tyra said. "We can rest there."

With no arguments, the group moved. The cave was small but provided enough cover from the elements.

A fire was started, its glow casting flickering shadows on the walls. Axel laid Selene down on a makeshift bed of cloth, ensuring she was comfortable before sitting beside her.

As time passed, the tension eased, but no one truly relaxed.

The battle had revealed something—something none of them dared to speak of just yet.

Tyra leaned against the cave wall, her sharp gaze watching the flickering flames. Aldric sat nearby, lost in thought. Khael, though quiet, occasionally glanced toward Selene, his usual curiosity now laced with unease.

It wasn't until the next morning that Selene stirred.

A soft groan left her lips as her fingers twitched, her mind slowly pulling itself from the void of unconsciousness.

She felt warmth—comforting and steady. Blinking slowly, her gaze adjusted to the dim light of the cave.

Axel was still beside her, his arms crossed as he watched over her. At the slight movement, his eyes snapped to hers, relief washing over his features.

"You're awake," he said, his voice quiet.

Selene swallowed, her throat dry. "What… happened?"

Khael let out a scoff from where he sat. "You went full 'unstoppable force of nature' on those knights, and then passed out like a sack of stones."

Tyra smirked. "Quite the sight, really. But don't get used to it, kid. Power like that has a price."

Selene exhaled, rubbing her temples. She could still feel the remnants of that overwhelming presence—the fragment of herself that had taken over.

It lingered, quiet but watchful, waiting for another opportunity.

She pushed the thought away and slowly sat up.

"We need to move," she said, her voice firm despite her exhaustion.

Axel gave her a look, as if debating whether to argue, but eventually nodded.

"We'll leave soon."

With that, the brief moment of respite ended.

The portal awaited, and so did the unknown dangers beyond it.

To be continued.