Collide: The Memory of Stars

Third Person's POV

After long discussions they decided to start their goal by trying to find survivors.

The search for survivors began at dawn. The stronghold had become a temporary haven, but it was not enough.

If Eldoria was to be restored, they needed more than just themselves. They needed others—anyone who had managed to endure the destruction, anyone who still clung to life amidst the ruins. 

Axel was the first to step beyond the stronghold's safety, his sword strapped tightly to his back. Selene followed, her grip firm around her blade's hilt.

Tyra and Khael brought up the rear, the latter appearing hesitant, though determined. The child's golden eyes flickered with traces of uncertainty, his mind still adjusting to the weight of memories he could barely grasp.

The ruins stretched endlessly before them. Crumbling buildings, abandoned streets overgrown with ivy, and shattered remnants of Eldoria's former glory stood like ghosts of the past.

Silence ruled the air, broken only by the wind whistling through broken windows and hollow corridors.

"Do you really think anyone could have survived this?" Tyra asked, her voice subdued.

Axel's gaze remained firm. "We won't know unless we look."

They moved cautiously, their footsteps crunching over debris. The deeper they ventured into the ruins, the heavier the air became. Shadows clung to the remains of once-bustling markets, homes reduced to skeletal frames, and alleyways that led to nothing but rubble.

It was Khael who first sensed it.

"There's something here," he murmured, stopping in his tracks. His small fingers twitched, embers dancing at his fingertips.

"Something… watching us." Selene's pulse quickened. She turned, scanning the area. Nothing. Just ruins. Just silence. But she trusted Khael's instincts. They all did.

"Spread out," Axel instructed. "But stay within sight of each other."

They searched, pushing deeper into the ruins. It was Tyra who found the first sign of life—footprints in the dust, small and hurried.

"Someone was here recently," she called out, kneeling beside the tracks.

Selene's heart leapt. A survivor? But why would they be running?

A distant cry echoed through the ruins. A child's voice, thin and desperate.

Khael stiffened. "Someone's in trouble!"

Without hesitation, they followed the sound, weaving through the remains of the city. It led them to a collapsed building, where a narrow gap between fallen beams revealed a hidden chamber beneath the ruins. The voice sobbed from within.

"Help! Please!"

Selene knelt by the opening, peering into the darkness. A child huddled below, their face streaked with dirt, their small body trembling. They couldn't be older than seven.

"We're here," Selene called gently. "We'll get you out."

The child's wide eyes darted between them. "You're not… like them?"

Selene hesitated. "Like who?"

A shadow shifted.

Khael reacted first, throwing himself backward as the air around them twisted. The child's form flickered, unraveling like mist. What stood in its place was not a helpless survivor but a figure of pure darkness, its body shifting fluidly, reshaping as it moved. 

"Shapeshifter!" Axel shouted, summoning his sword.

The creature lunged.

Selene barely dodged as the thing's claws slashed through the air where she had been. Tyra twisted, daggers flashing as she struck, but her blades merely passed through empty darkness before the entity reshaped itself again. 

Khael's flames burst to life.

"Stay back!" His fire roared toward the creature, forcing it to recoil, its shadowy form writhing against the light.

Axel didn't hesitate. He moved with precise, practiced strikes, each swing of his blade aimed to disrupt the creature's form. But the shadow was cunning.

It weaved between their attacks, shifting from one shape to another—a child, an old man, a familiar face—trying to confuse them. 

Then, it took a shape that made Selene freeze.

It was her own face staring back at her.

A perfect reflection. Her own eyes, her own voice whispering,

"Are you sure you are who you think you are?" Her chest tightened. A trick. It had to be. But the hesitation cost her—before she could react, the creature lunged at her with the speed of a viper.

A silver blade sliced through the air, intercepting the attack. Axel's sword cut through the shadow's form, forcing it back.

"Don't listen to it!" he barked.

Selene gritted her teeth, shoving away the lingering doubt. This thing—whatever it was—thrived on deception. It had led them here with false cries, baited them with the hope of survivors. Now, it sought to unravel them from the inside.

No more.

With a surge of energy, she drove her blade forward, slashing through the entity's core. Tyra struck from the side, her daggers coated in a silver sheen, burning against the darkness. Khael unleashed another burst of fire, consuming the shifting form. The creature shrieked, its body convulsing before finally dissolving into a whisper of nothingness.

Silence.

They stood there, breathless, the weight of the battle settling over them.

Axel lowered his sword. "It was trying to mislead us."

Selene exhaled, steadying herself. "Then that means…" She turned toward the ruined city.

"There are real survivors out there."

They had almost been fooled, almost lost to the deception of the void's lingering remnants. But now, they knew the truth.

Somewhere in Eldoria, survivors remained hidden, waiting to be found. And they would not stop searching until they were brought home.

The journey to find survivors was fraught with uncertainty. Eldoria's ruins stretched endlessly before them, a land swallowed by time and destruction.

The winds howled through the skeletal remains of once-mighty structures, carrying whispers of memories lost to the ages.

Despite the stronghold they had claimed as a temporary haven, they knew they couldn't remain isolated. If there were still others out there, they had a duty to find them.

The first signs of life had come from a distant ruin nestled between two broken mountains, a place once known as the Ivory District. It had been a bustling hub of scholars and artisans in the past, but now, it was a graveyard of shattered knowledge.

As they approached, Axel motioned for silence, his sharp gaze sweeping the shadows.

"Something doesn't feel right," he muttered.

Selene tightened her grip on her sword, scanning the area.

"Could be traps or worse."

Tyra knelt beside the remnants of a campfire, still warm.

"Someone was here. Not long ago."

Khael shivered, staring into the ruins.

"I feel something watching us."

As if in answer, a soft voice drifted from the darkness.

"Travelers... you are not alone."

They turned sharply. Emerging from the ruins was a figure cloaked in tattered robes, their face hidden beneath a deep hood. Their movements were slow, deliberate, almost ghostlike.

"Who are you?" Axel demanded, keeping his hand on his weapon.

The figure tilted their head. "A survivor, like you."

Selene felt a strange unease settle over her. The figure's voice was gentle yet unnatural, as though it belonged to many people at once.

"If you are a survivor, then tell us—who else remains?"

The figure hesitated before answering. "There are many, hidden beneath the ruins, waiting for salvation. But they are weak, afraid. They need your help."

Tyra frowned. "If there are many, why haven't we seen signs of them? Tracks, movement, anything?"

The figure took a slow step forward, and the shadows seemed to ripple around them.

"They are deep within the old tunnels. I can take you to them. But we must move quickly."

Axel exchanged wary glances with Selene and Tyra. There was something wrong, but the possibility of true survivors was too great to ignore.

"Lead the way," Axel said cautiously.

The descent into the tunnels was suffocating. The air was thick with dampness, the stone walls pressing in on them as they ventured deeper beneath the ruins. The flickering torchlight cast jagged shadows, and the figure moved ahead silently, their presence oddly intangible.

Khael clutched Selene's sleeve. "I don't like this place.

Selene placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Stay close."

As they walked, the path seemed to shift, the tunnels twisting in ways that felt unnatural. The deeper they went, the stronger the sense of wrongness became. The survivor's voice turned more distant, as if coming from all directions at once.

"We are close now... so very close."

Then, without warning, the figure stopped.

"Why did you—" Axel began, but his words died as the figure started to change.

The tattered robes fell away, dissolving into black mist. In their place stood a creature of pure darkness, its body shifting and writhing like living smoke. Its face was an empty void, its voice now an eerie chorus of whispers.

"You should not have come." The air turned ice-cold as the creature lunged.

Chaos erupted.

Axel swung his blade, but it passed through the creature as if striking air.

Tyra hurled a dagger, only for it to vanish into the shifting void. Khael's fire flared to life, but the creature twisted around the flames, laughing in a voice that sent chills down their spines.

"Foolish travelers. Did you truly think you could save what is already lost?"

Selene gritted her teeth, focusing her energy. The creature was not physical—it was deception given form, a shadow meant to mislead them. They had been lured into a trap.

"We need to get out of here!" Tyra shouted, dodging a tendril of darkness that lashed toward her.

"No," Axel growled. "We end this now."

Khael took a deep breath, his hands igniting with golden flames.

"Then let's burn it away!" With renewed determination, they fought back, pushing against the darkness, striking where the void was weakest.

As Khael's fire illuminated the tunnels, the illusion around them began to waver. The creature screeched, recoiling from the light, its form flickering.

Selene saw her chance. With a final swing, she slashed through the heart of the shadow, and it let out a piercing cry before dissolving into nothingness.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Breathing heavily, they stood in the now-empty tunnels, the weight of what had just happened sinking in. They had been fooled. But why?

Khael wiped his brow. "There are no survivors, are there?"

Axel shook his head. "Not here. But that doesn't mean they don't exist."

Selene glanced toward the tunnel exit. "We keep searching. But this time, we stay on guard."

As they climbed back into the ruins above, the weight of their mission pressed down heavier than before. The shadows had tried to deceive them—but that only meant the truth was still out there, waiting to be found.

To be continued