Collide: The Memory of Stars

The silence that followed was suffocating, a presence all its own. The Forgotten stood unmoving, a statue carved from shadow, waiting. The weight of its words settled in my chest like lead.

A choice.

The walls pulsed again, the writhing figures frozen in silent agony. I couldn't shake the feeling that their suffering was a warning. A glimpse of what could become of us if we chose wrong.

Axel's grip on his sword tightened. "And if we refuse?"

The Forgotten tilted its head slightly, as if considering his words. "Refusal is a choice, too. But choices are never without consequence."

Khael's fire burned brighter, his unease manifesting in the flickering embers that licked at the cavern's cold air.

"Enough riddles," he growled. "If you're going to demand something from us, say it plainly."

A whisper of amusement echoed from the figure.

"Very well. Each of you has something you desire, and each of you must give something in return."

I swallowed hard. "And what do you believe we desire?"

The entity turned to me first. "You seek truth, Selene. You wish to understand what you are, what you were meant to be."

The cavern felt colder. My fingers curled into my palms. "And the price?"

The Forgotten did not answer immediately. Instead, it shifted its gaze to Axel. "You seek restoration. Power lost. A past that slipped through your fingers."

Axel's eyes darkened, but he did not speak.

The entity turned next to Tyra. "You seek atonement. A way to mend what was broken."

Then, finally, it faced Khael. "And you…" The pause was longer. "You seek clarity. Memory. The puzzle pieces of a life once lived."

Khael's fire flickered. I saw his jaw clench.

The Forgotten raised its hand, and suddenly the chamber was no longer just a tomb.

The shadows shifted, revealing what lay beneath them—visions, fragmented and flickering. They hovered in the air like reflections on water, each showing glimpses of things both long past and yet to come.

A throne bathed in twilight.

A blade burning with golden fire. A city swallowed by darkness. A figure standing at the precipice of oblivion, arms outstretched.

The Forgotten's voice was softer now, but no less chilling.

"The cost is simple. A piece of yourself for a piece of the truth."

The visions rippled, and a presence loomed behind me. I didn't dare turn around, but I felt it—something vast, something waiting.

A choice.

The cavern breathed, as if alive, as if eager to devour whatever decision we made.

I met Axel's gaze, then Tyra's, then Khael's. This was what we had come for.

And yet, I had never been more afraid.

The cavern seemed to constrict around us, its very walls holding their breath as we stood before the Forgotten.

The flickering visions cast eerie reflections in Khael's firelight, distorting the edges of reality. A piece of ourselves for a piece of the truth. The words echoed in my mind, relentless.

I forced myself to steady my breathing. "What does that mean?"

The Forgotten did not move. "It means what it has always meant. Nothing is gained without loss."

Axel's fingers flexed around his sword. "And if we give nothing?"

The entity regarded him with something that almost felt like amusement. "Then you leave as you are—ignorant, uncertain, and unprepared for what lies ahead."

A heavy silence settled between us. I looked to the others. Tyra's brows were furrowed, her expression unreadable. Khael's flames flickered with his uncertainty, the light in his eyes shadowed with hesitation. Axel was stone-faced, but I could see the tension in his jaw.

"We don't even know what we're agreeing to give," Tyra said finally, her voice low.

The Forgotten raised a skeletal hand, and the shadows around us thickened.

"A memory, a moment, a truth you hold dear. You will not know what you have lost until it is already gone."

A shudder ran down my spine. A choice shrouded in darkness, the weight of it crushing before it was even made.

Khael exhaled sharply.

"And what happens if we choose wrong?"

The Forgotten's head tilted. "There is no wrong choice. Only the path you carve for yourself."

The visions around us swirled, reshaping, whispering. I saw a reflection of myself, but not as I was now—something was different. A shadow behind my eyes, a power unfathomable yet familiar.

I could feel the truth pressing against the edge of my mind, just out of reach.

I clenched my fists. "If we do this, will we get what we seek?"

The Forgotten stepped forward, the weight of its presence suffocating. "I make no promises. I only open the door. It is up to you to walk through it."

The cavern groaned, the air thick with expectation. I looked at Axel, at Tyra, at Khael. Each of us stood at the precipice of something irreversible.

A choice had to be made.

My pulse thundered in my ears as I turned my gaze back to the Forgotten, its hollow presence a void against the flickering firelight. Every breath felt heavier, like the weight of the unseen future was already pressing down on my chest.

Axel was the first to move. He took a slow step forward, his silver hair catching the dim light. "If we do this," he said, voice steady, "we have to trust that whatever we lose won't be something we can't afford to give."

"That," the Forgotten murmured, "is not for you to decide."

Tyra exhaled, frustration flickering across her face. "It's like striking a bargain with a ghost. We don't even know what we're gambling with."

Khael's flames burned brighter, their light licking at the darkness that threatened to consume us.

"But we need answers," he muttered. "And if this is the only way…"

His words trailed off, the unspoken conclusion settling between us. The Forgotten was unmoving, waiting.

I swallowed hard. My memories, my truths—what if I lost something vital? What if I forgot why I was fighting? Or worse, what if I forgot who I was?

I turned to Axel, my voice quieter now. "If we forget something important, how do we know we ever lost it?"

Axel didn't answer right away. His blue eyes searched mine before shifting back to the entity before us. "We won't. We'll just keep moving forward, even if something feels…missing."

The thought chilled me more than the cavern's unnatural cold.

Tyra rubbed her arms, letting out a slow breath. "We don't have much of a choice."

"No," I agreed, my voice barely a whisper. "We don't."

The Forgotten extended its hand, palm open, shadow curling at the edges like mist. "Then choose."

A pulse of energy rippled through the cavern. The shifting visions in the stone walls shimmered, and something ancient stirred in the air, watching, waiting.

One by one, we stepped forward.

The air seemed to tighten as I stepped forward, my breath catching in my throat. The Forgotten's outstretched hand remained still, waiting. Shadows coiled around its form, writhing like living things, whispering secrets in a language just beyond comprehension.

Axel was beside me, his stance unwavering despite the tension radiating from his clenched fists. Tyra hesitated for only a moment before stepping up as well, her jaw set, determination in her gaze.

Khael lingered, his flames flickering uncertainly before he finally moved forward.

The moment our hands hovered over the Forgotten's outstretched palm, the cavern trembled.

A rush of icy air swept through the space, and the world around us seemed to shatter.

For an instant, I saw—

A sky torn apart by darkness. Cities in ruin, swallowed by an abyss of nothingness. The echoes of screams that had long since faded into silence. And beyond it all, a throne, untouched yet surrounded by the remnants of a world that once was.

Pain seared through my mind, a sensation like something being ripped away, a thread of memory snapping before I could grasp what it was.

I gasped as I staggered back. Axel caught me before I could collapse. His grip was strong, grounding me, but I saw the flicker of something in his expression—a brief moment of lost recognition before it vanished.

Tyra clutched her head, blinking as if trying to focus. "What—what was that?"

Khael stumbled, his fire sputtering before reigniting. He turned toward the Forgotten, eyes narrowed. "What did you take?"

The Forgotten merely lowered its hand, as if nothing had happened. "A fair exchange."

I reached for my thoughts, for my memories—something felt…off. Like an empty space where something important should have been. I knew why we were here. I knew what we had to do.

But something was missing.

Axel straightened, his expression unreadable as he turned toward the looming darkness ahead.

"No turning back now," he said, voice firm.

"Let's finish this."

Tyra and Khael exchanged uneasy glances but nodded.

I swallowed the unease settling in my gut and forced myself forward. Whatever we had lost, it was too late to reclaim.

The world above was still in ruins, and the Forgotten Ones—those who had brought this calamity—still lingered in the depths, waiting.

We had a purpose.

We would end them.

Even if we no longer remembered why.

To be continued.