Collide: The Memory of Stars

Selene's POV

The air felt heavier after the exchange, as if something unseen had coiled around us, weighing us down.

My mind felt… fractured. There was an emptiness where something vital had once been. I knew who I was.

I knew why we were here. But beyond that—there were gaps, edges of thoughts I couldn't grasp, names and faces that felt like they belonged to me, yet were now just shadows slipping through my fingers.

Axel's grip tightened around my arm, his blue eyes searching mine. "Are you alright?" His voice was steady, but there was a flicker of uncertainty beneath it.

I swallowed hard and nodded. "I think so."

Tyra rubbed her temple, her brows furrowed.

"I don't feel any different, but I know something's missing."

Khael remained quiet, his fire dimming as he clenched his fists. His gaze was locked on the man before us—the one who had taken our memories.

He was ancient, yet untouched by time. His skin was ashen, his eyes like hollow pits reflecting nothing. He stood in the center of the cavern, his expression unreadable as he absorbed the fragments of what he had stolen from us. And then, for the first time, he exhaled—a long, shaky breath.

Hope.

There was hope in his face.

I stiffened. What had he seen? What had he taken that made him believe this world still had a chance?

But he did not speak of it. Instead, his gaze swept over us, solemn and knowing. "The fragments you seek," he murmured, his voice like dry leaves crumbling underfoot.

"are scattered deeper within the ruins. They were hidden away long before this land was swallowed by darkness."

He lifted a skeletal hand and traced a slow pattern in the air. A faint glow pulsed against the stone wall beside him, revealing a map etched into the surface. Five glowing points shimmered like dying stars. One of them flickered weakly.

"The silver-haired girl," I muttered. The first fragment was already in her hands.

The man nodded. "The others remain where only those cursed can tread."

Axel's jaw tightened. "Then that's where we're going."

The man stepped aside, his form fading like mist. "Go, then. And may your sacrifice not be in vain."

A shiver ran through me as his presence fully vanished. We had given up something—pieces of ourselves we could never reclaim—and yet, in his eyes, it had been worth it.

We didn't have time to dwell on it.

The cavern trembled, and a sound like tearing fabric filled the air. Shadows peeled away from the walls, taking shape—dozens of them, their bodies flickering between existence and oblivion.

The Forgotten Ones had come.

Their whispering voices scraped against my skull, promising rest, promising release.

I gritted my teeth and drew my blade. "No."

Axel was already moving, cutting through the first one with a burst of light.

Tyra darted past him, her sword flashing as she struck at their shifting forms. Khael's fire roared back to life, searing through the darkness as he fought beside us.

But they kept coming.

The air crackled with energy as the fragments called to us, pulsing like heartbeats in the chamber ahead. I lunged, reaching for them even as the Forgotten closed in.

The moment my fingers closed around the first shard, a surge of power erupted outward. Light flared, burning away the shadows, forcing them back with shrieks of agony. The ground beneath us buckled, the ruins collapsing under the weight of our battle.

Axel grabbed my hand.

"We need to move!"

We ran.

The path ahead twisted and turned, stone crumbling around us as we pushed forward. The Forgotten Ones howled behind us, but we didn't stop. We couldn't.

By the time we reached the safe place—the hidden sanctuary where the survivors had taken refuge—my lungs burned, and my limbs ached.

A figure stood at the entrance, silver hair catching the dim light.

She stepped forward, relief and urgency in her gaze. "You made it."

I held up the fragments, my hands trembling. "We have them."

She hesitated, then revealed the worn book she clutched to her chest. "I found this," she said softly.

"It tells how to restore the key… how to break the curse."

A pause.

"But it doesn't say if it can save the Forgotten."

The sanctuary was silent, save for the faint crackling of torches lining the cavern walls. The survivors gathered in a cautious circle, their eyes filled with both fear and longing as they watched the five crystalline fragments laid out before us.

Their glow had dimmed since we first retrieved them, flickering weakly like embers struggling against the wind.

The silver-haired girl—Elira—held the ancient book close, her fingers trembling as she flipped through its fragile pages.

"According to this," she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "the key can only be restored when the fragments recognize a force strong enough to mend what was broken."

Axel exhaled sharply. "A force strong enough?" He looked down at the shards.

"What does that even mean?"

Khael, who had been sitting with his knees drawn to his chest, frowned. "We've come all this way, and now we don't even know if it'll work?" His flames, which usually danced around him with eager warmth, barely flickered.

Elira bit her lip. "We have to try."

We moved with quiet determination, forming a circle around the fragments. Elira knelt before them, placing the book down carefully.

The pages detailed the ritual—an incantation, a plea for restoration. But the words felt empty as we spoke them, echoing faintly against the cavern walls.

Nothing happened.

The shards remained lifeless.

The weight of failure settled over us. Whispers broke out among the survivors. Some turned away, their shoulders slumping with despair. Others clenched their fists, unable to accept another dead end after all they had endured.

A heavy silence stretched between us until I felt it—that familiar, quiet pull within me. It was something I had felt countless times before yet had never truly understood.

The fragments remained still, unresponsive to our voices, but deep within them, I could sense something waiting.

A memory surfaced, unbidden.

A voice, soft yet firm. You are the key.

My breath caught in my throat. I had forgotten.

This was never about simply finding the fragments and piecing them together. It was about something far greater. The key had never been just an object—it had always needed something more.

It needed me.

Swallowing the uncertainty clawing at my chest, I stepped forward. The others watched in silence as I slowly reached out my hand, hovering just above the dim shards.

My fingers trembled as I closed my eyes, focusing on the power buried deep inside me—the power that had long been both a curse and a gift.

I let it flow.

A soft warmth pulsed through my veins, moving from my fingertips into the shards. A spark—small, hesitant—flickered to life within the crystals.

Then another. And another.

Their glow brightened, spreading through the fractures like golden veins mending something long broken.

Gasps echoed through the sanctuary as the fragments lifted from the ground, hovering between us.

The glow intensified, expanding outward in rippling waves until the entire underground space was bathed in warm, golden light.

It was like dawn breaking after an endless night.

Some of the survivors sank to their knees, overwhelmed by the sight. Others clutched each other, silent tears streaming down their faces. For years, they had only known darkness.

Now, for the first time, they saw light—not the harsh flicker of torches, but something pure. Something real.

Axel exhaled, his voice barely above a whisper. "It worked."

Khael grinned, his eyes glistening. "It actually worked."

Elira clutched the book to her chest, unable to speak.

I stared at the glowing fragments, now whole, now alive. And for the first time in a long time, I felt it too.

Hope.

To be continued.