Collide: The Memory of Stars

Selene's POV

I clutched the fragment of my memory in my hands, feeling the warmth it carried, as if it held a piece of something long lost to me.

My reward, they said. A gift. But as I stood there, surrounded by my companions, their voices muffled by the weight of my thoughts, I felt something shift.

A pull. A whisper that wasn't quite a sound, but a feeling.

Before I could react, the world around me blurred into ripples of light, and when the distortion cleared, I was no longer with them. I was… somewhere else.

The space around me was endless, a vast expanse of soft light that shimmered like the ocean surface at dawn. And then, in front of me, she stood.

Eltharia.

The moment our eyes met, my breath hitched. She was… familiar. Not just in the way I had seen glimpses of her before, but in a way that made my heart ache. Like she had always been there, just out of reach, just beyond the fragments of memory I couldn't quite grasp.

She smiled—warm, gentle, yet filled with emotions I couldn't yet name. "You've come so far, Selene."

Hearing her voice, my throat tightened. I didn't even know what I wanted to say first. Should I ask why I was here? Should I tell her I didn't remember everything? Should I—

Before I could decide, she took a step closer.

"You did well," she said, her voice a whisper of pride. "You've always been strong."

Something in me cracked. I exhaled sharply, shaking my head. "I don't… I don't remember everything," I admitted.

"I barely remember you. I only know what I saw. That you were my sister. That you sacrificed yourself."

Eltharia's expression softened, and then, to my surprise, she laughed—soft and full of warmth. "You don't need to remember everything, Selene. I'm just glad… I'm just glad you know now. That you know you were never alone."

I swallowed thickly, my hands tightening around the fragment of my memory. "… I had a family."

The words trembled as they left my lips, and I felt the sting behind my eyes before I could stop it. "I really did."

Eltharia reached out then, cupping my face with hands that felt real despite the impossible nature of this space.

"Yes, you did."

And for a moment, nothing else mattered.

The weight I had carried for so long, the loneliness I hadn't even realized had been buried deep within me, felt just a little lighter.

After a long silence, she finally stepped back, her expression turning more serious.

"I know why you're here," she said, and the light around us seemed to shift, taking on a faint blue hue, like the deep ocean.

"The Sunken Bastion. You seek it, don't you?"

I nodded slowly.

"We need to find it. We need to know what happened there. And… how to get in."

Eltharia's gaze grew distant, as if she was seeing something far beyond what I could perceive. "It is sealed," she murmured. "Not by magic alone, but by the will of those who resided there."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

She sighed, looking at me again. "When the calamity befell Eldoria, the mages who remained in the Bastion made a choice. They could not stop what was coming. They could not undo what had been set into motion. So they did the only thing they could do."

Her voice grew softer. "They sank it themselves."

The weight of her words settled heavily in my chest. "They… did that to survive?"

"Yes. The currents that surround it are not just natural barriers; they are remnants of the powerful enchantments they wove to protect themselves. They feared that if they stayed on the surface, they would be hunted, that their knowledge would fall into the wrong hands."

It made sense. A sanctuary turned into a prison of their own making.

Eltharia took a step closer, her eyes locking onto mine. "And you must understand, Selene—what lies within that place is not just knowledge. It is the remnants of a time long lost. And it is the key to the truth you seek."

I held my breath. "A Fragment of the Heart , the lost power"

She nodded. "The Heart of Eldoria is tied to all of this. And…" She hesitated, her expression turning wistful.

"And so am I."

A chill ran through me. "What do you mean?"

Eltharia smiled, but there was something bittersweet in her eyes.

"When I sealed Vhezeroth, I was given a gift. The Luminescent One did not let my sacrifice be in vain. I became… a part of the Heart. My essence, my power—it lingers within it, within the very lifeblood of Eldoria."

I stared at her, struggling to process it all. My sister—her very being was now tied to the thing that could decide everything. Not the Luminescent One, but the heart of Eldoria itself—the lifeblood of this land, the source we had been desperately trying to restore.

"I wish I could have been there," she murmured. "I wish I could have protected you. But this… this is what I can do now."

The emotions threatened to overwhelm me again, but I forced myself to stay steady.

"Then help us," I said. "Tell us how to reach the Bastion."

Eltharia held my gaze for a long moment before nodding. "Follow the currents. Do not fight them. Let them take you where you need to go."

She reached forward, pressing a hand to my forehead, and in an instant, I felt something bloom within me—a guiding presence, a pull toward the depths.

"It is waiting," she whispered. "And so is the truth."

The world around me shimmered, the light fading into darkness. The last thing I saw was her smile, warm and proud.

And then, I was back.

A sharp inhale rattled my chest as my senses snapped into place. My companions stood around me, their gazes filled with concern.

Axel was the first to move, his hand gripping my shoulder. "Selene? What happened?"

I took a steadying breath, feeling the weight of Eltharia's words settle within me. "I saw her," I murmured. "My sister… Eltharia."

Their eyes widened, but I pushed forward. "She told me how to find the Sunken Bastion. We have to follow the currents. Let them take us."

Khael crossed his arms, brows furrowing. "That's it? No hidden entrance? No spell to break? Just let the ocean drag us under?"

I nodded, clutching my chest where the memory fragment still lingered, a guiding presence deep within me.

"The currents are the key. They'll take us where we need to go."

Tyra exhaled sharply. "Sounds risky. But if Eltharia said it, then we have no choice."

Axel exchanged glances with the others before giving me a firm nod. "Then let's move."

We approached the edge of the ruined cliffs, where the ocean churned with a power far beyond natural tides.

The waters shimmered faintly, pulsing with ancient magic. This was no ordinary sea—this was the Bastion's seal, woven into the very fabric of Eldoria's waters.

I stepped forward, feeling the pull immediately. It was not just the tide; it was a force, an awareness calling to me.

Without hesitation, I let myself go, surrendering to the current.

The ocean swallowed us whole.

The descent was swift yet weightless. The deeper we went, the more the light dimmed, until the water around us turned into an abyss.

Yet, there was no panic. No struggle. The magic guided us, wrapping around us like a protective veil, allowing us to breathe, to see, to exist beneath the crushing depths.

And then, through the darkness, a glow emerged.

A vast structure loomed ahead, its towering spires covered in corals and glowing runes.

The Sunken Bastion. Even in ruin, it was breathtaking, its gates sealed behind an ever-churning vortex of water.

Tyra let out a low whistle. "We actually made it."

But as we drew closer, the currents thickened, turning violent.

The magic that protected the Bastion recognized us as intruders. The ocean itself resisted our approach.

Axel reached for his weapon. "So much for an easy entrance."

The Bastion was testing us.

To be continued.