Ghostly pale light clawed at his eyelids.
The young boy slowly began opening his eyes, his body feeling sore—drained, as if every last ounce of strength had been ripped from him. His mind throbbed, pierced by a thousand unfiltered voices, all speaking at once. Some were more distinct than others, yet he couldn't understand a single word.
His head felt like it might explode.
He was in anguish.
When he finally managed to open his eyes and take in his surroundings, he realized—he wasn't home anymore.
'Oh, so I'm really not dead.'
He wanted to laugh.
But he couldn't.
The pain was overwhelming.
'Where am I anyway?'
He looked around, hoping to see a familiar face. Hoping to see his mom. Maybe he had just fallen asleep—maybe this was a bad dream. Though that wouldn't be ideal either, given what dreams usually meant.
'Did I really die? Was it real? What exactly happened?'
He focused on his surroundings—and realized he wasn't on Earth anymore.
There was no place like this on Earth. At least not that he knew of.
He way lying down in the middle of a desert, its sand the color of light prismarine. The entire landscape held a bluish tint, thoroughly bleached by some unseen sun.
'Wait... there's no sun here. How is it so hot and bright?'
The boy inspected his body.
'I don't seem to be hurt. Huh. How odd.'
He wore a confused expression.
'I thought my body was destroyed.'
He paused to think.
'Was I saved by someone? No, that's impossible. Nobody could've saved me from... that.'
He remembered it vividly. The entire world around him had turned to glass, shattered, reflecting every color of light, a kaleidoscope spectacle.
'Was it an inversion? Though I've never seen one like that before... They usually just appear as some sort of portal. I haven't heard of one destroying a whole neighborhood.'
He frowned.
'Maybe... maybe it wasn't just our neighborhood. What if this happened to the entire city? Or worse yet—the whole world?'
His head throbbed. He lacked the knowledge or information to solve the mystery. And he was exhausted.
'The voices won't stop anytime soon, will they?'
Annoyed, he inspected himself again. His skin looked... smoother.
'Is that what lying in hot sand does to you? No, wait... if I've been here that long, shouldn't I be dying of thirst and hunger?'
But he didn't feel in danger. Not from hunger, not from thirst.
He let the matter be—for now. He had to find someone. Someone who could answer his questions.
'Is there even anyone besides me in this weird desert?'
He sat up and scanned the horizon. Just endless sand. Occasionally, he saw towering dunes and deep craters in the distance.
'Are those mountains? They don't look that far.'
Looking to one direction, he spotted what looked like tall mountains with snowy peaks.
'That can't be snow... can it?'
With no better option, he decided to head in that direction. Staying in one place would eventually lead to death.
He got up and dragged himself through the shimmering desert, beneath the scorching rays of a never-ending, sunless day.
'How long are the days here? Does night even exist if there's no sun?'
He walked for hours under the scorching sun, his feet burning from the hot sand. Eventually, he stumbled upon a small cave, formed from pristine white sandstone. He ducked inside, escaping the relentless heat.
He considered his next steps.
'I need to get out of this desert. For that, I need to reach the mountains. But... can I even make it there?'
He sighed.
"Foolish," he said aloud, to no one in particular.
'I need to survive. I have to find my sister and make sure she's alive and well. I owe Mom that much.'
He blinked, suddenly noticing something strange.
'How is it that I haven't been sweating at all in this sweltering heat? Isn't that... odd?'
Worry started to creep in.
'Am I hallucinating? People usually hallucinate when they're dehydrated… right?'
He wasn't sure. Nobody taught him that sort of thing, not in school and not anywhere else.
'I wish I'd paid more attention in survival class. Maybe they went over desert survival.'
He felt a pang of melancholy.
'Oh, how I miss school… and Lyra. Wait—that's right. Lyra once taught me how to prepare my body for harsh conditions.'
He sat down cross-legged and tried to circulate and gather his energy, something every awakened child was taught.
'Since I've conquered the Control Fragment, I should be able to gather energy within my mind. I never really understood it... but it always somehow worked. Like my mind just listens to my every command.'
He allowed himself a small smirk.
'Gathering energy is usually the end of the exercise. Most people can't use it—it's only useful as a battery or minor enhancement.'
But Lyra had been different.
She'd taught him how to influence the other, unawakened Fragments with gathered energy. It wasn't reliable, and his control was poor—but if he could enhance his body, even a little...
That might be his saving grace.
After several hours of energy circulation, his body finally felt refreshed. No longer like he'd been hit by a charging beast and left under the sun for days.
'I should get going. Even this technique isn't immortal. Giving my body energy isn't enough. I still need food. And rest.'
He set out toward the mountains once more. This time, the journey was easier.
Along the way, he noticed remnants from Earth: chunks of road, pieces of rooftops, wooden doors buried under bluish-white sand. There were even a few fallen trees, half-sunken into the dunes.
'So I really wasn't the only one who ended up here. That's... something, at least.'
He chuckled at his own words—
Then froze.
A scream.
'People... There are others! But why are they screaming? Do they hear the voices too?'
He paused.
'No... the voices have gotten quieter since i woke up. And they don't hurt as much.'
Another scream rang out, louder this time.
He ran toward the sound.
'Is it pain? Or something else? I need to check—see if they need help.'
Somewhere within him, that spark of heroism still lingered.
Even after everything.
Another scream—closer.
'I'm almost there. I hope I make it in time... what if they're really hurt?'
His thoughts stopped abruptly.
A giant shadow covered the sky.
'A shadow? Is it a bird? How big would it have to be to block out the sun? No... wait. What is it blocking if there is no sun?'
He looked up, expecting to see a desert creature.
What he saw instead were the massive, feathered wings of a beast—a truly horrific creature.
'What... is that? It's bigger than our house was—back when we had one.'
An aura of dread radiated from the winged monster, bringing with it a resurgence of the haunting voices. His head pounded.
The sound of wings flapping ripped through the air like explosions—clear, deafening.
The boy instinctively dropped to the ground, trying to hide, to stay unnoticed by that dark behemoth.
The creature looked as if it were carved from obsidian.
'Wait... what about the others?'
He turned toward the source of the screams—
And watched as the monster landed.
Right on top of them.
It was scavenging.
It was hunting.
And it had found prey.