He woke on cold stone, rubbing grit from his eyes as dry wind brushed past him. All around rose towering cliffs-ancient monoliths rising skyward like broken fingers, scattered across a vast, endless void.
He turned, heart pounding, and realized he was stranded atop one of them-a narrow outcrop, barely wider than a car.
Confused, he tried to remember how he got there. Nothing. His memories floated just out of reach, like smoke slipping through his fingers. The harder he tried, the more they fled-as though his own mind conspired against him.
He edged toward the precipice, peering down into shadow. Nothing moved below. No bottom, no echo. He picked up a jagged rock and hurled it over the ledge. Silence. The void swallowed it whole.
"Hello?!" he shouted.
His voice bounced back, warped by distance. No answer. Only emptiness.
Above, the sun hung high and still, unblinking. Heat pressed down on him like a weight. He squinted, sweat trailing down his face. He couldn't stay there forever. That's when he saw them-thick vines trailing from a neighboring tall pillar, swaying faintly in the breeze.
If he could reach it, maybe he could find something. Answers. Shelter. Anyone.
He'd always loved adventure-mostly thanks to his uncle, who had dragged him into the high school climbing club years ago. Still, nothing in those afternoons scaling school gym walls prepared him for this. There were no crash mats here. No ropes.
He tore down one of the thickets of vine, tying it into a makeshift zipline. Gripping the twisted cord with trembling hands, he swung across the gap. Wind whistled past his ears. The stone on the other side rushed closer. He slammed against the ledge and hauled himself up.
At the summit, he gasped.
The view was staggering. Pillars stretched endlessly in every direction, a forest of colossal stone columns piercing the clouds. The horizon faded into blue haze. The silence was deafening. And still-it offered no answers.
His legs buckled beneath him. Exhausted, he dropped to the ground and stared up at the unmoving twilight. The heat grew gentle, the sky dimmed-and finally, his eyelids slipped shut.
And he slept.
The Next Morning
He jolted awake.
A man stood in front of him-tall, dressed like a soldier, face expressionless.
He scrambled to his feet. "Who-where-what is this place?"
The man didn't respond. He spoke instead in a language He didn't recognize-harsh, clipped syllables full of thick consonants.
He repeated his questions, voice rising in desperation. Still, no answers. Just that same unreadable gaze.
Then, the man stepped forward. He slung a rope over hiss body and clipped a hook to it.
He flinched. "Wait-what are you doing?"
The man looked up. He followed his gaze.
A massive blimp hovered just above the pillar-monstrous and silent.
Suddenly, the rope jerked.
He was yanked into the air. Wind tore past him. The sky spun. Then: a hatch opened in the belly of the ship. Arms pulled him inside and unhooked the gear.
Dozens of people stared back at him-confused, frightened, just like him.
Before he could speak, a boy stepped forward.
"Hey. What's your name?"
He opened his mouth. "My name is... is..."
Nothing. No sound. Just static in his head.
Panic rushed in. He staggered backward, clutching his skull. "Where... am I?"
The boy shook his head softly. "I don't know anything either," he said, gently. "But... Can we be friends?"
The question caught He off guard-so human in a place that felt anything but.
They talked for a while, sharing the tiny, broken pieces of memory they did have. Nothing fits together. And yet-talking helped.
"It feels like a dream," he said, almost smiling.
"For now, maybe that's enough."
Then the boy added, more seriously: "Promise me... we'll stick together. We'll find a way out. Or at least-find the truth."
He nodded. "I-"
THUD.
The entire ship jolted. Screams exploded. Someone-or something-was onboard.
Out of the shadows crept a creature, animalistic and wrong. Low to the ground. Too many joints. Too many teeth.
It charged.
The first body split with a wet snap. Blood sprayed the walls.
More screams. People scrambled. The corridor became chaotic.
He froze-heart pounding, muscles locked.
Then the monster turned.
It charged again.
The boy slipped-his boot sliding in blood. He toppled toward the edge of the ship.
He dove, catching him by the wrist just in time.
The wind roared past them. His arms trembled. Sweat stung his eyes.
"Your name!" he cried. "Tell me your name!"
The boy looked up. His eyes were full of fear-but he was smiling.
"Ash... Allucron. Take care."
His fingers slid away.
He fell.
His body slammed into a pillar far below. There was a sickening crack-and then, the abyss.
"No!"
Behind him, the soldier roared. Spear in hand, he charged the beast and drove the blade deep into its chest.
The creature shrieked, thrashed-then crumbled into ash.
And silence returned.
He stood, gasping. Alone.
Days Passed
The ship floated through a sea of fog and grey sky-directionless, broken. No one else had survived. The food had been lost in the struggle.
He hadn't eaten in three days.
Neither he nor the soldier spoke.
The silence was thicker than hunger. The guilt was worse.
The boy-the only person who had shown him kindness-was gone. He had frozen when it counted.
He didn't even know if Ash Allucron had been the boy's name... or a final word, meant for someone else.
Still, it hurt.
The soldier searched every compartment of the hollow ship. No survivors.
Just them now.
Then-on the fourth dawn-He squinted through the mist.
There, rising through the clouds, was a city like nothing he'd ever seen.
A colossal metropolis suspended between pillars that scraped the heavens. Walkways looped between towers like veins, connecting structures that clung to the stone like machinery clings to bone.
The ship shuddered, then docked. Ropes gripped it and held it firmly in place.
The soldier stood and motioned silently for Him to follow.
Together, they walked across a metallic gangway into the city's edge.
Cold lights buzzed. The air tasted sterile-like steel and copper. They walked halls that curved and twisted until they reached a chamber.
A glass pane split the room in half. Behind it stood an officer-sharp-eyed, clipboard in hand.
He looked at him-not unkindly.
"Do you remember your name?"
He hesitated. Then, the name came to his lips-unexpected, but certain.
"...Ash."
The officer made a note on his clipboard.
"Welcome to the High-Rise," he said, as steel doors slid open behind him.
Ash stepped forward, uncertain whether he was walking into shelter...
Or something far more dangerous.