The world held its breath.
The glowing dust floated away, the light slowly dimming, until the shape at the center of the crater became clear.
A person…and not a person.
A figure made of half-light and half-shadow—translucent like smoke,gentle like moonlight,yet frightening like something that remembered the creation of the world.
Kael felt Lira's hand tighten in his.
"Kael… what is that?"
Kael didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because his heart was beating too fast and too loud, as if trying to warn him:
This is not something you fight.This is something you survive.
The being stood perfectly still, like it was waiting for the world to catch up. Its eyes were two soft glows—neither warm nor cold—just… ancient.
Very, very ancient.
It lifted its head slightly, and the faint voice they'd heard earlier echoed again—this time clearer, closer, heavier:
"Remember me."
Lira shivered violently.
Kael stepped forward instinctively, placing himself between her and the being.
His voice was steady, though his fear wasn't.
"Who are you?"
The being did not move.
It did not blink.
But the air around them moved—a gentle wave of pressure,like standing before a giant sleeping heart.
And then it spoke:
"Not who.When."
The answer made Kael's skin crawl.
Lira whispered, "Kael… it's speaking in riddles."
He nodded.
But inside, his thoughts were racing.
Not who… WHEN?What does that mean?Is it from another time?A future? A past? A forgotten age?
Kael tried again.
"Why did you fall from the sky?"
The being tilted its head, as if studying him.
"I did not fall.The sky let me through."
Lira stepped closer, whispering urgently into Kael's ear:
"The sky LET it through? Kael… what does that mean? The sky protected us from something?"
Kael's voice was tight.
"I'm starting to think it wasn't protecting us…It was protecting something else from us."
Lira fell silent.
The First Test
The being lifted one arm slowly.Soft flakes of silver light drifted off its fingers like burning snow.
Kael tensed, ready to shield Lira.
But instead of attacking, the being traced a line in the air.
A simple line.A glowing one.
And the air split open.
A small tear—not like the giant one in the sky—but a tiny doorway, no larger than a book.
Inside the tear, Kael saw images swirling:
A forest burning from blue flames.An ocean rising like a giant hand.A city covered in dust.Stars falling like rain.
Kael stumbled back.
"What are you showing me?" he demanded.
The being responded calmly:
"Echoes."
Lira whispered, "Echoes of what?"
The being lifted its glowing eyes to her.
"Echoes of what might come.Echoes of what already has."
Kael frowned deeply.
"That makes no sense."
The being slowly closed the air-tear.
"The future and the past…are not as far apart as you think."
Lira blinked.
Kael clenched his jaw.
The being spoke again:
"Your world is bending.Too many memories are trying to return."
Kael swallowed hard.
"What happens if those memories return?"
The being paused for a long moment.
Then it answered:
"Everything."
The Name That Was Forgotten
Kael steadied himself.
"All right," he said. "If you're here to warn us, then tell us your name."
Lira grabbed his sleeve gently."Kael… be careful."
But Kael needed to ask.
Names had power.Names gave shape.Names turned fear into understanding.
The being lowered its head.
For the first time, it looked… sad.
"My name was taken," it said softly."Taken by time.Taken by forgetting."
Kael frowned.
"Then what do we call you?"
The being slowly lifted a hand and touched its own chest.
Light rippled across its body, forming faint, broken symbols—like ancient runes that no longer knew their meaning.
"Call me the Unremembered."
Lira felt a chill brush her spine.
Kael breathed out slowly.
Why It Chose Them
The Unremembered stepped forward, and the land beneath its feet glowed faintly, as if greeting it.
Kael raised both hands protectively.
"Stop. Don't come any closer."
The being froze.
Its voice turned softer.
"I mean no harm.I chose you because you listen."
Kael's eyes narrowed.He remembered the whispers, the visions in the river, the falling star.
"Chose us… to do what?"
The Unremembered pointed to the distant northern cliffs.
"To reach the place where the sky first cracked."
Kael felt his heart twist.
"That crack—the one the traveler saw?"
The being nodded.
"A doorway.A wound.A memory trying to return home."
Lira asked quietly, "A memory of who?"
The being answered without hesitation.
"Of me."
Kael felt the weight of those words hit him.
"So… the sky is remembering you," Kael said slowly."And that's what's causing the cracks?"
The Unremembered nodded once.
"The sky is remembering everything."
Lira stepped closer to Kael, her voice trembling.
"Kael… if the sky remembers everything… doesn't that mean it will remember our world's worst moments too?"
Kael's throat tightened.
"It means," he whispered,"the future might bleed into the present."
The Unanswered Truth
Kael stepped forward boldly.
"Then tell me this," he said. "Why us? Why me and Lira?"
The Unremembered drifted closer until its light brushed the air around them.
Its voice echoed like a fading song.
"Because your fire remembers the beginning.And her heart remembers the end."
Kael stiffened.
Lira's breath hitched.
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
But the being only turned, looking toward the far north.
"Walk with the echoes.Do not fear what remembers you."
Kael shouted, "Wait! Answer me—!"
But the Unremembered stepped into its own fading light—and disappeared.
Just vanished.
Leaving only silence…
and the faint echo of its final words:
"Find the place where the sky broke first."
Kael slowly lowered his hand.
Lira whispered:
"Kael… our journey just changed, didn't it?"
Kael stared at the horizon with hard, determined eyes.
"Yes," he said."And whatever waits for us…knows we're coming."