Sometimes the absence of something is more obvious than its presence. So, when Kenu’s eyes flickered open she knew something was wrong. She threw herself to her feet, prepared for anything. Which is exactly when she noticed the silence. Not a sound could be heard of the once constant noise of the fauna inhabiting the forest.

As Kenu stood there, trying desperately to find reason within the silence, some unknown desire made her glance up.

She was transfixed. Completely and utterly absorbed in what she saw. Something that defied everything that was right in the world. Incomprehensible. Her eyes widened in awe, shock, fear, and unfathomable wonder.

Then, she ran.

Kahi sprung off the dirt where he lay at the sound of Kenu’s footsteps.

“What the hell are you doing?” He whispered angrily but Kenu was already disappearing into the forest.

The guards followed closely on his heels as he desperately shouted after her “Wait!”

The forest flew past Kenu as she flung herself through the undergrowth. Finally breaking free from the never-ending trees, she looked up. Once more her gaze transfixed above, mouth agape in wonder. Kahi came stumbling out of the forest behind her, with significantly less grace.

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“What are you…?” His question trailing off into the void. Absorbed by what he saw above.

Next, Dante and his men burst forth from the forest; swords drawn. Their shouts falling on deaf ears. Seeing the siblings standing, dumbfounded, they traced their gaze. Dante and his soldiers quickly followed suit, completely frozen. All five of them. Standing at the edge of the forest, necks craning as they stared upwards. For what they saw was unlike anything earthly. Unlike anything that abides by reason.

What they saw was the sky.

Earth’s sky.

The very same ocean of blue they see every day.

The one constant thing in their reality.

Stained.

Stained completely and utterly emerald.

Emerald.

A green so bright, powerful, and blatant that it was a brutal corruption of the blue that once inhabited the sky. Green. Every visible speck of the sky was green. It swirled and swam with gross abandon. A sea of poison stretching to the horizon. Clouds of jade consumed the mountains in the distance, turning darker and growing larger every second. The sea of malachite fog began to cascade down the sheer cliff side, swelling with size and power. Flashes of sickly green light flickered through the thick cloud revealing shadows of movement within.

Even Kahi, who only saw the magnificent scene in varying greys and blacks, was still aghast in wonder. The swirling, contorting clouds. They were familiar. It was there in his dream when he saw the death of life, seeping between the leaves. A whirlpool of sheer terror and decay, swirling down the sharp peaks of protruding mountains.

It was incredibly beautiful.

Or it would have been.

If it wasn’t heading directly toward them.