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Unknown

Renee Luna

As the full moon casts its silver light upon the surrounding snowscape, I push myself up while adjusting to the ethereal glow around me. Scanning around me, I find myself standing in an empty field blanketed with snow. Tall trees stand like silent sentinels in the distance in each direction as confusion begins to flood my mind.

My memories elude me, leaving only a sense of disorientation in their wake. Where am I? How did I get here? My mind comes up blank as I try to recall the moments leading up to now.

Another thing is that I can't sense the cold air or anything for that matter. Waving my arm in front of me feels surreal as if I'm completely submerged underwater. Am I in a dream?

"Hello?"

My call is left unanswered as my body begins to move without purpose in a singular direction. I don't know where I'm going but after some time, I emerge out the other side of the woods where I'm greeted by a glistening body of water. Walking closer, I reach its rocky shore where its surface lies perfectly still resembling a mirror reflecting the world around it with pristine clarity.

I stand in awe at its beauty as a state of tranquility comes over me.

"What is this place?"

I don't know how much time passes but eventually, I'm pulled out of my trance when I hear the shifting of gravel to my right. Turning my head, I spot a figure kneeling by the edge of the water only a couple of feet away from me. He doesn't seem to notice my presence however as I continue to observe them mumble words I don't understand.

He has his hands together and sports an unusual attire that I've never seen before. If I were to guess, it somewhat resembles an outfit once worn during the Age of Faith. Grey armor plates surround his torso and limbs along with a helmet that only consists of a narrow horizontal slit for viewing out. Continuing, he also wears a long cloak, with a symbol printed on it...

huh...

that symbol...

looks sort of-

"Familiar?"

His voice cuts through me as I startle back. My sensations also come back to me as the air suddenly becomes heavy and the howling of the wind abruptly stops.

Rising to his feet to face me, I catch the same symbol engraved on his chest piece as well as beneath his right eye on his helmet. The drawing of an eye... the same one I first saw back on Tyran. The one that made me relive my past... my nightmares.

Without warning, I'm flooded with memories from that exact moment up to the present. I'm breathing heavily now as I gaze around at my surroundings that I no longer view as beautiful and serene. I'm on Vicerole and its surface alone.

But how? How did I get here? Where's everyone else?

And more importantly... I turn back to the person clad in armor who has yet to move an inch from his original spot.

"W-Who are you?" I stutter my words.

He remains silent, but only for a moment, before taking a step forward which causes me to jump. He notices and doesn't take another.

"What is your name?" He finally speaks.

I swallow hard before answering, "Luna... Renee Luna."

"So, you're the one it has anointed," he speaks again, "And seeing how you reacted to this-" he raises a ringer and points to the eye on his cheek, "My guess is that they have already begun the amalgamation within you."

What is he talking about? This is a dream, right? I had thought so in the beginning... so why does this feel so real to me?

"I told you my name, so tell me yours. I asked first you know..." From his reaction, what I just said seemed to catch him off guard.

"Strange. I would have assumed they already would've informed you about my existence."

Who is this person that he keeps referring to? Andino? I may have been half-listening to him towards the end, but I don't remember him mentioning any named individuals. Even then, why did he refer to them as it in the beginning?

"Perhaps I was wrong." His voice drew my attention once more, "I was under the assumption that the integration was well underway... but could it be...?"

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He steps closer as I hear his voice grow louder.

"Could it be that you haven't met her yet?"

Her?

I'm at a loss for words when suddenly I hear a low chuckle coming from him. I remain frozen in place as he continues to laugh before eventually stopping to look up at me. Even with his face hidden, I can tell we've locked eyes... yet at the same time, it feels as if he's looking straight through me.

"I've forced your hand, haven't I? Your desperation amuses me, befitting for such a being as yourself.' His words send shivers down my spine, "Try as you must though, your effort will prove fruitless. Providence will be sterilized from your influence and a new order shall rise to take its place. As for you..."

All of a sudden, I'm hit with a white flash as I feel his gaze upon me. The wind around me starts to pick up again and the lake now begins to thrash its wave violently. My hands tremble and I can feel my heart pounding faster and harder as I catch what I believe to be a slight glimmer of silver through the opening of his helmet.

"That name you mentioned earlier, Andino was it?" he pauses, as if deep in thought.

I can't move. My body is paralyzed with fear. My lips quiver but I can't get any words out. By the time he finishes processing his thoughts, he looks up once more and that's when I finally catch a glimpse of his silver eyes.

"Ah.

There.

You.

Are."

Before I can react, the world around me begins to distort and fade away into the void as I feel myself falling downwards into endless darkness. The person in front of me also begins to disappear but not before stating one last thing to me.

"I am the Tempest. And I shall rid this world of its Divine Right."

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The first thing I do when I awaken is gasp for air. I sit up, breathing erratically as I wipe the sweat off my face. Next to me, Frost startles awake as he reaches to place his hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong? What happened?" He asks, clearly still half-asleep.

His touch makes me involuntarily yelp as I pull away. I'm still contemplating what just happened to me.

What was that? I'm still in the storage room with the others. Was it a dream after all? A nightmare? It was unlike the nightmares I used to have though. This was different. I can remember every second of it vividly. Was it real? Was it all just an illusion? I don't know... I don't know... I don't know!

Frost is now sitting up as he stares at my distraught expression.

"Hey! Talk to me. What's wrong?"

I can't answer him but something inside me is telling me to run. I can't explain it, but every inch of my body is telling me that I have to leave this place immediately.

"I- I saw someone! In my sleep. They know we're here. We have to leave!" I shout but as soon as I try to get up, he stops me.

"What are you talking about? Who? Was it a nightmare?"

"No! It wasn't! I mentioned Andino. I've put us all in danger. Come on! We're wasting time!"

The others have begun to awaken as well but Frost still struggles to wrap around what I'm trying to tell him.

"What's going on here?"

Macy's voice makes me turn around to see her walking up to us as the shards begin to illuminate the room with their lights.

"Macy! We can't stay here any longer! Someone is coming and I don't know how much time we have left!"

"Please calm down. You're not making any sense-"

"No!"

I cut her off and grab a hold of her and begin to plead with her. What is happening to me? I can't control my body. These emotions aren't mine. The things I'm saying aren't my thoughts. These are someone else's.

"You have to believe me, Macy! It wasn't a nightmare! It felt real and if we stay here, we're all going to die..."

The room goes silent as I slump my head downwards.

"Please... you have to trust me..."

After what felt like an eternity, I finally feel her hands rest on my shoulders as I look back up to her.

"Okay. I trust you." Is all she says before looking up at the surrounding shards.

"You heard her! Start packing up! We are leaving!"

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Luckily it doesn't take long for everyone to regroup outside. There's obvious confusion but Macy is talking with Cruz in hopes that he'll understand the situation. During this time, I also found out that around five hours had passed from when I fell asleep to when I awoke. The vision I had could've occurred anywhere between that timeframe. Not knowing when he could show up is making me uneasy.

"That sure is a lot to take in." I overhear Cruz say behind me. "Nevertheless, we need to find Andino and warn him about this. We'll also need him to show us the way out of here."

"The siblings are also still at the clinic on the other side of the town," Macy adds before calling to get my attention. "Luna, take three others and let the ones at the clinic know what's going on. Cruz and I will find Andino with the rest of the shards. We'll meet back up in the middle of town."

With a quick nod, I grab the nearest shards I can find and race to the infirmary as fast as I can.

The roads are now empty as we sprint through the gravel and pass by empty shops. The artificial lights above now also emit a dim glow that replicates the amount of light the moon would give off at this time. I don't know how much time is left but so far, I don't see anything that would indicate an attack, but something keeps telling me to not stop.

We're almost to the clinic and when we make the turn onto the road that leads there, I slam straight into someone which leads to the two of us hitting the ground together.

"Hey guarda dove stai andando!" The girl shouts as we both look up and recognize each other.

"Oh, it's you... What are you all doing out this at this time?" She says while helping me to my feet.

"Aria! Listen to me carefully," I start, "You have to believe me when I say this but you're not safe here."

"What do mean-"

"I saw a man in my dream, he called himself the Tempest and-"

Her eyes widen at the mention of the name and her body goes stiff.

"T-Tempest?"

"Yeah! Wait, is that name familiar to you?" I ask now.

"He- He... T-That can't be... he said he would leave us alone!" She shouts, her expression turning fearful.

Soon after, a loud rumble shakes through the entire cavern forcing me to look up at its source. Above us, rocks and pebbles begin to fall until I notice a crack forming that begins to spread across the ceiling. People have also begun exiting their homes around me as they too look up in wonder. That wonder soon turns into terror however as the ceiling finally crumbles, sending boulders down upon the town, along with a Stalker. It lands at an intersection with a thud before proceeding to stand back up on its legs to produce a screech that vibrates throughout my body.

"M-Molestatore! Molestatore!"