Zarek’s eyes snapped open, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps. The remnants of a vivid nightmare clung to his mind like a heavy fog, refusing to dissipate. His body was drenched in sweat, the cool air of the pit doing little to soothe the trembling that wracked his limbs. For a moment, he lay there, staring up at the dark, wooden ceiling, trying to make sense of the vision that had jolted him awake.

In the nightmare, he had found himself in an alien world—one where the sky was a brilliant blue, marred by flickering shadows that seemed to dance across the horizon. Towering buildings, unlike anything he had ever seen, stretched toward the heavens, their peaks disappearing into the clouds. The air was thick with an ominous hum, a sound that reverberated through the very core of his being.

And then came the light.

A blinding flash that tore through the sky, followed by a deafening roar that shook the earth itself. Buildings crumbled as if made of sand, their mighty structures reduced to nothing in an instant. Heat, searing and relentless, scorched the land, vaporizing everything in its path. People, animals, trees—nothing was spared from the inferno that consumed the world.

Zarek could still feel the heat on his skin, the terror that had gripped him as he watched the world burn. But what haunted him most was the silence that followed. A silence so profound, so absolute, that it seemed to swallow all existence.

"Where am I?" Zarek whispered to himself, his voice barely audible in the stillness of the pit. He struggled to shake off the lingering dread, forcing himself to sit up and take in his surroundings.

The familiar sight of his modest shelter greeted him—a small, earthen pit reinforced with wooden beams and lined with animal hides. A fire crackled softly in the hearth, its warmth a comforting contrast to the cold reality of his nightmares. For a moment, he allowed himself to take solace in the normalcy of it all. He was safe, here in his pit, far from the horrors that plagued his dreams.

But the sense of unease lingered, a dark cloud that refused to lift.

For as long as Zarek could remember, the nightmares had been a part of his life. They came to him in the dead of night, vivid and unrelenting, each one a twisted vision of destruction and despair. The tall buildings, the searing light, the all-consuming fire—it was as if his mind was trying to show him something, something from a time long past, a world lost to history.

He often wondered if these nightmares were more than just figments of his imagination. Were they glimpses of a forgotten age, memories of a world that had once been? Or were they something else entirely, a warning of things to come?

Zarek had always been different. An outcast, shunned by the villagers since the day he was born. They whispered about him, called him cursed, an ill omen. All because of a shooting star that had streaked across the sky on the day of his birth. A sign, they said, that he would bring nothing but misfortune to their small, isolated village.

But Zarek had learned to live with the isolation. It had given him time to think, to reflect, to question the world around him. While the other children played and laughed, he would wander the cold forest that surrounded the village, searching for clues to the mysteries that consumed his thoughts.

The world was a puzzle, and he was determined to solve it.

He found solace in the quiet moments of study, poring over the fragments of history left behind by those who had come before. The village elders told tales of a time when the world was very different, when humans lived in vast cities, their lives filled with wonders that were now little more than myths. But Zarek questioned these tales. How could such a world have existed, only to be reduced to the desolate, frozen wasteland that they now called home?

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His nightmares seemed to offer glimpses of that lost world—terrifying glimpses, to be sure, but glimpses nonetheless. And so, Zarek pushed forward, driven by a desire to uncover the truth, no matter how dark or dangerous it might be.

He adjusted his furs and stood up, determined to put the nightmare behind him. He had work to do, and the forest awaited.

…

The village of Heaven of Astraeus was a place steeped in tradition and ancient customs, its people clinging to survival in a world that had long since turned its back on them. Named after its founder, Astraeus, a titan who, according to legend, had calmed the sky when it threatened to fall, the village was a relic of a bygone era.

Generations of elders had passed down tales of the old world—a world of great cities and advanced technology, a world that had been brought to its knees by forces beyond their understanding. But now, all that remained were scattered tribes, struggling to eke out an existence in the harsh, unforgiving landscape.

The villagers believed in the power of the stars, seeing them as both protectors and harbingers of doom. Shooting stars, once symbols of hope and fortune, were now viewed with fear and suspicion. And so, when a star had fallen on the day of Zarek’s birth, the villagers had turned on him, branding him as cursed.

Zarek didn’t care what they thought. He had long since accepted his role as an outsider, finding comfort in the solitude of his pit and the endless questions that filled his mind.

But there were others who had not forgotten the significance of that star.

…

In a dark corner of the village, far from the prying eyes of the other villagers, Nara and her father, Elder Varek, plotted in secret. The air was thick with the scent of burning herbs, the smoke curling lazily in the dim light of their home.

Nara’s eyes gleamed with a cold, calculating light as she paced back and forth, her mind racing with thoughts of power and ambition. “We can’t let that boy claim his birthright,” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. “If the elders support him, we’ll lose everything we’ve worked for.”

Elder Varek, a frail old man with clouded eyes, nodded slowly. His face was a mask of malice, his smile a twisted parody of warmth. “He’ll be out in the wild soon, forced to survive on his own,” he rasped, his voice dripping with venom. “And accidents… accidents can happen.”

Nara paused, her gaze fixed on the door as if expecting someone to burst in at any moment. “He won’t return,” she said, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “We’ll make sure of that.”

Varek chuckled softly, a sound that sent chills down Nara’s spine. “Perhaps the stars have spoken,” he mused, “that he should be our next sacrifice.”

Their laughter echoed through the small house, a sound that seemed to seep into the very walls, leaving a lingering sense of dread in its wake.

…

Zarek stood at the edge of his pit, his eyes scanning the village below. The villagers moved about their daily tasks, their faces etched with the weariness of survival. The cold wind bit at his exposed skin, but he barely noticed, lost as he was in his thoughts.

He could feel the tension in the air, a tension that had only grown stronger in recent days. Something was coming—something that would change everything. He could feel it in his bones, an unease that gnawed at him, refusing to be ignored.

But Zarek was no stranger to unease. He had lived his entire life under the shadow of fear and suspicion, and he had learned to push forward despite it. The world was a dangerous place, filled with secrets and lies, but he was determined to uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

His mind drifted back to the nightmare that had haunted him for so long. The images of destruction and devastation were burned into his memory, a constant reminder of the fragility of the world they lived in."

I have to know," he whispered to himself, his voice barely audible over the wind. "I have to find out what really happened to the world."

With that, he wrapped his furs tightly around him and began the climb out of his pit, ready to face whatever the day might bring. The cold forest awaited him, and with it, the promise of discovery—and danger.

Little did Zarek know that his quest for answers would soon lead him down a path from which there would be no return—a path that would force him to confront the darkest corners of his own soul, and the terrifying truths that lay hidden in the shadows of the past.

As he stepped into the forest, the village of Heaven of Astraeus continued its slow, steady march toward its fate, unaware of the storm that was brewing just beyond the horizon.

And in the distance, in a dark corner of the village, Nara and Elder Varek continued their sinister plotting, their laughter echoing through the night like the cackling of ancient spirits, long forgotten by time.