All of humanity stood frozen, eyes locked on the impossible sight unfolding above. What they had once dismissed as mere legend had now breached reality.
"Father…?"
Farion turned to his father, but Alden didn't respond. His eyes were fixed on the sky, his face pale, stunned into silence.
"Mother…?" he whispered. Selene was no different—her lips parted, breath caught in her throat.
Then, from the rift in the sky, a man with long black hair, brown eyes, and strange blue-and-white robes emerged. He glanced back toward the tear, urgency in his voice.
"Seal the rift—now! If it escapes, the world will be its prize!"
"Right!"
Standing atop their swords, the Immortals raised their fingers to the sky. A dazzling light burst forth, streaming from their fingertips, slowly knitting the sky back together like broken glass fusing in reverse.
"Wai…t…"
A faint voice echoed from within the rift. In a flash, a figure burst out—fast, uncontrolled. He plummeted from the sky and crashed into the earth, unconscious.
The moment the rift closed, the shaking ground stilled. The darkened sky cleared. And just as suddenly as they had appeared, the Immortals vanished.
A stunned silence fell over the world. Kings, nobles, and peasants alike could only gape.
In the village of Lumaria, something else fell from the sky.
The villagers hadn't moved—they were still staring upward, spellbound.
"Everyone! Clear the area! Something's falling!" a villager cried.
Panic took over. People screamed and scattered in all directions.
"Ugh!"
A young girl was jostled and fell to the ground.
The others had already fled. She lay there, frozen, staring as something hurtled straight toward her.
Some wanted to help—but it was too late.
Farion saw it.
"Look out!"
He ran with everything he had, threw himself in front of her—
A flash of light. A burst of sound.
Then silence, as the two of them were blasted backward into the trees, his arms around her.
"No! Rion!"
Selene and Alden rushed over, panic flooding their faces.
The girl looked at Farion, breathless.
"Rion… thank you…"
Farion gave her a shaky smile.
"You're welcome."
"Son, are you alright?" Selene asked, hands trembling as she checked his body.
Farion tried to sit up.
"I'm okay, Mother… Father…"
"Don't move if it hurts, Rion," Alden said, kneeling beside him.
The girl stood and bowed deeply.
"Rion's father… Rion's mother… I'm so sorry. If it weren't for me, Rion wouldn't be hurt."
"It's alright, child," Selene said gently. "It was his choice. This wasn't your fault."
The girl looked around fifteen—just like Farion.
A crowd was forming near where the object had landed.
"Father, Mother—let's go see."
They joined the villagers.
"What happened, Old Man?" Alden asked.
The village elder let out a long sigh.
"See for yourself, Alden…"
"What… is this?"
Before them lay a man—an Immortal, stripped of his armor, bleeding and barely conscious.
Alden stepped forward.
"What do we do, Alden?" someone asked.
"We're just villagers. What could we possibly do for an Immortal?" another muttered.
"He's still alive," Alden said firmly. "Immortal or not, we can't just let him die."
"But how?" the elder asked.
"At the very least, let's stop the bleeding. We'll take him to my house."
Some villagers helped lift the wounded man. Others headed back to check their homes after the quake.
"Uh, Alden—where should we put him?" one man asked while carrying him.
Alden paused. The spare room was Farion's now.
"I'll give him my room," Farion said. "I'll help take care of him."
Alden looked at his son.
"Are you sure, Rion?"
"Yes."
"Alright." Alden smiled proudly.
They laid the Immortal in Farion's bed. His wounds—deep slashes on both arms and a stab to the abdomen—were cleaned. Alden applied his herbal salves. Two villagers helped bandage the injuries.
"That's all we can do for now," one said. "We'll head home."
"Thank you, all of you," Alden said.
The house fell quiet again. The three of them cleaned up, then tried to rest.
As night came, Selene turned to her son.
"If you can't sleep in your room, come sleep with us, okay?"
"Alright, Mother. If I can't sleep, I'll come to your room."
He smiled, then headed inside.
Selene chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Alden asked.
"He's so much like you when we used to travel. That smile—you always wore it so I wouldn't worry."
Alden chuckled and patted her head.
"Well, he is our son."
"Yes… our son." She took his hand, and they went to bed.
Farion sat quietly by the Immortal's side. A living legend lay in front of him. Someone he had only read about in storybooks and old scrolls.
He kept stealing glances, shifting between sitting and standing.
Eventually, sleep took him as he slumped forward, still facing the stranger.
The Next Morning
Sunlight trickled in through the window, brushing Farion's face and stirring him awake.
He rubbed his eyes groggily.
And froze.
Sitting calmly on the bed was the man—his long black hair loose around his shoulders, golden eyes alert, his torso still wrapped in bandages.
The Immortal looked at Farion. And smiled—a quiet, calm smile that carried both strength and mystery.
"WAAAA!!"
Farion's scream echoed through the house.
Alden and Selene snapped awake. Alden bolted from the bed, flung the door open, Selene close behind.
"What is it, Rion!?"
Alden stopped cold.
His eyes widened. His body went still, his voice barely a whisper.
"What… is that…"
His gaze wasn't on the Immortal.
It was locked on the window—
Where a massive shadow loomed just outside.
A shape neither fully seen nor understood.
Something ancient.
Watching.