THE CHOSEN
The night was still, yet the stars above seemed restless.
Kael stood on the rooftop of the old duplex he called home, staring into the glittering heavens as if they might answer him. The city around him slept, neon signs humming faintly, traffic reduced to the occasional blur of headlights. It was the kind of night when thoughts grew heavy.
And Kael's thoughts were always heavy.
If only Mom and Dad were still here…
He clenched his fists in his pockets. His parents' absence was a wound that never fully closed, and the silence of the house only deepened it. At school, people called him distant, strange, a boy who never laughed. What they didn't see was how much of his life was already taken by grief.
But tonight, something stirred. A current in the air.
The sky rippled—like a pebble had been dropped into the fabric of the universe itself.
Kael blinked, rubbing his eyes. "What the—"
The ripple widened. The stars twisted, bending into a whirlpool of light. And then—
A voice, ancient yet strangely familiar, echoed inside his mind.
"Kael."
His breath caught. "Who's there?"
"You are Chosen."
Before he could speak, light engulfed him. His surroundings vanished. The rooftop, the street, the world—gone.
He was falling, not downwards, but inwards. Into a place beyond comprehension.
When the light faded, Kael found himself standing in a vast field of silver grass. The horizon stretched endlessly, skies painted in auroras of blue, violet, and gold. A dream? A hallucination?
No. This was something else.
"You too?"
Kael turned sharply. A girl stood a few paces away. Her long dark hair fell in smooth waves, her posture graceful yet guarded. Her uniform matched his school's—meaning she wasn't a stranger. He knew her.
Talia.
The girl everyone whispered about. Heiress of a wealthy family. Cold as ice, untouchable. The girl who never smiled.
And yet, when her eyes met his, she smiled—just faintly.
Kael froze. What the heck? Did she just…?
Before he could process, another voice rang out. "Okay, this is officially weird. I was taking a nap, and now I'm in some… sci-fi fever dream?"
A second girl stumbled onto the field. Shorter, fiery-haired, with sharp eyes that darted around in suspicion. Unlike Talia, her presence was raw, unpolished, restless.
Juno.
Kael recognized her too. She wasn't particularly popular at school, but she had a reputation for being blunt and always alone.
And now, somehow, the three of them stood in this impossible world.
"…You guys too?" Kael muttered.
Juno crossed her arms. "Don't lump me into whatever this is. I didn't sign up for an alien abduction."
Talia tilted her head, studying them both. "No. We weren't abducted." Her tone was calm, unnervingly so. "We were… summoned."
Kael frowned. "Summoned? By who?"
As if in response, the air trembled. From above, a sphere of light descended, pulsing with warmth. Inside it swirled colors Kael couldn't name, shapes that shifted like living constellations.
"Children of Earth," the voice resonated again. "You stand chosen by the Beyond."
The three of them instinctively shielded their eyes.
"The Beyond is creation. Where there is destruction, I rise to heal. Where there is void, I breathe life. And you three—Kael, Talia, Juno—are bound to me now. Together, you will carry Astral Flow."
Kael's chest tightened. Astral… Flow?
Juno scowled. "Wait, hold up. I didn't agree to any cosmic job offer. I just wanted to pass math class, not… carry space magic."
For the first time, Talia's smile widened, a flicker of amusement in her eyes. "You don't get to choose."
The light pulsed brighter. "A shadow stirs. The Tranceeds of destruction seek to breach your world. Already, their whispers reach through dreams. You three will stand against them… or all Earths shall fall."
"Earths?" Kael asked.
"Eighteen versions. Each a reflection of creation. Only your Earth remains unknown to them… for now."
The words barely sank in before the ground quaked. A fissure tore open across the field, spilling darkness like ink. From it, twisted figures clawed their way out—shadows with distorted faces, whispering in tongues that scraped the soul.
Kael stumbled back. His heart pounded. "What… what are those?!"
The voice thundered: "Corruption."
The shadows surged forward.
Kael panicked. His fists clenched instinctively—and light burst from his hands. Streams of energy coiled around him, flowing like water yet burning like fire.
Astral Flow.
Beside him, Talia lifted her palm. Blades of shimmering light spiraled out, dancing like living steel. Her eyes glowed faintly, calm even amidst the chaos.
And Juno—despite cursing under her breath—raised her arms, her Astral Flow surging outward like arcs of electricity, sharp and volatile.
The three of them clashed with the shadows. Kael's strikes tore through them, his body moving faster than he thought possible. Talia fought with elegance, every slash precise. Juno's energy crackled wildly, obliterating anything that came too close.
But the shadows kept coming. Endless.
Kael's chest tightened. His energy wavered. We can't keep this up…
Then, as the three of them were forced back, their hands brushed.
The moment their Astral Flows touched, something ignited. A surge, vast and unstoppable, erupted around them. The silver grass bent as if in a storm, the auroras above flaring brighter.
Their powers intertwined, becoming one. A spiral of light that tore through the horde like a tidal wave.
The shadows dissolved, shrieking into nothing.
The field grew silent once more.
Kael gasped for breath, his body trembling. "What… was that?"
Talia lowered her hand, her expression thoughtful. "Astral Flow. Not mine. Not yours. Ours."
Juno groaned, brushing her hair back. "Okay, nope. I'm out. This is… this is too anime for me. Teamwork power-ups? Next you'll tell me we're destined soulmates."
Despite himself, Kael laughed weakly. "You're not wrong."
And then—just as suddenly as it began—the field faded.
The three of them blinked, finding themselves back in the waking world. Kael on his rooftop. Talia in her family's estate. Juno in her cluttered bedroom.
But none of them could shake the feeling.
Something had changed.
Forever.