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When Stars Remember God
by Eon Vale
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Chapter 1 — The Dying Star
Darkness.
That was the first thing Kael knew.
Not the peaceful kind, but a heavy void that pressed against the edges of his mind — suffocating, endless, and old.
He woke upon a floor of cold obsidian. The air was thick, stale, unmoving. Pillars of cracked stone rose into a ceiling lost to shadow. Strange carvings lined the walls — runes that pulsed faintly, like dying embers remembering what light once felt like.
Kael pushed himself upright. His breath came out ragged. He didn't know where he was. He didn't even know who he was.
Only one truth whispered faintly in the hollow of his chest:
He had fallen.
He stood. The ground beneath his bare feet vibrated softly, almost alive. He ran his hand across one of the carvings — the stone burned faintly beneath his touch, whispering voices that weren't human.
> "You should not be here."
The words didn't come from outside — they came from within. His heartbeat quickened. The whisper faded as quickly as it came, leaving him with a strange ache of recognition.
He looked upward, trying to find the ceiling, and saw instead the faint shimmer of starlight leaking through a fractured dome. A dying sun hung in the sky — crimson, cold, and collapsing in on itself.
A memory flickered.
A war of light and shadow.
A thousand voices calling his name.
Then — silence.
The ground trembled. Something deep in the temple shifted, like an ancient creature stirring in its sleep. Kael stumbled back, eyes darting across the ruins. He saw broken statues — gods of forgotten forms, half-buried in ash. Some had wings. Others had faces twisted in eternal screams.
He didn't know why, but the sight filled him with sorrow.
There was a door ahead, massive and sealed by layers of stone. He pressed his hand against it. Symbols flared to life — runes older than creation itself. For a brief moment, Kael's reflection shimmered in the stone. But the man staring back wasn't human. His eyes burned with silver light. His skin cracked like starlight trapped in flesh.
And then, just as quickly, it faded.
The runes went dark.
Kael fell to his knees, clutching his chest. His heart felt wrong — too slow, too heavy.
Something whispered again, faint and cold:
> "Wake, God of the Lost Flame."
Kael gasped. The name echoed inside him like thunder. His mind shattered against it, fragments of memory bleeding through: galaxies burning, voices praying, worlds ending in his name.
Then the silence returned — heavier than before.
He was alone. The gods were gone. The temple was dying.
And somewhere in the distance, something watched.
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Author's Note:
Every beginning hides the end of something greater.
Thank you for reading. 🌑