"Aren't you cold?"
The stars dotting the night sky couldn't be seen tonight, hidden behind fields of smouldering dark grey clouds pouring down with unmatched intensity.
Harsh winds twisted through violent storms, pulling trees into a chaotic dance. Thunder echoed like the distant steps of giants.
Muddy slush littered the streets, rain and snow amassed atop buildings, the winds chasing everyone into the safe warmth of their houses.
Yet on a bench facing away from a busy street and toward an expansive frozen lake, a young man sat, his face hidden beneath layers of scarves wrapped around his head.
He wore a simple dark grey tunic, barely enough to stave off the cold on an average day, let alone now, when it seemed the heavens sought to freeze and drown the world over once more.
The sound of passing vessels and chariots behind him echoed alongside the constant pitter-patter of falling rain.
It was cold, yes, but it was also peaceful.
"No, not really." The young man spoke to no one, his voice smooth and silky, almost unnaturally enchanting and inviting.
In his hand, a short dagger danced between his fingers, its curved arc of steel reflecting his cold white eyes.
Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine. "Damn it… it is getting kind of cold…" he muttered.
In the distance, a laugh echoed. Shaking his head, Faust sat back, sighing as his gaze lifted to the skies, flickers of emotion reflecting in his eyes.
Doubt. Confusion. Resignation.
Faust Tharlot, third and youngest child of the esteemed Tharlot Clan, would soon marry into one of the five Noble Clans of Bastion, his achievements so pristine it was said he might even become an Imperial Advisor for the Royal Family.
Not only that, he'd soon inherit his father's farm, becoming a focal point of Bastion's economy, needed by all the Noble Clans and their branches. With the connections he'd made in his youth, such a path could only lead upward.
A future true noble, a future businessman of renown, a future Imperial Advisor, Faust stood as one of the shining stars of the coming era.
'When put like that… it does sound like a beautiful life…' he thought with a dry, humorless chuckle.
His gaze returned to the blade in his hand, and slowly, he ran a finger along its edge, his eyes vacant, lost in thought.
'…to do it… or not to do it…'
Though his future sounded bright, everyone knew such promises of grandeur meant nothing.
Without power, really, what was he, if not a glorified concubine, used to access the wealth his father had built over the years?
Perhaps, if the person he was marrying was someone he hated, he could come to terms with it, fooling himself into believing he was being bound in chains, but…
Faust sat up, burying his hands in his face as he took a deep breath and steadied himself. He was going to—
"Huh?"
Hearing the voice once again, Faust looked up.
"What is it?"
Before receiving an answer, he glanced toward the skies. Strangely, through the clouds, he saw one star; resplendent and majestic, its light unobstructed.
'Probably an Ascendant reaping some boon tied to the storm…' He dismissed the thought immediately.
Ascendants could do all sorts of things, turning into a star wasn't out of the ordinary.
But as he attempted to return to his thoughts, he found himself staring again. His eyes narrowed, and he stood abruptly, gaze fixed on the distant star.
"That's weird…" Faust chuckled nervously. "I must've gone crazy again."
There was no way. Absolutely none.
'There's no way a star is falling from the—'
Yet it kept getting closer. Clearer. The snow around him vaporized, and the star grew brighter, larger, impossibly near.
Before he could react, a sea of blinding light flooded his vision as a wave of searing heat slammed into him.
"—OH SH—"
BANG!
From the skies, at speeds too fast to comprehend, a star fell, slamming into Faust with full force.
His body went limp, muscles locking in rigor as he fell back, sprawling onto the bench behind him.
"What a way to go out…" the voice murmured.
But before it could continue, Faust's head snapped upright, lungs violently expanding as he gasped for air, his eyes red and wide.
Trembling, he fell to his knees, his tunic now smeared with mud as he dropped onto all fours, vomiting everything he'd eaten in the last day.
Exhausted, he rolled onto his back beside a puddle of his own bile, chest heaving, eyes overwhelmed with confusion.
'What just happened?… Did I just die? Am I alive?'
Bringing his hands to his face, he examined them intensely, trying to determine if he was spirit or flesh but before he could calm down, a voice echoed, and glowing golden letters appeared before him.
[Weave has awakened!]
[Skill Slots are primed!]
[Prepare for awakening!]
[0:0:29:59]
[0:0:29:58]
Faust sat up with unmatched speed, his mind instantly abandoning everything that had just occurred. His heart thundered in his chest, breath quickening.
For a moment, his mind was blank. Only the rhythm of falling rain echoed inside him.
'My Weave has awakened. I'm about to awaken. I'm about to awaken. I'm about to awaken. I'm about to awaken.'
His breaths turned uneven, his chest tightening as excitement and fear tangled inside him.
'I'M ABOUT TO AWAKEN!'
He shot to his feet and sprinted toward home, laughing maniacally as a thousand thoughts flickered across his mind.
Thoughts of grandeur. Thoughts of power. Thoughts of conquest.
Of adventures, discovery, evolution—growth.
Of so much.
And yet—
BANG!
It ended in an instant.
Out of the corner of his eye, a shadow emerged from nowhere, hurtling toward him at full speed. He had no time to react.
A metallic vessel slammed into him, his body folding as he was launched across the wet road, skidding through mud and water.
Disbelief froze on his features as the impact tore through him.
Bones shattered. Flesh ruptured. His skull cracked open.
Faust died.
The metallic vessel, eerily reminiscent of a floating truck, trembled to a halt. A side panel slid open, and a man hopped out.
Whistling a jaunty tune, the man, dressed in a pure white uniform with a large golden cross etched onto the back, walked toward the corpse.
Amidst the cold silence cloaking the grotesque scene, only his footsteps and soft whistling broke the stillness.
Reaching Faust, he spared the body barely a glance, unfazed by its state.
He flipped through the clipboard in his hands, checking box after box, until he suddenly froze.
"How the hell are you alive?"