The air felt warm. The soft crackle of fire echoed around him, yet there was no scent of smoke—no burnt wood, no ash.
Burning, but no smell? Nova questioned silently.
Curiosity tugging at him, he slowly opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the flickering blue flame before him.
As he gazed around, seven gleaming pillars stood before him—dark, yet somehow shining, glowing with otherworldly energy. Strange, cryptic patterns were carved into each one, pulsing faintly like veins of magic. Overwhelmed, his eyes dropped to the floor. Ancient symbols—etched in a circular pattern—spiraled inward, leading to a flickering blue flame that bathed the entire chamber in an eerie, unnatural hue.
Where the hell am I? he thought, shivering with fear.
Slowly biting his teeth, he moved forward, each step trembling as he approached the flame. But as he drew closer, he felt no heat—instead, a sensation like his very soul was healing. Relaxed by the strange calm, he mindlessly reached out and touched the flame with bare hands, feeling as if nothing in the world could ever bother him again.
On a hot summer day, sweat dripped down their skin as laughter echoed through the overgrown streets.
"Darla, stop! We'll get caught!" Nova whispered through his giggles.
"Don't be scared, Nova. Didn't you promise you'd save me?"
The little boy nodded, puffing his chest with pride.
They ran up to the building, laughing and nearly tripping over their own feet. Nova held his flashlight tight, Darla swinging hers like a toy. Cobwebs brushed their faces, and the air inside smelled old and forgotten.
Two little detectives, side by side, grinning like the world belonged to them.
They clicked buttons on dusty machines, ran from rats that startled them, and filled the halls with the kind of laughter that only kids could make.
"Let's play hide and seek," Darla said, already backing away with a grin.
Nova nodded hard and turned around to count.
After stumbling to one hundred, he began his mission—peeking behind torn curtains, under broken tables, through old sofas missing their cushions. The whole floor was clear.
So he climbed the stairs.
And there she was—Darla—standing at the top, looking down at him with that same mischievous smile.
"I found you!" he shouted, heart racing with joy as he playfully pushed her.
But then—
His smile faded.
His face went pale.
The space between them stretched—not across the room, but down.
Darla was falling.
Her scream didn't reach him. Only the sound of his own heartbeat did.
His hand was still out, frozen where it had pushed her.
What was supposed to be a game...
cost her everything.
A piercing sound tore through his skull.
The blue flame flared violently.
Nova gasped—his breath caught in his throat as if he'd been underwater all this time. His knees buckled. The chamber spun. His hand jerked away from the flame, seared not by fire but by the weight of memory.
He stumbled back, heart hammering, the echo of Darla's fall still ringing in his ears.
The warmth was gone.
Now, everything felt cold.
Too real. Too loud. Too alive.
As he sat, puzzled and shaken, his eyes locked onto the first pillar—now glowing with a soft green hue. The floor beneath it shimmered like polished emerald, casting reflections that danced across the chamber walls.
His mind already fractured, Nova could only stare—helpless, hollow, as if the pillar was staring right back.