Children of The Stellar Severance

I awoke to the howling void of darkness, my dreams providing the only reprieve in this oppressive prison. Time that once felt tangible now felt like a fleeting concept, slipping through my grasp like grains of sand.

A long time ago, I tried to keep track of it, counting the moments, the hours, and the days. But eventually, I stopped. 

There was a point when I struggled against the chains, desperate for freedom. I questioned why I was still alive and why I continued to endure. Yet, in this corrosive abyss, stripped of all, only one thing truly remained: my mind.

My dreams granted me a freedom unlike anything I had ever known—a fleeting escape from the chains of reality. They became my sanctuary, painting vivid worlds where the darkness couldn't reach me. I dreamt of better times and better places, of sunlit skies and laughter, of a life untouched by darkness.

After all, one cannot dream without the presence of time or the absence of space. Dreams are woven from the threads of possibility, each one stretching beyond the boundaries of the here and now. Within them, I could bend the rules, rewrite the present, and glimpse a future where I was no longer bound.

And so, in the absence of freedom, my dreams became my final rebellion.

I dreamt while awake, conjuring visions of a golden-strewn beach where an endless ocean stretched to meet the horizon. I witnessed birds soaring across the open sky, their wings slicing through rays of sunlight. I could almost feel the coarse grains of sand beneath my fingertips as I swept my hands along the shore. The scene was truly beautiful, so vivid that I could smell the brine of the sea and hear the gentle lapping of waves against the shore.

The dream carried on, though the once gentle lapping of waves began to shift. The rhythmic sounds of the ocean grew restless, their harmony unravelling into chaotic crashes that echoed unnaturally. The tranquil atmosphere quivered as an unsettling cacophony seeped into the dream, each noise growing louder, sharper, more jarring.

At first, I tried to ignore it, clinging to the serenity of the golden beach. But the chaotic banging grew insistent; slowly, it dawned on me—the noise wasn't from within the dream but from outside it, from the bleak reality I sought to escape. And yet, it was infecting my sanctuary, bending my dream to its will. The once soothing waves became thunderous, the sky dimmed, and the scene's beauty fractured under the weight of the invasive sound. 

Opening my eyes felt like an insurmountable task, the weight of having them closed for what felt like an eternity leaving a toll. The darkness around me was not just from my heavy eyelids—it was the oppressive blackness of the room itself, deeper and more suffocating than before.

Then I heard it—that loud, persistent banging, the very sound that had invaded my dream. It reverberated through the suffocating stillness, shattering the silence that had cloaked my existence for so long.

Sound. It was the first authentic sound I'd heard in what felt like ages. Despite its harshness, it was a strange delight to my ears, a sign that something, anything, existed beyond this void. 

The noise grew louder, each bang reverberating through the walls of my prison like a storm demanding to be heard. Then, with a deafening crash, the doors that had confined me were shattered open.

Light—blinding and unrelenting—poured in, banishing the shadows that had once consumed my world.

It was so bright, painfully so, that I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. I yearned to keep them open, to let the brilliance wash over me. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, I felt a true, unbridled happiness—a joy so profound it forced a grin onto my once emotionless face.

Hope was here.

With effort, I opened my eyes once again, this time braving the overwhelming brightness to focus on the source of the light. The door that had once stood as an unyielding barrier, fortified with intricate reinforcing runes, now lay shattered. Its once-magnificent carvings, symbols of strength and impenetrability, were now nothing more than fractured remnants.

Beyond the door lay a gruesome scene. Guards lay strewn across the ground, littered with wounds that claimed their life—and standing among the carnage was a Forsaken being wreathed in blood of his foes. Its blood-red eyes watched me with a predatory gaze as he stepped over the corpses as though they were just an afterthought and made his way toward me.

"Look at you now," the being sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "Once so almighty, now reduced to this." He gestured around the room with a blood-soaked hand, the crimson streaks gleaming in the harsh light.

"You once butchered my kind," it hissed, its voice dripping with bitterness and cruel amusement. "Hunted the Forsaken in the name of glory and peace. And yet, look where that path has led you." The creature paused, savouring the moment, its eyes gleaming with dark delight. It curled its lips into a wicked grin, barely suppressing a demonic laugh. "The very ones you sought to protect saw you as the demon. Even going through great lengths to lock you in this prison—your punishment for the sins you once committed."

"How foolish your kind is," it sneered, its voice dripping with contempt. "They didn't believe you. They threw you away and left you to rot in this cell. The most powerful among them was reduced to nothing. Sentenced to this fate, and forced to bend to the whims of the weaker." The words were laced with malice, each one seeming to pierce deeper into my soul.

"Don't worry, though," it taunted, its voice dripping with sadistic satisfaction. "The people who wronged you? They'll get what they deserve. What all of your kind deserve, in fact." It paused, letting the words hang in the air like a heavy cloud. "As you can feel, the fight still festers above. Each moment, we gain more control and power as we lay waste to your once-great civilization." It let out a cold laugh, savouring the thought of destruction.

"Unfortunately, you won't be around to witness the end of this," it sneered, leaning closer as its bloodstained hand gestured ominously. "But I wanted you to know… that we will haunt the dreams of your descendants, just as you once haunted ours so very long ago."