0.2 — Prologue — Our Universe

Absolute emptiness. Nothingness. Those two words best described the nature of the place where Cethus now found himself – a realm so detached from known existence that even time itself seemed dead here. Black and gray streaks drifted everywhere, lazily like smoke across a burned sky, creating an unsettling atmosphere of suspension.

This was no ordinary space – it was a point in the universe, hidden deep within the cosmos, inside one of the black holes – an existence barely perceptible, like a dream whispered by death. There lay the lifeless body of Lyttia. It was dissolving into the air like ash blown away by an invisible wind, rising and vanishing in translucent wisps.

Cethus, who had also entered this sphere of oblivion, felt its effects taking hold. His body – once radiant, almost divine – began to blur, unraveling into transparent ribbons of light and smoke. He stood barely ten meters from his sister, yet the distance was insurmountable. The closer he tried to move toward her, the faster his own form faded.

Now they both appeared like phantoms — two white spirits drifting in nothingness. Though Lyttia’s body looked as if it should have disintegrated decades ago, it still existed, as though some higher being stubbornly sustained it in nonexistence.

Cethus stretched his hand forward, straining with all his might to reach her. He ground his teeth, his muscles tensing to the limit. Finally, his fingers touched her shoulder – but instead of contact, he felt only emptiness. Her body was nothing but mist. The connection vanished instantly, and his hand was flung back.

Lyttia… just a little longer. I’ll get you out of here.

Without hesitation, he pulled from his pocket the remnant of Raeliyel – the small orange crystal – and hurled it toward his sister. The artifact collided with her misty form and began to work. Her body slowly regained color. Skin, once white as a cloud, took on a creamy hue. The mist vanished, replaced by reality.

The black hole began to blur, then disappeared entirely, as if erased by an invisible pen. Cethus regained his body and his former radiance. The void was gone — only silence and the expanse of the cosmos remained, pure, full of stars, planets, and eternal presence.

It was all thanks to the power of Raeliyel — the constellation of dissolution, whose final energy had been spent to restore Lyttia to life.

The girl slowly opened her eyes – golden, radiant – eyes that had not lifted for so many years.

No… I can’t believe it… I actually did it.

Lyttia sat up, brushing her long hair with her hand. The two of them now floated in the vacuum of space, suspended among the galaxies. In the distance, like a tiny orange speck the size of a fingernail, Leyloris disintegrated — the planet he could not save. In thirty years, there would be no trace of it left, nor of anyone who remembered it.

The girl looked intently at Cethus.

She’s… truly alive… Lyttia.

He gazed at her with wide eyes, but soon looked away. Sadness crept unconsciously into his expression.

She doesn’t recognize me… She doesn’t know who I am…

He felt an inner, suffocating pain. Not physical. Metamorphic. A fracture of the soul.

— You’re… Cethus? — she asked softly, in a girlish, gentle voice.

That voice… He hadn’t heard it for so long that now he could feel nothing but a swelling wave of melancholy.

— Yes, exactly… So you remember… — he replied in disbelief, holding his breath.

— Do we have something in common? I feel like I know nothing about you except your name… — she looked around. — Where are we, exactly?

The hope that had just flickered within him went out. He collided with reality. He thought that maybe… maybe somehow, he could restore her memories. But she remembered only his name. Nothing more.

I can’t delude myself. Not now. I have to be clear.

He cleared his throat and answered in a serious tone:

— Your name is Lyttia… and we are siblings. For now, you won’t remember anything, but your memories will slowly return. I’ll take you to the planet Terva. We’ll meet there again. I promise.

Lyttia widened her eyes, completely unable to understand his words.

Brother and sister? Terva? Memory loss? What is he talking about?

Cethus hesitated, but he knew he couldn’t remain silent.

— You must rid yourself of this energy, Lyttia… — he added quietly, with pain. — Raeliyel’s energy. It’s what brought you back, but… it won’t come without consequence. It doesn’t belong to you. It will destroy you, unless someone else discovers you carry it first.

The girl froze, confused.

— Raeliyel? What kind of… energy is that?

— Foreign. Too powerful, too wild. And with each passing day, it fills you more. — Cethus stepped closer. — If you don’t learn to control it, it will take control of you. And if it doesn’t… others will find out about it. And they will hunt you.

Lyttia clenched her hands, instinctively stepping back.

— But… what should I do?

Cethus looked straight into her eyes, without a trace of hesitation.

— You must awaken your own energy. The one that was put to sleep within you long ago. Only then will you have any choice. Your own strength is your only protection against what Raeliyel became. And your only path to freedom.

At his words, the girl trembled. My own energy? Am I even ready for that…?

After a moment, Cethus’s tone changed – softer, yet no less resolute.

— It won’t be easy. But if you truly wish to live… if you want to be yourself… you must awaken it and tear from yourself what does not belong to you.

— Alright… — she whispered hesitantly. — I’ll try.

He slowly approached her, and before she could react, he gently placed his hand over her eyes.

Her vision went black in an instant, and her entire body stiffened. She could do nothing – his touch worked like a sedative. This time not for eternity… only for a few years. Just long enough for her to truly return to life.

When she was already unconscious, Cethus embraced her tightly and tenderly – for the last time.

— This is for your own good, Lyttia… — he whispered. — This time, you’ll return for real. Stronger.