1.1 — Forest of Beasts

Lyttia’s unconscious body lies limp among the dense undergrowth of the dark forest on the planet Terva, exactly where Cethus promised to leave her — away from sight, away from danger, in a place forgotten by all.
Two decades after the catastrophe, from the surface of Terva one can see a “split star” in the sky — the remains of the planet Leyloris, brutally torn apart in space. A mysterious object that has inspired countless legends, speculations, and childhood stories about a destruction that no one truly understands.
Terva’s society, though technologically advanced on an entirely different level than Leyloris, has no concept of a “constellation” — their language, culture, and customs are completely different, and the knowledge that life once flickered upon that “split star” has never reached them.
The forest where Lyttia rests looks like any other — full of greenery, damp soil, and the rustling of leaves. There is nothing extraordinary about it, nothing that would reveal the presence of a supernatural being. Her body, delicate and motionless, is surrounded by an invisible protective barrier placed upon her by Cethus — a barrier so perfect that no living organism can sense it, nor even perceive it. The time of her awakening is slowly approaching — everything according to her brother’s plan.
She lies on her right side, positioned like a sleeping statue. Her arms and legs are wrapped in a shining golden rope — magical bindings that will disappear the moment she awakens. That was the condition.
A figure emerges from the nearby bushes — a man with black hair, dark clothing, and an unsettlingly penetrating gaze. He parts the leaves, taking cautious steps.
Is this it? Is this the place this energy is coming from…? He stops and looks around, but all he sees is an ordinary forest landscape.
Could this be a false lead?
Suddenly, he looks down at his feet. His gaze falls upon a girl — small and pale, dressed in a short black dress decorated with golden accents. Her white hair — cut short in the front and falling all the way to her waist in the back — is braided into two long ponytails. Lyttia lies motionless, her eyes closed, not drawing a single breath.
Huh…? Could she be a seal?
He senses it immediately. He crouches beside her, his blood-orange eyes scanning her body with growing alertness. He notices the gleaming, almost blinding bindings around her limbs and immediately grows serious.
Those bindings… That’s impossible.
— But it is possible — a voice speaks inside his head. Not his own. One far too familiar.
The shadow stretches and materializes. It resembles him… but it is not him. A blurred apparition made of smoke, wearing a malicious grin.
— You’re the one who brought me here — the boy says. — So you know something.
— And even if I do…? — the shadow shrugs. — I still won’t tell you anything. After all, you hate me.
He remains silent. He leans over Lyttia and touches her hand.
I have to try. This energy… didn’t come from nowhere.
— Do whatever you want. But I’m warning you — I knew her. Back when I was still alive… inside your body.
— Shut up.
— You don’t stand a chance anyway. You’ll never become what I was.
— I will never become you!
— We are the same person — the apparition whispers.
— No! — he screams, struggling against himself and the seal. The shadow laughs inside his head.
Streams of smoke coil around the golden ropes, suppressing their glow. Sweat runs down his forehead. The energy within him trembles.
The seal cracks.
The boy collapses to the ground, gasping, exhausted. He breathes heavily and wipes his forehead.
Damn… That was harder than I thought. I won’t be able to use my energy the way I used to for a month. Damn it.
He lies beside Lyttia, glancing at her from the side.
Strange… I feel like I’ve seen her before. That bastard said he knew her… but if I have all of Kassius’s memories from his life in this body, then why don’t I remember her? Maybe he was lying. Maybe he’s just an idiot.
He studies her carefully. Long, white eyelashes. Skin like marble, cold and pale.
And then… her eyelids twitch.
Her eyes begin to open. Yellow. Like daffodils.
Lyttia opens her eyes wide. Startled. Terrified. Because the first thing she sees is the face of a strange man staring at her, right beside her.
For three seconds, they stare at each other without a word, in silence. Then Lyttia suddenly recoils, overwhelmed by a wave of embarrassment.
The black-haired boy rises into a sitting position and, without changing his expression, continues to stare silently at Lyttia, as if analyzing every detail of her behavior — coldly, without emotion, as though his gaze were merely an empty gesture rather than a conscious act of observation.
Meanwhile, the girl looks around nervously, completely disoriented, while her body reacts instinctively. Taking one step back after another, she makes at least ten of them before suddenly, through carelessness, hitting her back against a tree. Her breathing is shallow, her heart pounding wildly.
Where the hell am I? Who is he? And where is Cethus?
Her mind pulses with panic, her thoughts crashing into one another like waves in a raging ocean.
Is he going to kill me? No… I mean… NO! Get a hold of yourself!
She strikes her forehead with her palm — once, twice — as if trying to shake the intrusive voices out of her head, then looks at the boy again.
Why is his gaze so… empty? As if he doesn’t care about anything at all.
— I’m not going to kill you — the black-haired boy suddenly says, as if he had read her thoughts.
How am I supposed to trust him? I don’t know anything about him… But on the other hand… if he wanted to kill me, he would have done it already, right? — she tries to find logic in a situation that seems completely illogical.
— Where am I? Who are you? — I whisper.
The boy stands up, brushing tiny specks of dirt from his long coat, as if he had only just risen from the ground. He does not hurry to answer — he looks as though he has to personally drag every word out of the silence.
— In the forest — he replies coldly, limiting himself to a laconic, almost useless answer.
When he finishes brushing off his coat, he pulls up his hood, covering most of his face. He turns and walks in a specific direction, but after only a few steps, he stops and glances over his shoulder.
— A-are you leaving already? Where are you going? — Lyttia asks in a trembling voice, trying to stop him.
The boy does not answer immediately. Instead, he watches her carefully. He notices her delicate black dress, barely covering her thighs, and the golden ornaments that contrast with the harshness of the surroundings. It is not clothing suitable for traveling through a wild, dangerous forest.
— I’m going to the capital — he says shortly, without changing his tone.
The capital? So… there’s some kind of city.
— Can I come with you? — she asks instinctively, before she has time to think.
Huh? — the boy stops, slightly surprised, but he does not show it outwardly. He remains silent for a long moment — perhaps half a minute, perhaps longer — until finally he speaks a single word:
— Okay.
Without looking back, he continues deeper into the forest.
Lyttia stands there for a moment, stunned, surprised that he agreed, then follows him, uncertainly but determinedly. And then something that should not be there leaps out of the bushes — a wolf, the size of an adult man, with fur as black as night and eyes glowing a vivid red.
The beast leaps into the air, ready to attack, but before it reaches its target, its body disintegrates in midair into hundreds of jagged fragments — flesh, fur, bones. Blood splatters across the leaves and grass, and the predator’s body disappears as if someone had sliced through it in an instant.
Lyttia freezes, instinctively turning toward the threat, but sees only the dead remains. Only now does she notice that the boy, who had been walking ahead of her moments before, was… facing away at the moment of the attack.
— They’re forest beasts — he says calmly. — We’re in their territory, so we’ll encounter many more of them.
His tone does not change — he sounds as though he were talking about the weather, not deadly creatures.
How did he do that? And that quickly…?
Lyttia stares in terror and awe toward the boy, who is already several dozen meters away, moving farther and farther between the trees.