Cyrus Solaris
The force that abducted me flings me before a red star, blazing with heat.
The energy felt familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint the reason why.
I release another burst of cosmic energy at the star.
It absorbs the attack–then fires it back at me, my core humming in response.
My father said this would happen when a constellation resonated with my core.
But this wasn't the constellation I needed to connect to.
I rejected the constellation.
Commanding my astral body to float away from the source that dragged me.
It was difficult; it felt like the constellation was begging me to stay, as it tugged on my astral form.
I released another burst of cosmic energy, trying to release myself from its clutches.
But its grip on me was firm.
Then a faint signal found its way towards me. It was warm and inviting like the rays of the sun.
I was relieved, thinking I was lost in the wide-open expanse with no way to get back on track.
I knew I didn't have much time left to pass this trial, so I released bursts of cosmic energy one after another, escaping the grasp of the star.
Every signal I felt from the Solaris constellation became stronger with each passing second.
Until I no longer needed the energy impulses to guide me, the responding source began to flash like a homing beacon, and my celestial core felt its pull.
I felt my core yearning to meet the source, sensing its immense power and pressure.
When I finally reached it, I realized something astonishing: the source wasn't a single entity.
It was a cluster of stars, forming a strange yet familiar pattern.
It dawned on me that the pattern matched the tattoo on my father's hand.
It was then that I understood what I had discovered in the astral realm.
My excitement was difficult to contain, but I centered my mind, focusing one last time.
Reaching out to the humming source of power, I began to connect an astral tether to the celestial body.
This was the final and easiest step to passing the trial.
The moment the tether connected my core to the source, a sudden surge of power washed over me.
The energy overwhelmed me, passing through everything, rewriting everything that had existed before while filling spaces I hadn't known were vacant.
The process was long and arduous, the pain searing as though it would never end.
Then, suddenly, everything went dark.
I thought the trial was over, but my consciousness was flung to another place.
It didn't resemble the astral realm. Instead, I found myself in a temple that reminded me of those near the city where I grew up.
The surroundings, however, were vastly different—no advanced machinery, no bustling city centers.
Instead, there were only dull, desolate huts and tents.
I was transported inside the temple without control of my astral body.
A tall man with brown skin and braided hair, clad in an ivory tunic, knelt before a being unlike anything I had ever seen.
The being had a humanoid form but bore features of an astral behemoth. Its spiked talons replaced its fingers, and its face resembled a reptile's.
The creature extended its hand and pressed it against the man's chest.
The man's body convulsed, then collapsed, motionless, as though life had left him.
Moments later, he gasped for air.
The creature nodded before vanishing.
Then I was transported to another time.
The setting was similar, but the ceremony felt different—darker.
This time, several people participated. Their bodies convulsed violently before succumbing to death, blood pouring from their noses, pooling on their chests where gaping holes.
Glancing at the lifeless bodies being dragged away, I caught sight of the creature again. It stood about fifteen feet tall, its iridescent skin glowing beneath its white tunic.
Terrifying yet regal, the being exuded power beyond comprehension.
The creature turned its head toward me. My astral body began to rapidly flicker.
I wanted to leave and return to my father. This wasn't a part of my training or any debrief my father gave me.
It felt as if I had made a sudden movement; I would be erased from the universe.
Then the creature raised a hand and pointed directly at me
My voice trembled as I tried to speak, but words never escaped.
"Fear not, you have witnessed." A voice said in my head.
"You have been chosen,"
His talons gleamed, and in one swift motion, he tore my celestial core from my chest.
Agonizing pain tore through me. My body paralyzed, my spirit clawing desperately for the energy that had been ripped away.
It felt as though my very essence was unraveling.
Just as I thought I would succumb to death, he created a black orb in his hand, its surface swirling with incomprehensible power.
He thrust it into the gaping void where my core had once been.
'We in the Pantheon like to keep our secrets,' he said, his voice reverberating through me.
"Pantheons?! Who are you?" I ask, taking a sharp gasp.
"The sun that shines, the one who was first, Solaris your god."
The overwhelming pain subsided, replaced by a strange, pulsing energy radiating from within me.
This new core felt alien yet harmonious, as if it were rewriting the rules of my existence.
Then the voice of Solaris rang through me.
"Even in death, a star is dangerous."
I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air as the world around me began to blur.