The impact came first.
Not the fall.
Not the confusion.
Just—
Pain.
Cael hit the ground hard, breath snapping out of his chest as cold stone pressed against his ribs. For a second, his vision blurred, his body refusing to respond.
Then—
Sound returned.
A low hum.
Not from above.
Not from below.
From everywhere.
"…Where…"
His voice came out dry.
Wrong.
Like the air didn't belong to him.
He forced himself up.
And immediately wished he hadn't.
The sky was broken.
Not cracked.
Not damaged.
Wrong.
Fragments floated overhead—countless pieces, drifting slowly, each glowing faintly like they held something inside them.
Scenes.
Shapes.
Moments.
All frozen.
"…What is this…"
"First drop?"
The voice came from his right.
Sharp. Casual.
Cael turned.
A girl leaned against a stone pillar that hadn't been there a second ago.
Or maybe it had.
He wasn't sure.
She watched him like this was normal.
Like people falling out of nowhere happened every day.
"You hit harder than most," she added.
Cael steadied himself. "Where am I?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she studied him.
Not his face.
Not his clothes.
Something else.
"…That's weird," she muttered.
"What is?"
"You."
He frowned. "That's not helpful."
She pushed herself off the pillar.
"Alright. Simple version."
She pointed upward.
"That's reality."
Cael looked.
"…Floating glass?"
She blinked.
Then sighed.
"Great. Another one with no context."
"I didn't ask to be here."
"No one does."
She stepped closer.
Close enough now that he could see the sharpness in her eyes.
Measured.
Careful.
"You entered," she said. "That means you answered."
His chest tightened slightly.
"…Answered what?"
She tilted her head.
And repeated:
"Listen… or be forgotten."
The words hit harder than they should have.
"How do you—"
"I heard it too," she cut in.
Silence settled between them.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Then—
A sound.
Crack.
Both of them looked up.
One of the fragments in the sky—
Shifted.
Not moved.
Not drifted.
Shifted.
Like something inside it had turned.
Cael narrowed his eyes.
"…Is that normal?"
The girl didn't respond.
Which was answer enough.
The fragment stretched.
Then—
Split.
A thin line of darkness appeared inside it.
Not shadow.
Not absence.
Something deeper.
Something that didn't belong.
"…That's new," she said quietly.
The line widened.
Darkness spilled out slowly, like ink leaking into water.
The hum in the air changed.
Lower.
Heavier.
Cael felt it immediately.
Pressure.
Not on his body.
On his thoughts.
Like something was pressing against his existence itself.
"…We should move," he said.
"Yeah."
Neither of them moved.
Because the darkness—
Was looking at them.
No eyes.
No shape.
But unmistakably aware.
Locked.
Focused.
On him.
"…Why is it staring at you?" the girl whispered.
"I don't know."
The darkness pulsed once.
Then—
A voice.
Layered.
Distorted.
Like multiple moments speaking at once.
"…You returned…"
Cael froze.
"I was never here."
"…Incorrect…"
The space around them trembled slightly.
Fragments above flickered.
"…You were present… before alignment…"
The girl stepped back slowly.
"…Okay, that's not normal at all."
Cael didn't respond.
Because something in him—
Recognized the voice.
Not consciously.
Not logically.
But deeply.
Like hearing a word you forgot you knew.
"…What are you?" he asked.
The darkness shifted.
Closer.
"…Unfinished…"
The ground beneath them cracked.
Thin lines spreading outward.
Reality itself beginning to distort.
The girl grabbed his arm suddenly.
"We're leaving. Now."
This time—
He didn't argue.
They turned and ran.
But behind them—
The voice followed.
Closer.
Clearer.
More certain.
"…This time… you won't forget…"
Cael's heart slammed against his chest.
"…What does that mean?!"
No answer.
Only—
The sound of something catching up.