اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
There was nothing in the dark.
The dark itself was nothing.
Nothing was everything.
It was so cold, so empty and hollow, void of any meaning, cause, or emotion.
But despite the freezing cruelty of this expanse, a dazzling light beamed-so bright and brilliant, warming the whole place.
The light traveled through the dark like a solitary thread drowning in an ocean of ink, sparkling and scattering specks all over. Its vivid luminosity bled into the carpet of the night sky, and once the light reached the center-the heart of the universe-it erupted, boomed, and burst in a magnificent celestial display! Akin to flaming fireworks it blew up and shattered the darkness completely, dispersing dozens upon dozens of ash-like specks all over. The specks, although faint, bloomed into life and sputtered around, each different from the last. They varied, each a different form than the last. They danced in the night sky reminiscent of fluttering butterflies, and amidst this cosmic waltz, the specks blossomed and grew into blinding stars, revealing faint images from within: small children running around a field, a happy family laughing over a meal, an old lady feeding pigeons...
Each star held a memory.
As the sparkling stars boasted their warmth, one particular star remained... miniscule, almost timid to be seen by her fellows. It remained still, its light quivering sporadically. Upon closer inspection, it also had memories residing in it, albeit unclear and quite blurred. Zooming into it, the memory's images clarified, revealing... nothing. Nothing was there. Only glitching and buzzing-a troubling absence.
Surely there must be something, right? Perhaps the memory lost its way? Maybe if we just looked closely we might find something?
When observed, the star kept glitching and emitting awful noises. They sounded like a bundle of screams and shrieks coming from far away, like the echoes of a cave or a well, or-
A hand aggressively materialized from within the star and shattered it. The hand oozed a crimson liquid from the tip of its fingers. Its palm outstretched, it frantically wriggled its fingers and tried to squeeze itself out. Like a ravenous beast it tried to come out. Like a rabid animal it tried to exit its confines and gnash at flesh. Like its natural, carnivorous instincts, it desired to eat. More hands started bursting and breaking through the canvas of the night, a grotesque manifestation colonizing the canvas of the sky. Their bloodied forms grew, multiplying and flailing around like cockroaches flying out of the sewers.
The once calm expanse of idyllic memories became a cemetery of stars.
A particularly bloody hand moved forward, its fingers moving akin to a spider's limbs. Through the wall of hands, this red hand opened its palm and outstretched it forward-
A naive girl innocently touching a poisonous flower.
A forsaken boy, confronted by his own demonic nature.
Guilt consuming a boy blessed with abundance.
A young boy haunted by the recurring memory of his sister's demise.
A kid, shrieking at the heavens to give him back his family.
A young man questioning who he is.
A faithless teenager bereft of siblings.
A shattered reflection of a beautiful lady.
Tears of an Empress staining her throne.
A justice seeker drowning sorrows until dawn.
A man of intellect in pursuit of answers amidst the cosmos.
A wonderful dress torn apart by its own couturier.
A good kid offering aid when needed.
And a malevolent girl reveling in the suffering of them all.
Finally, a small creature smiled as the red hand lunged forward, and Cyrene jolted awake, gasping for air after a horrifying nightmare.
