Aurora began humming a small tune to herself as her fingers grazed along the old bookshelf in the library. Row after row of neatly lined up books caught her eyes, their spines facing outwards as they were arranged perfectly in alphabetical order. Her fingers brushed along each work of fiction, eyes trailing from one book title to another as she tried to locate a book she hadn't yet read.

Brushing a loose strand of black hair behind her ear, her eyes lit up when her hand skimmed along an older work of fiction. She slipped the book from the shelf, taking it into her hands, "The legend of the seven elements?" she muttered under her breath, frowning a little with how old the book seemingly was. It was heavy, the leather felt soft and delicate as she ran her fingers over the faded blue bindings. She fingered the gold lettering carefully before opening the cover, paper rustling as she turned past the publishing date and to the first chapter, the epilogue.

Finding herself intrigued she shuffled over to the back corner of the library, taking a seat on the coarse cheap carpeted floor as she placed the book steadily in her lap. Narrowing her eyes on the page, words appeared and disappeared as her eyes flittered across the page,

'The Legend of the seven elements, a work of fact by K.N.'

Aurora found herself pausing as she rose a brow, "non-fiction?" she breathed before her eyes darted from the book to the shelf beside her, "I picked this from the fiction section though..." she spoke, lips twisting as her eyes fell back to the pages of the book, she sighed, "Maybe they just muddled it up?" she shrugged, before she began to read.

'The universe. Home to everything you know, and everything you'll ever experience. Although complex, it is made of seven key elements; Energy, Gravity, Voids, Time, Nature, Life and Reality. Without these elements, the universe would fall.'

Biting down on her lip, Aurora could already find the truth in the author's words.

Currently her own solar system was drifting apart.

It happened a rough odd twenty-five years ago. The balance of the milky way galaxy was suddenly thrown into chaos and the building blocks of space began to dissolve right before humanities eyes. Scientists failed to explain the phenomenon, ruling it off as something completely supernatural and unheard of. Although the effects were slow, it was really starting to take its toll in the past year with the earth facing an all time low in crops from the failing energy of the sun.

The earth was dying.

The sun was beginning to cool, the moon drifted from its orbit, and the stars grew dim and weak. Temperature on earth began to plummet and seasons were thrown out of balance when the earths orbit slowed. It was beyond scientific explanation, something supernatural. 

Her eyes flickered back down to the page,

'The elements cannot survive alone, but survive off one another. Without time you can't have space, without light there is no darkness and so forth.

We aren't alone. The vast expanse of the universe contains more life then anyone from the Milky Way Galaxy can even begin to imagine. There exists many galaxies, each one tentatively connected to the others, defined by the presence of the elements of the universe.

In each major galaxy, a guardian contains one of the elements and harnesses its power to balance out the universe. These guardians are gifted with markings of space and time that provide them with their power, but their power can only be used at its full potential when the guardian is in possession of the elemental stones formed from the beginning of time.

Without these stones, the universe will fall.'

Aurora lost herself in the pages of the book, such a fascinating story. Eyes fluttering down to the bottom of the page, Aurora's mind was quick to go blank. Her skin went ashen, eyes widening and breathing hitching in her throat as she read the final sentence of the epilogue.

'Please help us, Aurora.'

She paused, every muscle in her body going on hold as her eyes bore into the thick black imprinted text at the bottom of the page. "This is just some coincidence." she breathed, letting out a non-humorous chuckle before falling silent once again. 

Bringing her fingers to the paper, she began to flick through the pages of the book. Her heart almost leapt from her chest when her gaze fell over the remainder of the novel, "It's blank!?"

"Shhhh!"

Snapping her head in the direction of the voice, Aurora was quick to give a sheepish smile as she locked eyes with the cranky old librarian. "Sorry miss." she apologised, before quickly standing to her feet. Brushing herself off Aurora realised it would probably be quite late, deciding it would be best to head home now rather than later.

Holding the dusty book between her hands, Aurora was about to place it back on the shelf. To leave it and never let her eyes settle on its pages ever again. But something was holding her back, almost like an invisible force telling her to take it, 

to keep it. 

So walking up to the front counter, Aurora placed the book against the librarian's desk, dust stirring as it landed against the wood, "I'd like to borrow this please." she softly smiled, digging her hand into her handbag as she searched for her library card. 

She pulled her wallet from her handbag, slipping out a single white library card, "Here you go miss" She smiled, turning towards the old librarian. She cocked her head to the side when she noticed how shell shocked the lady looked, eyes staring solely on the book placed against the counter top, "....um, miss are you okay?"

"That book..." she spoke up, old wrinkled hand reaching out as she brushed her fingertips over it's leather surface, "no one's been able to open that book for twenty-five years..." she explained, words trailing into nothing but a bare whisper. Aurora found herself almost stumbling back a little as the librarian placed her hands firmly against the wooden counter, leaning over the desk as she whispered into Aurora's ear, "you're her, you're the-."

Brows furrowing against her forehead, Aurora took a step back, extending a hand as she gave the woman her library card, "I have no idea what the actual hell you're talking about." she spoke, watching as the lady swiped her card through the machine before sliding the book across to her. Pulling her handbag back over her shoulder, Aurora took the book into her arms, holding it tightly against her chest. 

Before she could turn on her heels, the librarian rose to her feet. Aurora could already feel her breathing hitching in her throat as the lights suddenly began to dim, any noise being washed away as the librarian stood in front of her. 

Only, it didn't look like the librarian for much longer. 

Aurora's lips parted in absolute surprise as the old lady began to glow, wrinkles fading as her skin began to respond as if someone had just turned back the clock. Streaks of black began trailing up her hair before all of her hair was a striking black, shimmering mysteriously under the dim light. Her eyes faded into deep purple orbs, lips regaining their lively colour and skin receiving a caramel tone. 

The lady looked young again. 

Aurora found herself flinching the moment the young women landed her hands against her shoulders, eyes as vast and deep as space starring into her own, "You need to get out of here, now." she began, voice raising a little as she looked to Aurora with worry, "Don't loose that book, never loose that book!"

"But-"

"Hurry Home!" She called, lengthy black hair falling over her petite shoulders as she pushed Aurora away, and with the snap of her fingers, the lights flickered back on. She was old once again. 

~*~

Another almost starless night rolled in, the blackness absolute as Aurora quickly hurried back to her apartment building after a tiresome day full of university lectures. As if the blackness failed to come fast enough, the streetlights were beginning to flicker ever so slightly in the dark, the soft glow of the warm light illuminating her frail form as she picked up her pace.

Her sneakers echoed against the concrete footpath as she turned her eyes to the sky. The stars were almost non-existent, only small dapples of light here and there. The moon was nothing but a speck in the distance, a result of the failing gravity of the earth as it drifted aimlessly into the empty void of space. The night wasn't as majestic as the older generation had described it to be, but provided a haunting tension, a hazy ominous feel.

Long black hair falling softly over her shoulders, Aurora tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she rounded the final street corner, finally approaching her apartment. She was quick to reach the old rusting staircase, swinging her handbag from her shoulder as she shoved her hand inside, feeling around for her house keys, "Curse me and my untidiness" she huffed, feeling around a bit more before her fingers brushed along a familiar metal object.

Smiling to herself, Aurora slipped her keys from her handbag transferring it into the doorknob and entering through her apartment door. She felt relieved to finally be engulfed by the warmth of her home, the cold being almost unbearable as she quickly shut and locked the door behind her. Unwrapping her black scarf from her neck, she began to remove her winter coat, "Global warming they said," she scoffed, hanging her coat against the metal hook, "bet they weren't expecting global cooling." she sniffed, rubbing her hands together to warm her frozen skin.

Switching out her boots for her slippers, Aurora shuffled over into her kitchen, flicking on the light switch. Smiling to herself, she moved across to her small vintage radio, turning the knob as the static nose filled her ears.

"Hello and welcome to the channel fourteen news! In recent news today, society is still facing a global crisis. Temperatures continue to plummet as the sun continues to cool... we might be facing an ice age soon folks!"

Rolling her eyes, Aurora rose her hands to the kitchen cupboards, pulling out a small mug before turning around to flick on the kettle to boil, "They said the same thing years ago. It's not like this started just yesterday." she muttered

"Scientists are yet to understand the supernatural phenomenon stating that the galaxy has no reason to be reacting so strangely! We've been seeking an answer for almost twenty-five years but there's still no explanation as to why there is a loss of gravity and heat from our galaxy? The question on everyone's mind remains... what is going to become of us?"

Already finding her mind too full today, Aurora switched off the radio, pouring herself a cup of coffee. Taking the mug into her hands, she smiled as the warmth transferred from the cup to her skin. "Today can't possibly get any weirder." she sighed, bringing the mug to her lips as she took a sip. She was seriously starting to contemplate if she was dreaming or not.

As Aurora placed her mug back on the kitchen table, a small knock sounded from the front door of her apartment, soft to be courteous but loud enough to be heard. Frowning, Aurora wrapped her arms around her form, shuffling her way into the hallway before she placed a hand against the metal handle, slowly and carefully swinging open the front door. She shivered a little as the cold air flooded inside, but was quick to compose herself as she looked to the stranger, 

Her eyes widened. 

Standing before her was a man not too much taller then herself. His midnight black hair fell messily over his forehead and his sharp feline eyes, as dark as the night sky staring into her own. He was dressed in ripped denim jeans like any other average guy but wore a t-shirt from some band that had been fashioned before he was born. An array of silver piercings littered his earlobes, swaying a little as the cold air continued to blow. "Hey, um... I live next door and I kinda ran out of cooking oil?" he spoke, voice a little huskier than Aurora would've imagined, "Do you mind if I borrow some?" He smiled as he sheepishly brought his hand to the back of his neck. 

"Uh, sure." Aurora replied, about to turn to her kitchen before her eyes landed upon the male's choice of clothing, "You're just wearing a t-shirt! Aren't you cold?"

He chuckled a little as he shook his head, "Nah... I never get cold," he began to explain, "I don't know why, thats just how I am I guess," he shrugged. 

Aurora gave a hesitant nod of acknowledgment before she turned on her feet and quickly head into the kitchen, searching through her top cupboard before she located the cooking oil. 

Strolling back to the front door, she held out the bottle, "There's still quite a bit left," she smiled, "here."

The raven haired male extended a hand, reaching for the glass bottle. As his hand met the glass, their fingers lightly brushed over one another, barely touching before a painful zap of electricity coursed through each of their veins. "Ouch!" Aurora yelped, stumbling back a little as she shook her hand in pain. 

The male also flinched, cooking oil now clasped tightly in his hand, "Geeze... that was a painful electric shock." he stated, blowing on his hand a little. 

"I'll say..." Aurora agreed, eyes flickering to the door beside her, "I guess it was from the metal door handle or something, sorry."

He shook his head, "it's no problem," he lightly chuckled, before holding up the cooking oil, "thanks!" 

Before she knew it, the male had turned on his feet, heading back over to the apartment next door. The wind continued to blow, lightly tousling his hair, but Aurora couldn't help but frown when his hair revealed a small marking behind his ear,  

A crescent shaped moon

{Author Note}

Hello and welcome to this fanfic! 

Another update coming out in a few hours so stay tuned! xox