Stealing the dark

Hidden away

A world that never knew to be

On a lonesome night,

Under lock and key,

Cryptic sights

Lightening up

The truth was never afar

Snatched away-

~

The desolated strain echoed within Sage as he looked down upon the demolished town, the dejected ambience filling his heart.

For the world he knew, had fallen apart.

It hurt, seeing the place he'd once held so dearly broken down to the point of nothing, the people he'd grown up with no more, his parents, friends, family all gone. It left him aching for the memories to recrudesce, but it was guilelessly beyond recall.

Yet, he still held onto hope, stepping into the cold, ruthless night.

The destruction was chaotic, there was no debris left behind. The only thing that would indicate it's very existence was the faint reminiscences, the buildings were eradicated, souls disintegrated. All life that once dwelled, exterminated.

What solely remained was the starless sky above.

Only he remained, the weakest of all. All he aspired to was to bring back what it once held, its former glory.

But wouldn't that be a quick end to the story?

He didn't know how, the only help he had was the dilemma carved onto the polished stone. He had spent hours trying to figure out what it meant, but with no avail.

And it didn't help that it was incomplete, that he had forgotten it's implication. The implications seemed skittish, and his mind hazed when he tried to remember. The stone was Onyx Marble, a tablet that was once located within a temple, but it was as far as his recallment seemed to extend.

Fed up, he turned to his companion, who seemed too lost in thought to notice. Luca was a bit sharp, but he wasn't aloof, Sage found it intriguing how humane he was, despite being everything but.

He barely even looked human, his skin was light but markings covered his body, the florid galaxy embroidered within. His eyes were a vivid violet, it's radiance emitted from it's vibrant color, whilst his hair was silverish white, yet seemed to reflect the sky, along with the glow of it's now-fictional stars.

It may have simply been how Sage's focus seemed to revolve around the incomplete artifact, but he seemed to notice how distant Luca seemed to grow every time they'd visit that particular location.

He was an extraneous being, the very embodiment of stars. But his glow seemed faded, even more than usual, it could have been always like this, Sage felt bad for not noticing up to this point.

"Are you okay?"

Luca gaze flickered over to the boy, a bit dazed by the sudden question, seemingly expecting to have been neglected for the rest of the evening. Sage managed to catch that expression, which did not help towards his self-regard.

"I'm just a bit tired." As flattered as the star felt that he was finally getting consideration, He didn't want to cause worry, he could manage something trivial.

He watched Sage quietly, feeling the sensation of disarray emanate from him. He was cheerful, but easily troubled, and that might have been his only weakness, at least it was what the star thought.

He liked Sage, idealistically. He thought his upbeat personality was cute, and he was a generally likable person. Even his appearance was dainty, his brown hair was constantly messy even though he brushed it frequently to try and keep it neat. And his eyes reminded Luca of the sky on an exoplanet, a refined deep aquamarine, though it held a more bluer edge.

But Luca did not dare say that out loud.

"What's the point of this?" Sage sighed deeply, a hint of despondency tainting his voice. He always found it difficult to not feel disheartened when he couldn't make any progress. He met Luca's gaze, who was looking at him with concern.

"Sorry, I was just thinking." The boy replied sheepishly, looking away. "I was just trying to figure out- Just to try and make some sense."

"You would make more sense out of Plato."

Sage brightened up a bit at the comparison, it was a reminder that he wasn't adhered with riddles. "By this point, I might result to him."

"I mean, is it meant to be a poem? The verses don't match."

Luca figured that it didn't require a genius to figure it out. It sound particularly like a challenge that was meant to have no solution. But to Sage there was, and there wasn't much to change his mind.

"I'm not going to give up" He mumbled stubbornly, turning to smile at his accomplice.

"God, you are hopeless." The star responded facetiously.

But, the banter sounded halfhearted to him, he was starting to feel light-headed. He wondered if abandoning Sage would go against his useless set of morals, that barely meant anything. But, he wouldn't dream of it.

The dull black sky was not tolerable.

"What is it that you don't like about this place"

Luca definitely did not give Sage enough credit at all for his perception.

What did he not like about this place? It was clear, the whole place was in chaos, where no light has even shone upon in eons. Because, the beauty of the sky that gave life it's meaning had been taken away. He couldn't see his reflection in the mirror, it filled him with an apathetic sensation.

"It's just dire."

Sage shrugged, but he could understand. He was feeling a slight bit unsettled as well, but he knew Luca knew that. He was rather wistful when it came to a proper night sky.

The place was easier to leave than it was to enter, as they walked through the forest, they remained quiet, watching the endless blackout fade into a glowy sky.

The forest was a complete maze for anyone, the only time it was clear enough to navigate through it was during full moon, combined with Luca's faint light that had made it bearable. Sage had tried to use flashlights and phones multiple times, but the battery power ran in mere seconds.

But despite the hellzone it held, one that looked like a nuclear fallout under a total solar eclipse, the plains it opened to held enchanting scenery, and the sky with its ambient brightness, an eternally fixed aurorae, along with countless stars.

A faint Andromeda and Pegasus were lingering, with the brighter Cepheus and Ursa constellations being more eye-catching. And while Luca wasn't that caught up on astronomy, Sage had taken time to research them for his own personal knowledge.

He could feel the light fading away, the constricting grasp of darkness tightening, but it was where the stars shone the brightest, the sky lightening up with newfound beauty. It was worth admiring, but it wasn't today of all days.

"Luca, can we go home?"

"Do you not want to stay and stargaze?"

"I could use some sleep."

In reality, Sage was just looking for an excuse so that the energy-deprived star could sleep, knowing he could go on that state for a whole month, mainly because of how stubborn of a person he was.

Luca was hesitant, he definitely wasn't unobservant enough to notice what the boy was trying to do, and he was thankful, but he couldn't tell if it was purely was for his sake, if he really wanted to linger. But in the end, exhaustion got the better of him.

He placed his hand on the ground beneath, and with a simple shift of lighting, they were back in Sage's room, and while it wasn't particularly draining, he almost immediately collapsed onto the bed.

"When was the last time you've actually slept?" Sage asked curiously as he sat on the floor, his back to the wall.

"Last month, A'faq says I've been sleeping too frequently, but it's always around this time." Luca lifted his head slightly to look at his companion, who simply covered the star's face with a pillow.

"Just go to sleep already."

"God, you're so pushy."

But he complied, as he always did, Sage waited until Luca had finally went to sleep before he finally rested his head on the side of the bed, and dozed off.

-
3/20/2020