(this chapter contains major time skips, also this is a picture of star.)

Nothing, aside from a single lonely floating island there was nothing. Salem and her dragon friend searched high and low, flying all around the world for years for even the faintest sign of other islands and there was nothing.

The first few months of Salem’s search were filled with hopeful optimism. In fact Star would go as far to say the first year of searching was filled with such emotions. Yet as the days dragged on, turning from days to months to years, they still found nothing. By the time the third year of being on a lonely rock came to pass Star and Salem felt that hopeful optimism beginning to fade, flicking.

The first year they were just trying to survive, no surprise they hadn’t found anybody or anything else. The second year they’d hit a road block, how could they search if they couldn’t leave the island? There was still a good change someone else was out there. The third year, the first year Star and Salem found themselves able to finally finally leave the island – go search for others – they found nothing.

But that was ok, they could get up from that. Maybe they just weren’t looking in the right direction. So they search lower, close the grey nothingness that stretched endlessly below them, nothing. They searched higher, soaring far above the clouds till they could barley breath the air was so thin. Nothing. Still they got back up. Hope, while not as optimistic as before, guiding their path.

Then the forth year passed. Star, ever persistent in her pursuits of alchemy created a concoction that would improve their physical health and strength, no longer would they grow weary from a days lack of sleep, no longer would they fall ill to common sickness. Opal, the ever loyal wyvern, shared in this prosperity. And so Salem and Opal found themselves able to travel farther then ever before. They could fly for a half day none stop before having to come back.

Yet still not far enough.

Star created more, more boost, more strength, more speed, more more more. Star spent years five and six striving to create more.

They hit the next bottle neck at level 499 before they found another island. It’d taken them half a year to figure out how to move forward. Then they hit level 500. A change happened at level 500, similar to when they broke through to level 100, a sudden inexplicable change in their appearances. There hair turned a myriad of colors, reflecting the same colors that danced across their cheeks and face from their previous breakthrough.

The seventh and eighth years passed. By this time Opal grew rapidly entering the later stages of her juvenile years. The island was expanded once more. In was in these next years loneliness really hit Salem and Star. They attempted to create and summon companions to their little island, yet the smartest being besides themselves remained Opal, who was no smarter than an orca.

But they remained hopeful. Sure that hope had been dulled, withered, dimming from an inferno of fire to a faint candle glow, but hope all the same. When the first ten years passed since the beginning of the duos stay it had signaled two major mile stones. One was Star’s accidental invention of immortality. Turning her aging form back to its prime. Going from thirty with an aching back and chronic pain to twenty with powerful musicals and all that came with it had been a relief.

Flying around the entire world and finding nothing had not been.

Salem broke down when she left the island and three days later found herself on the other side of the same island, having traveled the entire world. Hope fled at the realization, the light guiding them since the very beginning flickered once last time and died.

Then a new flame took its place.

If this world was empty, why could they just find a new one? Star yanked herself out of her despair at the thought. She dragged Salem back with it as well. A decade ago they’d witness rifts that transported everyone who entered them to another world, what was stopping them from recreating the same event?

Well, a few things actually. First they found they were no where near powerful enough to create a portal to another world, next they found they wouldn’t be able to gather the materials. They’d need to go through another breakthrough to reach the heights they desired.

Hope flicked back to life in a blazing inferno.

It’d taken them a decade to reach level 500. It most like take far more to reach 1000, the theorized next breakthrough. Star and Salem were prepared to wait a century if it meant they could finally leave.

Time marched on.

What once was a tiny floating island in the middle of a vast world of nothing turned into a massive oasis filled with life. In practicing their skills Salem and Star turned the island into a thriving ecosystem with room to grow. An island that’d once had a circumference of no more than six miles now had a diameter of 1398.

The island turned into a continent, and still Salem and Star remained the only sapient life forms. Opal grew up into a beautiful wyvern gaining a spacial affinity to add to her frost. She remained by her master side in enteral loyalty even as she grew from the size of a mature tree to the length of a blue whale. Her fur changed from that of a thick white coat that shimmered blue in the sun to a fluffy frosty blue that danced with to many colors to count in the sun.

Together Salem, Star, and Opal watched their island grow and grow, brimming with new life, and they were proud of their work. In pursuit of a single goal they’d managed to create a beautiful continent.

A century passed from the start of their journey all those years ago. They reached their next breakthrough, it’d taken them five years to figure out once they hit 999. Yet, finally, it happened. Their eyes were the thing to change this time. Three rings of color added themself to both Star’s and Salem’s eyes. Star’s pupil turned into, well, a star changing into a pastel green color. Salem’s pupil turned into a purple moon, the same as they one adoring her cheek.

New resources became available. New resources that were the final key to their problem.

“Are you ready for this?” Salem asked, holding a small disk gently in her hand as she prepared to smash it against the floor.

Star nodded, filled with nervous energy, “We worked an entire life time for this.”

Opal purred.

Salem’s hand came down, chucking the disk onto the stone ground. It shattered on impact, from its remains a rift appeared before them.

The rift twirled and swirled with impossible color. Star’s hand clenched Salem’s. They took a deep breath, preparing themselves. They stepped through without so much as one last glance at the world they’d made. Star’s stomach dropped, nausea welled up inside her. A senstation she hadn’t felt in decades. A feeling so foreign she snapped her eyes shut. Her feet left the ground.

Star and Salem began to fall.

Star’s eyes snapped open. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes as she looked down, a wild grin across her face. Below her lay trees, trees not from her little island. She twisted around looking all about. Off in the distance what looked to be man made structures caught Star’s eyes. She squinted finally making out a small cluster of buildings caught her eye.

“We did it.” She whispered.

In the next moment she found herself on Opal fluffy back beside Salem.

“We did it.” Salem’s voice filled with awe reached Star’s ears as the howling of the wind died down.

Star chocked back a sob, throwing herself into Salem’s arms. Salem held her tightly as she cried tears of joy.

“Take us over there Opal.” Salem ordered pointing to a place not far from town, one arm still wrapped around Star.

Opal chirped and changed directions, flying happily to the indicated location.

Star removed herself from Salem’s arms, “We’re going to meet real people!” She cheered, eyes shimmering. “Wait how do you talk to other people?”

Salem paused at that, face turning a little nervous.

“No seriously, neither of us have talked to like, a real person, in a literal century, how do you talk to people?”

Salem laughed, but her voice was tinged with anxiety, “I’m sure it’ll go fine, I mean we have a really cool, really friendly wyvren and everybody know wyvrens could harm a soul.”

“Except, ya know, food. Opal is surprisingly savage when she eats.”

“Yeah, but Opal doesn’t eat people.”

Star nodded her head in a agreement, accepting the explanation. Opal landed in a small clearing with a chirp.

“Thanks for the ride Opal.” Star hopped off.

“Good girl.” Salem praised, giving Opal little scritches on the chin.

Opal purred.

“Now lets go to town!” Star cheered, bouncing on her feet.

“To town!”

This concludes the first arc, a few more chapters will be released today starting the next.