Ep 0. Prologue

 

Drip.

A drop of liquid streaked down her cheeks, falling unto the pool of filth beneath.

Was it blood? Tears? A hallucination?

‘I need to get up.’

Her trembling legs shifted and waned, struggling to support the rest of her body in the pool of flesh and blood. It was akin to drowning in death. No matter where her eyes fell, death filled her vision: of her brethren, of her allies, of her dear friends. The ground was muddled with their remains, and even the sunless sky was painted in red.

She raised her head once more, her gaze sharpening unto the source of this madness.

A lone figure, standing in absolute serenity with closed eyes. Their chilling white hair was pulled back like a lifeless river behind them. 

It was almost as if the figure could not perceive the horror that filled the world surrounding them. The stench of blood, their own bleeding wounds, the translucent chains that her allies died to shackle on them.

Her trembling legs began to move again.

A single step.

Then another.

And yet another.

One by one, with every step echoing in crunched bones and splatters of blood, she closed the distance between them – fully knowing that she was trampling on the remains of those she once knew.

Instead of mourning their deaths, she stepped forward. Instead of celebrating her survival, she chose to throw it back into this hellish conflict.

She could no longer tell what it was that was driving her. It wasn’t sorrow, nor hatred, nor revenge. She left those things behind in the midst of this deathly abaddon.

Slowly, the figure slowly opened their eyes.

Their eyes met hers.

But even when their gaze locked, she could not see anything. The figure’s eyes were colorless and emotionless, as if staring into an empty void.

They, too, had left it all behind. In the far past that none could comprehend.

“Child.”

The voice emitted by the figure was that of a dry, powerless elder. And yet, there was no voice more terrifying to her.

“Serenis.”

As her name echoed throughout their surroundings, she came to a stop.

Who was Serenis?

Mother. Friend. Starchild. Dragonlord.

The ruler of dragons that led the most powerful tribe of this star.

The eldest demon that facilitated peace between theirs and humans.

But none remained to refer to her as such. At least not here.

A coarse, bitter voice escaped her lips.

“Do not speak my name.”

“…”

“Of every soul on this star…you are the least deserving to say that name.”

A soft sigh escaped the figure’s lips. Standing tall whilst calmly watching her approach, it seemed nothing short of a parent looking down on their rebellious child.

And to someone, this whole conflict may be nothing more than that.

But to someone else, it was a struggle to break free of their leash.

“Why struggle?”

“…”

“Enlighten me, Serenis. Why did this happen? What drove so many of you to let go of the life you were bestowed?”

Serenis clenched her fists. Her hands bled from the nails digging into her skin.

She no longer had the strength to take form and tear off the figure’s revolting mouth off his neck. Reduced to her mere human form, she struggled to even continue breathing.

And yet, she took another step forward. The last one she needed to reach the figure.

“Because…”

She unfolded her bleeding hand, grabbing the figure by their throat. Her bloody nails began to dig into their skin this time.

“We’re…alive.”

“…”

“…Unlike you.”

A figure without even a proper name. An entity simply known as “the First”, said to have existed since the dawn of this world, filling the world with life and prosperity.

But in truth, it was just a lifeless cog that kept the world turning how it pleased, keeping all lives at the tip of its fingers.

She had to but tighten her grip. Then this would all be over. Depleted of mana and chained from every angle, there was no way the First could resist any further.

But her trembling arm struggled to do even that.

Serenis glared into the figure’s empty gaze. She desperately begged her arm to move, to snap off this wretch’s neck.

“You’re hesitating.”

She bit her lips. Fresh blood trickled down her chin.

What if this isn’t the end?

What if they were nowhere near the end?

What if this was all just a careful deception, and her brethren died in vain?

“Turn away, Serenis. It’s not too late.”

“…”

Hearing the last remark, Serenis’ eyes regained their blue gleam. She smirked, and her trembling lessened.

“That’s the first time.”

“…First time?”

“That you begged for your life.”

Serenis tightened her grip. A deadly crunching noise followed. When she ripped her hand out of the figure’s flesh, she could feel something splattering unto the pool of blood beneath her.

Her eyes scanned the body in front of her.

Chained in every limb, its skin purplish and dry from toxins and mana depletion. But it remained standing, even with its head torn off.

The dragon let out a chortle laughter, turning away as she dragged her limping body towards a nearby boulder. She collapsed down, leaning her back against the hard surface.

She could barely move a finger. With her body torn and broken, there was little doubt that she didn’t have much to live.

The bodies of her allies filled her bloody vision.

She’d die here, just like everyone else.

“I’m…sorry.”

If only she hadn’t hesitated to join the fray.

If only she hadn’t spent her life in peace.

If only she had another day to live.

All this time, Serenis led a life without any memorable regrets.

At the end of her long life, she was finally beginning to realize that that was only because she believed her life to be eternal.

If she knew things would end eventually, then surely, she’d have done things different. So many things would’ve changed.

‘Every star eventually dies.’

And from mere dust and ash, stars are born anew.

“…”

She slowly shifted her broken body and lifted her trembling arm. With a fingertip soaked in blood, she began to write on the boulder.

Eden.

Ivaratus.

Arkrana.

…

Soon, the boulder was filled with names of the fallen. And at its very last bit, she’d write her own name.

Serenis.

Here we lie at the summit of our world, freed from the shackles that bound us.