Vastarael groaned, his body heavy with fatigue as he slowly sat up against the lush grass.
His hand brushed against the soft earth beneath him. His eyes fluttered open to see the warm colors of the sunset painting the sky with hues of pink, orange, and gold.
The gentle breeze swirled through the air, ruffling the leaves of a lone tree in the distance. As he focused on it, he realized with a slight sense of wonder that it was a peach blossom tree, the kind he'd only ever seen on the television and existed in Japan, with its delicate pink petals fluttering down like a soft rain.
He squinted, his thoughts a little hazy as he admired the beauty of the moment. For some reason, it felt nostalgic. Something about the scene made him feel like he belonged here, even though he knew he didn't.
He was used to being teleported to somewhere he didn't know but he was still anxious. As his gaze shifted across the horizon, where fields of flowers stretched out before him...
"Do you know the poet Rainer Maria Rilke? He once said, 'Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.' At least, that's what I remember."
He saw a figure standing among the fields of flowers, staring into the sunset. Her silhouette was familiar, though the memory didn't quite fit. The figure slowly turned and Vastarael's heart skipped a beat. It was her.
Greshina Emberforge.
He couldn't mistake her presence, even though he hadn't seen her in what felt like centuries. She walked toward him as if she carried the weight of untold stories within her.
"You're finally awake, Veneri," she said, a slight smirk on her lips as she stopped before him. Her voice was calm but held a quiet power, one that only those who had walked through time itself could possess.
She was immensely beautiful.
Vastarael blinked, still feeling the weight of confusion and exhaustion clouding his thoughts.
"Greshina...? What... where am I? How are you here?"
She chuckled softly, her amber eyes gleaming with a mix of amusement and sadness.
"I've been waiting for a long time to meet your past self. Thyrexxa would be angry if you came to see him directly, but she won't mind if it's me."
Vastarael slowly stood up, taking in the surreal atmosphere around them.
"Thyrexxa... waiting for my past self? Why do you look like you know all this?"
"I've seen many lives come and go, Veneri. I've watched you before, in many forms. But now... now you're the one who needs to face what's coming, and I think it's about time we talk about it."
Vastarael stared at her, trying to gather his thoughts. But all he could feel was the weight of destiny pressing on him, the sense that this moment was important, far more than he could yet understand. Greshina placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch unexpectedly warm.
"Relax. We have all the time in the world to talk. But first... let's watch the sunset together."
Vastarael looked at the horizon again, his mind slowly quieting as the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon. It felt oddly peaceful, as if for once, the chaos of his world could wait.
Just for a moment.