[Somewhere in the deep confines of space]
All was still. All was nothing. A lone figure floated, unconscious, suspended in the vast void devoid of time. There was no light, no sound, no breath of existence. Just the slumbering shell of a being untouched by space or memory.
Then, light surrounded him.
A gentle radiance broke the infinite darkness, and with it came a woman—serene, divine, and transcendent. Her garments shimmered like stardust, flowing weightlessly around her as her hair cascaded like rivers of light. She floated to the boy and embraced him, her arms trembling with emotion. Her golden eyes welled with tears as she rested her forehead against his.
"Come... Find me," she whispered, voice soft as wind.
A pulse of light then erupted from the boy. A black hole formed behind him, swallowing him in silence. With a final glance, the woman pushed him gently toward the singularity.
"I will do my best to hold out for you..."
She then turned behind her as the light that surrounded them slowly dissipated into darkness. Creatures of nightmarish visions climbed from out of the darkness, and soon millions upon millions would appear. She then smiled. Whether if it was out of fear or hope, she knew that whatever would happen to her will happen. All she needed to do was hold out for him.
As boy fell into the black hole, visions tore through his mind. Galaxies were born and destroyed. Gods were at war. Civilizations rose and burned. The eternal dance of Chaos and Creation stirred existence. Then it was silent.
A breeze rustled the treetops of a forest lush and vibrant. Birds chirped in joyous chorus. Beneath the towering trees, the boy lay motionless in a field of flowers, bathed in sunlight. And slowly, his eyes opened. He blinked, trying to grasp what he was seeing. Colors, light, and breath. He sat up, touching the earth beneath him. It was warm. It felt alive. But he couldn't remember where he came from or how he got here. He couldn't even remember his name.
What he could remember was briefly seeing a woman. Anything beyond that was a mystery. Fear stirred inside him, but so did instinct. One thought echoed in his mind:
Look for others.
He rose to his feet and scanned the horizon. A river shimmered in the distance, winding like a silver snake through the forest. He approached it and looked at his reflection. Black hair, blue eyes, decent looking. Numerous questions arose within his mind-
Who am I?
After contemplating for a moment whilst staring at his reflection, he decides to follow the river in hopes to find any sign of civilization.
As he walked, he marveled at the life around him. Deer-like beasts with glimmering horns conjured fruit-bearing trees from the soil. A bird zipped past him faster than thought, trailing wind and fire. He sensed an energy pulsing from every living thing. The world itself was thrumming with a rhythm he did not understand but felt drawn to.
He could see mountains and ginormous trees off in the distance. Wherever he was he thought, he felt calm.
After walking for a while he rested on a tree branch, observing life taking its course as the same deer-like beasts were being hunted by another beast that boasted feline-like attributes.
Then, silence.
The air grew still. The animals he observed scattered as if something was coming. A low hum trembled the earth as it shook. The boy turned toward the mountains as it seemed to be where the humming sound was coming from.
Before he knew it, everything turned white and then black.
When he came to, the forest was gone. Trees reduced to ash and all around him were dead animals. The river choked and broken. A scar of destruction etched into the land around him including the mountain he saw before everything went black. It was completely destroyed. He sat up groaning, pain seeping through his limbs as smoke curled in the air.
What... happened?
He thought as screams echoed in the distance—inhuman and shrill causing a chill traveling up his spine, and then a voice—feminine and fierce. He forced himself to stand, enduring the pain that came with it, and stumbled toward the sounds.
When he arrived, he found a crater littered with blue flames.
A red-haired woman stood in the middle of the chaos radiance, wielding a sword that gleamed like molten glass. Each swing sent waves of blue flame crashing through the monsters that surrounded her—horrors born of nightmare, wreathed in darkness. The earth trembled as mountains in the distance shattered from her strikes. And yet, her fire spared him.
He watched in awe, transfixed on the way she fought as she dashed around the battlefield with elegance and fury until one of the nightmarish monsters loomed behind him. He felt it's presence as he turned slowly. Fear entered his body as he saw its clawed hands reaching for him. The woman on the battlefield saw him. Her eyes widened as she yelled.
"NO!"
She lunged to save the boy, but another creature snared her mid-air. It's tendrils wrapped around her, draining something glowing—something radiant—from her chest. She screamed in agony as the light from her body was draining from her. The creature behind the boy grabbed him, and pain shot through his core. A dark energy clawed at him, trying to pull something deep within.
And then—light. He screamed and thrashed as power surged from his chest. The creature's tendrils snapped causing it to shriek and stagger back in pain. And in a heartbeat, he leapt forward, forming a large blade, using its weight to slash at the creature restraining the woman, cutting its tendrils.
She fell to the ground, gasping—but still alive. She stared up at the boy in awe and confusion.
"How... how did you..." she breathed, trying to gasp for air.
The boy stared, dazed and unable to answer. She asked him another question.
"What's your name?"
He shook his head.
"I... I don't know."
She stood beside him, flames licking at her arms as she faced the approaching beasts.
"Well then, stay behind me if you don't want to be burned out of existence."
She raised her sword high, and with confidence filling her face to the bream, with one final swing, unleashed a storm of fire that erased the monsters—and half the battlefield—from existence. And thus, silence returned.
Later, as the two rested beneath a scorched tree, the woman turned to him with her guard up.
"For someone who doesn't remember their name and defeating a Hal'Thara, is a new one for me. So, tell me, who are you?"
She conjured her weapon and pointed it at the boy. He blinked, staring at the woman and then the scorched earth beneath them. He timidly answered.
"I- uh... I'm not sure. I don't remember..."
The woman gave him a suspicious look and introduced herself as she dug her blade into the scorched earth.
"I'm Calista Solwyn, a Paragon Class Resonant. I was on a journey to see my sister and teach others like me until I was ambushed by those Hal'Thara. But, it's weird. Those eldritch abominations shouldn't be able to formulate those kinds of strategies. It couldn't be that they are getting smarter?"
She took a closer look at the boy's clothing.
"Hm. You aren't from this world, are you?"
Confused, the boy gives her a weird look.
"Judging by that look you gave me, confirms it. "
Calista then sits on a nearby stone, signaling him to join next to her.
"Well then, tell me your story. How'd you get here?"
He told her of his lost memories and a mysterious woman in light and how he came to be. She listened and thought for a moment until she offered her hand, smiling.
"Hm, I may not understand what happened to you or where you came from, but maybe if you come with me, we'll find a way to restore your memories and probably a way to get you back home! So, what do ya say?"
The boy thought for a moment hesitatingly. Seeing as he has nowhere to go, going with the woman named, Calista, seemed the safest option. He took her hand and she smiled.
"Alright!"
She stood up and took one last look at him.
"Hm, if you can't remember your name we'll hafta give you one for now. So I think the name, Solon, fits you. After all, you shined as bright as the sun when you used your Mythos. I saw you."
"Solon... I like it. You say, Mythos? What is that?"
"Huh, I thought you'd at least know what that is. I guess that'd be the first I teach you then."
Calista dismissed her blade as she stood up and turned to Solon, extending her hand to him.
"Now then let's get goin, Solon."