The World Above
1157 Words
Cold night air hit Aria’s face the moment they emerged from the underground passage.
She inhaled sharply.
After the suffocating darkness below, the outside world felt unreal — streetlights glowing softly, distant traffic humming, the ordinary sounds of the city continuing as if reality itself hadn’t nearly torn apart beneath it.
Ibadan slept peacefully.
Completely unaware that something ancient had just crossed into its world.
Lucien stepped out behind her, scanning the surroundings with sharp vigilance. His posture remained tense, shoulders rigid as if expecting an attack at any second.
“We’re not safe yet,” he said.
Aria wrapped her arms around herself.
“That’s becoming your favorite sentence.”
Azryth’s massive presence did not follow them physically, but the dragon’s voice echoed faintly in their minds.
I will remain near the fracture, Azryth said. If the gate opens again, I will slow what emerges.
Aria blinked.
“…Did the dragon just talk inside my head?”
Lucien nodded.
“Yes.”
She sighed tiredly.
“Okay. Sure. Telepathic dragons. Why not.”
But despite her attempt at humor, unease settled heavily in her chest.
The city looked the same.
Yet everything felt different.
The streetlights flickered briefly as they walked down an empty road.
Lucien noticed immediately.
“It’s already spreading.”
“What is?”
“The instability.”
As if answering him, a shadow along the wall stretched unnaturally — moving against the direction of the light before snapping back into place.
Aria stopped walking.
“…Please tell me that was normal.”
“It wasn’t.”
Her stomach sank.
“So the monsters are already here?”
Lucien’s silence confirmed it.
A distant siren wailed somewhere across the city.
Then another.
And another.
Too many.
Aria turned slowly.
“What’s happening?”
Lucien closed his eyes briefly, sensing outward.
When he opened them again, they were darker.
“The barrier between realms weakened across a wide area.”
She frowned.
“You mean…”
“Small breaches,” he said. “Creatures slipping through unnoticed.”
Fear crept into her voice.
“In a city full of people?”
“Yes.”
The realization hit hard.
Normal people walking home.
Families asleep.
Completely defenseless.
Aria felt anger replace fear.
“We have to help them.”
Lucien looked at her carefully.
“You can barely stand.”
“I don’t care.”
Her voice strengthened.
“If this started because of me, I’m not hiding while people get hurt.”
Lucien studied her for a long moment.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
“Stay close to me.”
They moved quickly through quiet streets until another strange sound reached them.
A scream.
Sharp.
Terrified.
Aria froze.
“That came from there.”
Without hesitation, she ran toward it.
“Aria—!” Lucien followed instantly.
They turned a corner into a narrow street where a young man had fallen backward against a parked car, staring at something only he could see.
The air shimmered.
And then—
A Voidborn creature phased partially into existence.
Its skeletal form flickered between dimensions, claws scraping against reality as it tried to fully materialize.
The man screamed again.
Lucien moved instantly.
His blade flashed, slicing through the creature before it stabilized.
The Voidborn shrieked and dissolved into fragments of dark energy.
Silence returned.
The man blinked wildly.
“What—what was that?!”
Lucien stepped forward calmly.
“You slipped and imagined something frightening.”
His voice carried subtle authority.
The man’s expression dulled slightly.
“…I slipped?”
“Yes.”
Confusion replaced panic.
“Oh… yeah. I guess I did.”
He staggered away, muttering to himself.
Aria stared.
“You just… erased his memory?”
“Adjusted it,” Lucien corrected.
She shook her head in disbelief.
“That’s terrifying.”
“It’s necessary.”
Aria looked down at her hands.
They were faintly glowing again.
The energy inside her stirred whenever danger appeared — reacting before she even understood why.
Lucien noticed.
“You feel them now, don’t you?”
She nodded slowly.
“I can sense… something.”
He watched her carefully.
“That’s new.”
She swallowed.
“They feel drawn to me.”
Lucien’s expression darkened.
Because that confirmed his fear.
The creatures were not wandering randomly.
They were hunting.
A sudden gust of cold wind swept through the street.
Every light nearby flickered out simultaneously.
Darkness swallowed the road.
Aria’s breath caught.
“…Lucien.”
He already knew.
A heavy presence pressed against the air.
Far stronger than the creature before.
Footsteps echoed slowly from the far end of the street.
Measured.
Confident.
Unhurried.
A tall silhouette emerged from the darkness.
Massive horns curved from its head, eyes glowing like burning suns.
The horned general.
Reality warped around its presence.
It stopped several meters away, studying Aria with unmistakable recognition.
Lucien stepped in front of her immediately, blade raised.
“You will not touch her.”
The being smiled faintly.
Its voice vibrated through the air itself.
“I have no need to fight you, guardian.”
Its gaze shifted past him.
Straight to Aria.
“We have waited a very long time.”
Aria felt her power react violently again.
Her heart pounded.
“You know me?”
The creature inclined its head respectfully.
“We remember you.”
Lucien’s grip tightened.
“She remembers nothing.”
The general’s smile widened.
“That will change.”
It took one step forward.
The ground cracked beneath its foot.
Aria felt memories flicker again behind her eyes — stars, light, endless creation.
Pain shot through her head.
Lucien shouted, “Stop!”
The general paused, amused.
“She is awakening faster than expected.”
Aria staggered, clutching her head.
“Make it stop…”
The being’s voice softened.
“You were never meant to live as human.”
Lucien attacked.
His blade collided with an invisible barrier before reaching the general.
The impact sent shockwaves through the street.
The creature barely moved.
“You cannot protect her from what she is,” it said calmly.
Lucien stood again, breathing hard.
“I don’t need to.”
His eyes burned with determination.
“I just need to give her time.”
The general looked intrigued.
“Time changes nothing.”
Then its gaze returned to Aria.
“And soon… you will call us by name.”
The air distorted suddenly.
The creature’s form began fading.
Lucien realized too late—
It wasn’t retreating.
It was marking her.
A glowing symbol appeared briefly in the air before sinking into Aria’s chest.
She gasped.
The presence vanished instantly.
The streetlights flickered back on.
Silence returned.
Aria collapsed forward.
Lucien caught her, panic flashing across his face.
“Aria!”
Her eyes opened weakly.
“What… did it do to me?”
Lucien looked at the faint glow spreading beneath her skin.
And for the first time—
He had no answer.
- Writer
