The Shattered Memory
When Aelir opened his eyes, the world was wrong.
The sky above was broken — shards of light and darkness twisting together like splintered glass.
Beneath his feet, the ground rippled like water, yet held the hardness of stone.
He staggered to his feet, searching for Lira.
She stood a few feet away, her hair caught in a phantom wind, her eyes wide with wonder and fear.
Around them, fragments of memories floated — pieces of lives that had long since faded into dust.
A ruined city sprawled in the distance, its towers leaning like broken teeth against the horizon.
The air smelled of forgotten things: old smoke, dried blood, and the sweet, cloying scent of lost hope.
"This isn't real," Aelir muttered, his voice swallowed by the vastness.
"No," Lira agreed. "But it
