Shattered Silence: The Arrival of the Lost
The night erupted with a scream so raw, so primal, it tore through the stillness of 4EverMore like a jagged shard of broken glass. It wasn’t the kind of scream one hears every day—this was the sound of someone who had looked into the abyss and found it staring back. It echoed off the ancient walls, rippling through the air and unsettling the eternal calm that cloaked our world.
I was standing on the terrace of the Eclipsora Castle when it hit, the scream slicing through the serene night like a thunderclap. My hands clenched the balustrade as a ripple of dread unfurled in my chest. This was no ordinary disturbance. This was something… different.
The shadows around me stirred, sensing my tension. I turned, and with a single step, I merged with them, letting them carry me swiftly to the source of the disruption. The City of Day Walkers was still, but I could feel the curiosity and unease of my people as I passed them, their whispers following in my wake.
As I approached the Enchanted Forest’s edge, I heard them before I saw them—voices raised in panic, cries of confusion and fear. I stepped into the clearing, my eyes locking onto the group huddled there. Six newcomers, each one a whirlwind of frantic energy.
The young woman at the center was on her knees, clutching her head, her screams now ragged gasps. “This isn’t real. It can’t be real!” she cried, rocking back and forth as if the motion could anchor her in sanity.
To her right, a middle-aged man was pacing, muttering under his breath, his hands tugging at his hair. “This is a nightmare. Just a nightmare. I’ll wake up any second.”
Another woman, perhaps in her late thirties, was standing rigidly, her face pale as death, her lips moving in silent prayer. The teenager nearby had collapsed into a fetal position, sobbing uncontrollably.
But it was the man in his early forties, standing apart from the group, who caught my attention. He wasn’t panicking, not like the others. No, he was watching them, his jaw tight, his fists clenched. He looked more angry than afraid, his eyes scanning the clearing, searching for something—or someone—to blame.
I stepped out of the shadows, my presence a ripple of calm amidst their storm, but I didn’t speak immediately. I let them feel my gaze, let it anchor them for just a moment.
The angry man was the first to notice me, his eyes narrowing. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded, his voice sharp and accusatory.
The others turned, their collective fear now directed at me. Perfect.
“I am Lysander,” I said, my voice steady, resonant. “King of Shadows, guardian of this realm you have stumbled into.”
The young woman’s eyes widened. “Realm? What are you talking about? We were… I was just—” She broke off, her breath hitching.
“You were in the mortal world,” I said gently, my eyes meeting hers. “But now, you are here. In 4EverMore.”
The older woman clutched her pendant, her voice trembling. “What is this place? Why are we here?”
“4EverMore is a realm where time and mortality do not rule. You’ve crossed a boundary, one that cannot be uncrossed,” I explained, my tone softening just enough to take the edge off their terror.
The angry man stepped forward, pointing a finger at me. “So, what, you’re saying we’re stuck here? That we can’t go back?”
I held his gaze, unflinching. “Yes. You cannot return to the mortal world. But this place offers you something more—immortality, freedom from time’s cruel grip.”
The teenager, his voice trembling, whimpered from the ground. “I don’t want immortality. I just want to go home.”
The middle-aged man stopped pacing, turning toward me, his face pale. “There has to be a way back. There’s always a way back.”
“There is no way back,” I said firmly, my voice cutting through their rising panic. “But you are not prisoners here. You have been given a gift, one you may not yet understand.”
The young woman slowly rose to her feet, her legs shaky. “Why us? Why did this happen to us?”
“The veil between worlds is thin, and sometimes, souls slip through,” I explained, my eyes scanning each of them. “You have something within you that called to this realm. You were meant to be here.”
The older woman’s prayer faltered, her eyes meeting mine. “Meant to be? This isn’t what we wanted.”
“No,” I agreed softly. “But it is where you are now. And you will find that 4EverMore is not a place of suffering, but of endless possibility.”
The clearing fell silent, the weight of my words settling over them. They were still scared, still confused, but the panic was beginning to give way to something else—uncertainty, perhaps, but also a flicker of understanding.
I stepped closer, my gaze holding them steady. “This world is vast, and its magic is unlike anything you’ve ever known. You will learn to navigate it, to live in it. And I will help you.”
The angry man’s jaw clenched, his defiance flickering. “And if we refuse?”
I smiled, a slow, knowing smile. “You can’t refuse what is already your reality. But in time, you’ll see that this is a new beginning for all of you wether you were ready or not.”
And with that, the forest seemed to hold its breath, waiting to see what these newcomers would do next, how they would shape their fate in this strange, eternal world called 4EverMore.
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