Work Text:
“Aaaah~”
A familiar tune cheeped behind them. They turned around to greet their little companion.
The Star… that what they assumed they were and the occasional strays, small bulbs of light and magic that were flying through the starry skies, were the only living beings in this grand vibrant yet empty place.
Kilometers of dunes with sand flashing all colors of rainbow, rivers full of lucid water that fills you with freshness from the top to the bottom. Colossal buildings that seemed to grow right from the gravel. Fantastically shaped temples, that were floating in the air among the roots of the trees, with branches and leaves reaching to the ground.
The Star didn’t understand what any of that was at first. They were nothing more, but a small wanderer, being brought to this world by a swirl of cosmic energy. A blank slate filled with undying curiosity.
Never getting tired, never stopping their exploration.
Little strays were joining in once in a while, singing quiet tunes that the Star learned to mimic. They didn’t know the meaning of their songs, but they knew deep in their core how to distinguish a happy trill after long separation and sad warble when the Star could not keep the overwhelming loneliness inside.
They knew it was wrong, somehow.
They were safe, they never needed anything, they had little strays. They had myriads of books that they were swallowing as if the hunger for the knowledge was eating them alive. Letters they quickly learned to understand, words they wished they knew how to speak. The spells, the names, everything in the reach of their small hand.
Yet the Star was still hungry. Desperate to fill the emptiness they could not describe.
They would dance and fly and throw the shimmering sand around.
They would sit and watch with empty stare through the endless darkness of the skies that were lavishly mixed with blinding lights.
They would lay and cry and hurt their throat with raw screams and tear their skin with sharp nails.
They hated it. So they would rather dance some more, laughing with strays that were circling around them. Exploring the vast lands further and further.
Until one day the Star reached the huge temple the size they had never seen before, with giant golden doors. A small touch was enough to open them wide. Their eyes were overwhelmed with brilliant colors, stars and planets decorating the walls and the ceilings. Neverending corridors with new mysteries to explore.
Yet the Star’s attention was immediately drawn towards a huge map in the center of the hall, that seemed to be living and breathing, giving a soft shine. The darkness between the glowing spots was like a simmering oceans that were matching the outside skies.
And then they heard it. Murmuring.
They moved closer. There. The bright light the map seemed to point onto. They could hear it. Talking. Laughing!
Someone was there! Many someones!
The Star was filled with overflowing excitement, the tight knot of dread clenching their heart. Something new. Someone new!
They didn’t wait for a second, slowly floating up, not hearing the sad trills of the strays that stayed behind the majestic golden doors. They touched the map and felt like they were being pulled in the whirlpool, their vision blurring on each side, their hand slowly sinking in.
The Star made one last breath and dove in.