"What a beautiful day"
...
In an age of turbulence, a boy who sat motionless on the floor and opened his eyes for what felt like the first time, or perhaps not. He found himself adrift in an endless sea of darkness.
His skin was pale, his long black hair fell to his shoulders, and he wore strange gloves marked with unfamiliar symbols. But what stood out most were his eyes, deep, dark, and filled with an unsettling shadow.
As soon as he awakened, a discomfort crept into his mind, growing rapidly into unbearable torment.
He screamed at the top of his lungs, both hands clutching his head as strange, guttural noises escaped his mouth. The pain was overwhelming, incomprehensible, as if it had been lying in wait, ready to strike the moment he opened his eyes.
His voice echoed through the void while his head shook violently. The agony clawed at his sanity like a thousand needles digging into his brain all at once.
How was he still alive
Was the human mind even meant to endure something like this
Just as he reached his limit, the pain vanished abruptly, unnaturally. One moment it was all-consuming, the next it was simply gone. No trace. It left him questioning whether it had even been real. Had he imagined it? Was it just a hallucination?
Those seconds had felt like an eternity.
But finally, his thoughts began to clear. He took slow, uneven breaths, focusing on his surroundings.
None of it made sense.
He tried to calm down, to piece together what had just happened, but his mind was still clouded. Nothing came. With a sigh, he scratched his head and muttered under his breath,
"Who the hell am I supposed to be"
A dull headache lingered from his recent ordeal, but it still did not explain the state he was in.
His mind was a blank slate.
After a while, the pain finally began to fade, and he forced himself to his feet, realizing that staying still in such a hostile place might very well mean death.
He scanned his surroundings, hoping for some clue, some landmark, anything that could help him make sense of the situation.
But all he saw was darkness, so absolute it felt suffocating. There was just enough light to see a few steps ahead, but no more.
No sound either. Nothing.
Except during his screaming, he vaguely remembered hearing something. A bell. A strange, distant bell. He had not noticed it at the time, but now the memory tugged at the edge of his mind.
Then he looked up.
Two massive half-moons loomed in the sky, casting a faint, eerie glow.
The ground beneath his feet was unnaturally flat. Too perfect. As if someone or something had wiped away every imperfection, smoothing it into something alien.
And yet he remained strangely calm. He was not sure if that was because he did not know fear or because he had already lost all sense of reason.
"Are you all right, sir"
The voice came suddenly, soft, trembling, and startled him so much he nearly jumped.
His heart pounded as he turned. Just a few steps away stood a young girl with wide, anxious eyes, her body shaking slightly as she approached with caution.
But what caught his attention most was how much she looked like him.
She was like a younger, more fragile version of himself.
Is she my sister Someone from my family
"Who are you, little girl And how long have you been there" he asked, forcing a gentle smile to reassure her.
"You really do not have the kind of face for smiling, mister" she muttered, still watching him warily.
He blinked, surprised at how quickly her fear had faded.
"I am... Celestia, I think. I am not sure. I just remember a blinding light and a white bird. Then I was here. And ever since I woke up, I have been hearing someone scream like the world was ending. It is too dark to run away. And besides, you are not even that tall. How didn't you see me. And now I am stuck here starving in this place"
"Okay, okay, I get it" he interrupted, raising a hand. He had not expected her to be so talkative.
"Seems like you are just as lost as I am" he said.
"I am sorry. Please do not leave me alone. I feel like I will lose my mind if I stay alone in this place" she said, hands trembling.
'She is not as fine as she seems.' he thought.
He gave her a gentle smile. "Do not worry. I will not leave you"
He did not know why, but he felt a strong urge to protect her. It was more than just the resemblance. Something invisible pulled him toward her.
"For now, I think we should focus on getting out of here while we still can" he said, his tone firm.
For a moment her eyes sparkled with a flicker of hope. "Then we can head for that tower." she said, pointing behind him.
"What tower" he asked, frowning.
He turned and froze.
A colossal tower stood far in the distance, reaching up and piercing the sky. It shimmered faintly, almost like a mirage.
For the second time that day, he questioned whether he could trust his own vision.
Maybe his splitting headache had temporarily scrambled his senses.
"I am not even sure we can reach it" Celestia added.
She was right. It looked so far away that even decades of walking might not be enough to reach it.
And yet something about it called to him. It had a strange pull, a natural gravity. It might as well been the strangest thing in this place. How did it even seem to rise so high?
'So it is not that the moons are huge. It is the sky that is strangely low.'
"Are you listening to me" Celestia asked, frowning.
He turned to her again. "Yeah. I think it is our best option. If we wander around blindly without a landmark, we will just get lost"
Celestia smiled. "Let's go then"
He nodded and followed as she stepped closer to him. Together, they started walking toward the light, their first glimpse of hope in this strange, quiet world.
After a moment, Celestia glanced at him and asked, "With all the yelling earlier, I forgot to ask. What is your name, sir"
He raised an eyebrow, still walking. "Good question"
He had not even thought about that. And yet, strangely, the answer came to him so easily, as if it were obvious.
"Ice"