Stellaria the beginning

The vision

One night in Stellaria, after an exhausting day of planning and strategizing, Jay finally drifted off to sleep in his small, makeshift room. The city was quiet, the only sounds the distant hum of the barriers they had erected to protect their sanctuary from the distortions of the Nexus. But as Jay slept, his mind was anything but peaceful.

His dreams began to twist, pulling him into a dark and ominous vision. He found himself standing in the middle of his hometown, but it was different—broken, distorted. The buildings were crumbling, and the sky was an unnatural shade of red, filled with swirling clouds that crackled with ominous energy.

Jay's heart pounded in his chest as he looked around, searching for any sign of life. Then, in the distance, he saw them—his family. His parents, his little sister, all of them huddled together, looking terrified. But before he could reach them, a shadow loomed over them, and in an instant, they were gone—swallowed by the darkness.

"No!" Jay screamed, trying to run toward them, but his feet wouldn't move. He was stuck, forced to watch helplessly as the world around him disintegrated.

Then, his vision shifted. He was no longer in his hometown but in a dense forest, the trees twisted and gnarled, their branches reaching out like skeletal hands. And there, in the distance, he saw her—Mari, his girlfriend, running frantically through the trees. Her face was pale with fear, and she kept glancing over her shoulder as if something was chasing her.

Jay's breath caught in his throat as he tried to call out to her, but his voice was drowned out by the howling wind. He watched in horror as a dark figure appeared behind Mari, gaining on her with every step. It was Geno—his presence unmistakable, his aura of malevolent power suffocating.

Mari's terrified eyes met Jay's for a split second, and she mouthed his name before the vision ended abruptly, plunging Jay into darkness. The last thing he heard was her scream echoing in his mind.

Jay bolted upright in his bed, drenched in sweat, his heart racing as if it might burst out of his chest. The vividness of the vision left him shaken, and for a moment, he couldn't tell if he was still dreaming or if he was back in the real world. But the fear was real, the desperation real. He had to warn the others.

He stumbled out of bed and rushed down the dimly lit corridors of Stellaria's headquarters, his mind reeling. Bursting into the main meeting room, he found Rizure, Steven, Justin, and Jules still awake, discussing plans for their next move.

"Jay?" Rizure said, noticing his friend's pale, terrified expression. "What's wrong?"

Jay tried to catch his breath, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush. "I saw them—my family, Mari. They're in danger. Geno... Geno's coming for them. He's after Mari. I saw her running, but... I couldn't do anything to help. We have to go back to Earth. We have to stop him!"

The room fell silent as the others processed what Jay had said. Rizure's eyes narrowed, sensing the gravity of the situation. Steven leaned forward, his brow furrowed in concern.

"Jay," Steven began gently, "are you sure it was a vision? Not just a dream?"

Jay shook his head, his voice trembling with conviction. "It wasn't just a dream, Steven. It was real—I could feel it. My family... Mari, they're in danger right now. I don't know how, but Geno's found them. He's going after them because of me. We have to go back, we have to—"

But before Jay could finish, Jules interjected, her voice laced with regret. "Jay, I'm sorry, but we don't know how to get back to Earth. The Nexus is keeping us here, and we haven't figured out how to bypass it. We're still working on stabilizing the Zero Point, but until we do..."

"No!" Jay shouted, his desperation turning to anger. "There has to be a way! I can't just sit here while Mari's out there, running for her life! We have to do something!"

Rizure stepped forward, placing a firm but comforting hand on Jay's shoulder. "We will do something, Jay. But we need to think clearly. If your vision is true, then Geno's targeting your loved ones to get to you. That means we need to act fast, but rushing in without a plan could make things worse."

Steven nodded in agreement, his voice steady. "We need to find a way to Earth, but we can't abandon everything we've built here. The Nexus is still a threat, and if we leave it unchecked, it could destroy more than just your hometown—it could destroy everything."

Jay's frustration was palpable, his fists clenched at his sides as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. He knew they were right, but the thought of Mari in danger, of his family being targeted by Geno, was more than he could bear.

"We won't give up, Jay," Justin said, his tone reassuring. "We'll find a way to get you back to Earth. But first, we need to stabilize the Zero Point and figure out what Geno's next move is. We can't let him keep the upper hand."

Jules nodded, already deep in thought. "I'll double down on the research. Maybe there's a way to use the Nexus's energy to create a portal back to Earth. It's risky, but it might be our only shot."

Jay took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He knew his friends were right, but the fear gnawed at him, the vision of Mari's terrified face haunting his every thought. "Alright," he finally said, his voice barely above a whisper. "But please... let's make it fast. I don't know how much time they have."

With that, the team resolved to push harder, to work faster, and to do everything in their power to find a way back to Earth. The stakes had never been higher, and the weight of their mission pressed down on them all. They knew that time was running out—not just for Jay's loved ones, but for reality itself.

And as Jay lay awake that night, his mind racing with thoughts of Mari and his family, he swore to himself that he would find a way back to them, no matter the cost.