Alethea is a kind soul trying to navigate a chaotic world while searching for her place in it. When she discovers she's the lost princess of a vanished planet, her life becomes even more complicated, forcing her to confront a destiny she never asked...
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Disclaimer: This chapter contains heavy emotional themes. Reader discretion is advised.
⑅ ♥̩̥̩♥̩̩̥͙♥̩͙ˊˎ
Alethea's POV:
The wind keened through the desolation of Aalto, carrying the mournful cries of a world long abandoned. Sand stung my face, swept by the relentless gusts, as the crumbling remains of ancient ruins stretched around us. Shadows danced along the jagged walls under the pale light of the twin moons, giving life to the phantoms lurking just out of sight.
I clutched my cloak tighter, the weight of the place pressing into my chest. Aalto wasn't just a desert—it was a graveyard, a cursed expanse filled with monsters that prowled unseen. Their presence was palpable, the air heavy with their menace.
And yet, as we moved through the ruins, I couldn't shake the eerie familiarity of it all. This wasn't the first time I'd been here—not physically, but in the simulation during my freshman midterm.
Back then, it had been a random assignment, a test designed by Professor Palladium to challenge us. He'd called it a hypothetical exercise, a fabricated scenario meant to prepare us for the unexpected. At the time, I hadn't questioned it. Why would I? I was just another student, trying to prove myself.
But now, standing in the real Aalto, I understood. The simulation hadn't been random. It had mirrored this place—its barren expanse, its lurking horrors—all too perfectly.
Silas knelt beside me, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. His eyes, sharp and calculating, scanned the horizon. He didn't speak, but his presence was grounding, a quiet reassurance in the face of the chaos within me.
A low, guttural snarl rumbled through the air, the sound reverberating in my chest. My breath caught as the memory surfaced—this exact sound had haunted my dreams after that midterm.
"It's them," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Silas turned his head slightly, his gaze questioning.
"The monsters," I clarified, my throat tight. "They're the same ones from the simulation. Back then, it felt so real... and now I know why."
His expression hardened, his jaw tightening as he absorbed my words. "It wasn't just a random exercise."
"No," I said, shaking my head. "Not intentionally. Palladium wouldn't have known... but the simulation reflected this place too accurately. Somehow, it was a glimpse of the truth—of Aalto's curse—even if no one realized it."
His brow furrowed, but he said nothing more, his focus returning to the path ahead.
The ruins of Aalto were a labyrinth of despair, each turn a potential trap. Crumbling archways jutted from the sand like skeletal remains, their edges worn smooth by time. The air itself seemed alive, heavy with an oppressive energy that sapped at our strength with every step.
