Celeste Aurelian had always felt a strong connection to the night sky. As a child, she would spend hours lying beneath the stars, tracing their patterns with her fingers, as if they held secrets waiting to be discovered. Even now, at twenty-one, that feeling had never left her. If anything, it had only grown stronger.

Born and raised in Solmere, a quiet town surrounded by forests and open fields, Celeste had always been different. While others were content with everyday life, she longed for something more—something beyond what she could see. Her father, an astronomer, had encouraged her love for the stars, sharing his knowledge and passion. Her mother, a dreamer who believed in myths and legends, had filled her childhood with stories of celestial beings and fate. But they were both gone now, leaving Celeste with only memories and a never-ending curiosity about the world beyond her own.

Tonight, the stars seemed brighter than ever, their silver glow making the town look almost magical. Celeste stood on the balcony of her small apartment, the cool night air brushing against her skin. The world below was quiet, but the sky above felt alive. And for the first time in her life, she thought she heard the stars whisper.

A name.

Orion.

The sound of it sent a chill down her spine. She didn’t know anyone by that name, but it felt oddly familiar, as if it had always been a part of her, waiting to be remembered.

Shaking off the strange feeling, Celeste turned to go inside, but something in the sky caught her eye. A streak of light, a meteor, shot across the darkness—except, it wasn’t fading. It was growing. Getting bigger. Falling toward the forest just outside of town.

Her pulse quickened. The light wasn’t burning out—it was hurtling toward the earth like a summoned force, wild and unstoppable. A low, distant rumble echoed through the still night air, followed by a sudden gust of wind that sent chills racing down her spine. Something about it felt unnatural, as if the universe itself had bent the rules for this moment.

Meanwhile, far beyond the stars Celeste loved so much, Orion Veylan was being pulled back to a world he had promised never to return to.

As a guardian of the celestial order, Orion had spent lifetimes protecting the balance between worlds. His life had been one of duty and sacrifice. But tonight, fate had broken the careful balance he had spent centuries keeping. And the force pulling him back to the mortal world was connected to the girl staring at the sky.

The descent was violent. Orion could feel his very essence ripping through the veil between realms, the pressure mounting as the ground neared. He clenched his jaw against the searing pain. His mission had always been clear—never return, never interfere. But destiny had rewritten his path.

Celeste’s breath caught. That wasn’t an ordinary shooting star.

A sudden sharp pressure gripped her chest, like unseen fingers reaching for her very soul. The trees in the distance trembled, their branches swaying as if whispering a warning. Something deep inside her told her to turn away, to run—but another part of her, something ancient and unexplainable, pushed her forward.

She didn’t know why, but she needed to go. Right now.

Grabbing her coat, she rushed down the stairs, her heart pounding. Logic told her to stay put, to ignore the strange feeling in her chest. But deep down, she knew better.

Something was coming.

Something powerful.

And she had to be there when it arrived........

The night was too quiet. The kind of silence that made the air feel thick, pressing down on Celeste like an unseen force. As she ran toward the forest’s edge, a deep sense of unease clawed at her chest. The sky, once peaceful, now held an ominous weight, as if something unnatural had torn through its fabric.

The trees loomed like twisted shadows, their branches swaying violently despite the still air. The wind carried a whisper—low, unintelligible, yet unmistakably there. It sent a shiver crawling down Celeste’s spine. She wanted to believe it was just the wind. But deep down, she knew better.

The town of Solmere was asleep, unaware of the strange force that had just descended upon it. But Celeste could feel it—something powerful had arrived, something that shouldn’t exist in her quiet world.

The wind howled through the trees as she reached the clearing where the meteor had fallen. Smoke curled into the night sky, the air thick with the scent of burning earth. The ground trembled beneath her feet, the impact having left a crater in the soft soil. Her heart hammered as she stepped closer, shielding her face from the heat radiating from the pit.

But there, in the center of the impact, wasn’t a rock or a smoldering chunk of space debris.

It was a man.

Celeste gasped, stumbling back. He lay motionless amid the swirling embers, his dark clothes torn, his body covered in glowing, golden cracks as if he were made of light and fire. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, his expression twisted in pain. But even in his vulnerable state, he was breathtakingly beautiful.

His hair, a deep shade of midnight blue, shimmered under the faint moonlight, catching flecks of silver as if the stars themselves had woven into the strands. His features were sharp yet ethereal—high cheekbones, a perfectly sculpted jawline, and lips that held a secret, a mystery waiting to be unraveled. His skin, though marked with golden fissures, glowed with an otherworldly radiance, like a celestial being carved from the heavens themselves.

But it was his eyes that held her captive. When they snapped open, they weren’t just golden—they were galaxies, burning with a fierce, ancient fire. They pierced through the darkness, locking onto her with an intensity that sent an involuntary shudder down her spine. It was as if he was looking into her soul, seeing parts of her she hadn’t even known existed.

And then, as his gaze fully registered her, something changed. His breath caught, his pupils dilating slightly as if he had seen something he was never meant to. He stared at her as though she was the most mesmerizing thing he had ever laid eyes on.

Orion's POV:

The moment his vision steadied, he saw her.

At first, he thought she was another illusion—some trick his fractured mind was playing on him. But no illusion could carry a presence like hers. She was real. Too real.

Her hair, dark as the midnight sky, framed a face he couldn’t look away from. Her eyes, wide with both fear and wonder, reflected the constellations above, as if she carried the universe in them. The soft glow of the embers illuminated her skin, casting her in warm, golden light, making her seem almost ethereal—like she belonged to the stars just as much as he did.

A strange sensation stirred within him, something he couldn’t place. It was unfamiliar, unsettling. But it pulled him toward her nonetheless. She should not be here. And yet, here she was.

“Are you... are you okay?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Orion let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "Do I look okay?"

Despite the situation, Celeste almost smiled. But the seriousness of the moment kept her grounded. Whoever he was, wherever he had come from, he was hurt. And whether she understood it or not, she knew—deep in her soul—that she couldn’t leave him here.

Summoning her courage, she stepped into the crater, feeling the warmth of the scorched earth beneath her shoes. Kneeling beside him, she carefully placed a hand on his shoulder. His skin was feverishly hot, his body still glowing faintly as if he was something more than human.

Orion’s breathing was uneven, his expression filled with exhaustion and something else—relief. As if he had expected to wake up alone.

"You shouldn’t be here," he murmured.

Celeste swallowed hard. "And yet, here I am."

A silence stretched between them, filled only by the distant rustling of the trees. Then, slowly, Orion reached for her hand. The moment their skin touched, a rush of energy surged through her, a warmth unlike anything she had ever known.

Her vision blurred.

For a split second, she wasn’t in the forest anymore.

She saw galaxies swirling, endless constellations burning with life. A war waged across the stars, shadows stretching toward the edges of existence. And then—she saw him. Orion, standing at the center of it all, a blade of celestial light in his grip, his expression fierce and determined.

Then, just as quickly, it was gone.

Celeste gasped, pulling her hand back, her breath unsteady. "What was that?" she demanded.

Orion exhaled heavily, his gaze meeting hers with something unreadable. He had seen something, too. Something he could not yet name.

He should tell her. But he couldn't. Not yet.

So instead, he whispered, "A glimpse of the truth."

She had no idea what he meant, but one thing was certain—her life had just changed forever.

And so had his......

The air around them thickened, filled with tension. Celeste’s heart pounded against her ribs as she pulled back from Orion, the memory of the vision still fresh in her mind. The stars in his eyes flickered, dimming as if he were struggling to stay awake.

A sudden rustle in the trees made her spin around, her breath catching. The once-quiet night was no longer still. Shadows moved between the trees, shifting like liquid darkness. A deep, rough growl broke the silence, sending a chill down Celeste’s spine.

Orion forced himself to sit up, his jaw tight. “They found me.”

Celeste turned back to him. “Who?”

Before he could answer, the darkness around them twisted, forming figures—tall, horrifying beings with long limbs and wide mouths filled with jagged, uneven teeth. Their empty, glowing eyes flickered like dying flames, filled with hunger. The air became thick with the stench of decay, and Celeste’s stomach turned. It felt like the night itself had come alive to swallow them whole.

Orion struggled to his feet, his body still weak from the fall. “Stay behind me.”

But Celeste was frozen, stuck between fear and curiosity. She had never seen anything like this before, yet deep inside, she knew this danger, as if her soul had met them before.

One of the creatures lunged, its movements sharp and unnatural. Orion moved faster than she thought possible, his hand glowing with golden light as he struck forward, sending the shadow flying back with a piercing shriek. The glow in his palm flickered, and he winced in pain. He was still too weak.

Another creature shot from the side, its long fingers reaching for Celeste like bony claws. A scream built in her throat, but before she could release it, Orion grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him, his body shielding hers as the dark figure barely missed her.

“Run,” he ordered, his voice rough but firm.

She wanted to argue, to demand answers, but the look in his eyes told her this was not the time. They had to survive first. Questions could come later.

With a deep breath, she turned and ran toward the trees, her legs moving on pure adrenaline. Orion followed closely behind, his presence a shield in the growing darkness. But the creatures weren’t just chasing them.

They were guiding them.

Celeste’s mind raced. Was this a trap? Was Orion leading her to safety or something worse?

The wind howled, the trees groaning as the darkness closed in. The creatures moved faster now, their limbs stretching unnaturally as they leaped from one tree to another, their hollow eyes locked onto their prey. Celeste dared a glance over her shoulder and immediately regretted it.

One of them was inches behind Orion, its mouth widening into an impossible grin, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth. It reached for him with clawed hands, its fingers crackling with black energy.

“Orion, watch out!” Celeste screamed.

Orion barely managed to twist his body, dodging the creature’s grasp by a hair’s breadth. The beast let out a furious screech, its voice sharp enough to make Celeste’s ears ring. Orion’s movements were slower now, his exhaustion evident in the way he staggered slightly as he landed from a jump.

Celeste’s mind screamed at her to do something—anything—but what could she possibly do against creatures like these? She was just a girl caught in the middle of something far beyond her understanding.

Then, suddenly, the path ahead opened up. A steep cliffside loomed in front of them, its jagged edge barely visible in the dim moonlight. Below, nothing but an endless abyss of shadows. There was no way forward.

“We’re trapped,” Celeste whispered, her breath ragged.

Orion stepped beside her, his expression grim. “Not yet.”

The creatures slowed, their movements more deliberate now as they encircled them. They knew they had won.

Orion clenched his fists, the golden glow in his hands flickering weakly. “Listen to me, Celeste. When I tell you to jump, you jump. No hesitation.”

Celeste’s eyes widened. “Are you insane? We don’t even know what’s down there!”

“Anything is better than this,” Orion shot back, his gaze darting between the advancing figures. “Trust me.”

She swallowed hard, every muscle in her body screaming against the idea. But what choice did she have?

The creatures lunged.

“Jump!” Orion shouted, grabbing Celeste’s hand as they both leaped off the cliff.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. The world spun around them as they plunged into the abyss, the wind roaring past their ears. Celeste’s scream was lost in the darkness, her fingers tightening around Orion’s like a lifeline.

And then—

Everything went black.............