Chapter 2: The Fallen Star

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......

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