BEFORE DESTINY (Special – Part 1)
The sun slowly descended over the vast horizon of golden grasslands, dyeing the sky in shades of orange and crimson. A gentle breeze swayed the tall grass, and the few scattered trees rustled their dry leaves, whispering forgotten secrets.
Zyrion walked at the front of the small group, his worn boots sinking slightly into the soft ground. At his side, Kyrahna kept a constant vigilance, her hand always near the hilt of her sword. Caelithra, a bit farther behind, moved in silence, her icy eyes fixed on the path, as if she carried the weight of a thousand worries on her shoulders.
Karion, true to his nature, was the only one breaking the tension with his usual repertoire of jokes.
"Did you know that if we get lost and I die out here, I want my tomb to say: 'Died as he lived—looking for water and complaining'?" he said with a crooked grin as he walked a few meters toward a small clearing in search of a stream.
Zyrion let out a low laugh and shook his head.
"Don't die yet, Karion. It would be boring to walk without your nonsense."
Karion gave a mocking salute before disappearing among the trees.
"I'll take that as a declaration of love, Zyrion!"
Kyrahna sighed, though a faint smile betrayed her stern demeanor.
Zyrion, however, remained thoughtful as he watched Karion's silhouette fade into the distance.
It was then that Kyrahna approached, walking beside him.
"Zyrion… can I ask you something?" she said in a quieter tone.
Zyrion raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Of course."
Kyrahna looked down for a few seconds before speaking.
"Why do you keep going? After everything we've seen… after everything we've lost… why not walk away, find a simple life far from all this?"
Zyrion pondered his answer, his pace slowing.
"Because if I give up… what happens to the people who can't fight for themselves? Because if we all give up… whatever remains of this world won't be worth living in."
Kyrahna nodded, a fleeting shadow of admiration crossing her eyes.
"Always so stubborn."
Zyrion smiled.
"And you always so distrustful."
They shared a brief laugh, a small moment of lightness amid the tension surrounding them.
As they continued forward, Caelithra's cold but steady voice reached them from behind.
"Zyrion. Come here for a moment."
Her tone was sharp—more of an order than an invitation. Kyrahna gestured for him to go, and Zyrion, curious, stepped aside toward where Caelithra waited, standing beside an old twisted tree.
When he approached, Caelithra observed him in silence for a long moment. Her steel-colored eyes gleamed in the sunset light, and her expression was stern, but deep inside… there was something else. Something even she barely understood.
Zyrion was the first to break the silence.
"What is it?"
Caelithra crossed her arms.
"I wanted to ask you something. Something important."
Zyrion tilted his head.
"Go ahead."
Caelithra hesitated—rare for her.
"Do you think… any of this makes sense? Is it really worth risking our lives for a world that seems determined to destroy itself?"
Zyrion grew thoughtful. Then he took a step closer, his voice soft yet firm.
"We don't fight for the world as it is. We fight for what it could become. For what it might be if we don't let darkness consume it."
Caelithra lowered her gaze, her fingers unconsciously playing with the edge of her cloak.
"And what if we fail?"
"Then," Zyrion said with a sad smile, "it will still have been worth trying. At least we'll know we didn't give up without a fight."
Caelithra looked up at him, and for an instant, her walls cracked. Something in Zyrion's determination, in his unwavering faith, touched a part of her she kept hidden even from herself.
"You were always different," she murmured.
Zyrion chuckled softly.
"Different as in weird… or different as in special?"
Caelithra scoffed, though a tiny curve appeared on her lips.
"I'm not sure special is the word… but yes. Something about you makes people want to follow you."
Zyrion held her gaze, more serious this time.
"And you? Would you follow me, if the moment came?"
Caelithra crossed her arms again, hiding her discomfort behind her usual coldness.
"I don't follow just anyone."
Zyrion smirked.
"I'll take that as a maybe."
Karion returned at that moment, splashed with water and shaking his boots.
"Good news and bad news! Good: I found water. Bad: I almost became lunch for a mutant snake the size of my ego."
Everyone burst into laughter—even Caelithra, though she hid it behind a discreet cough.
"Let's go before another snake decides we look delicious," Kyrahna said, leading the march once again.
Zyrion walked beside Caelithra, silent this time, both sharing a stillness charged with unspoken possibilities. With each step, they felt a connection forming—stronger, deeper… though neither would admit it.
The wind blew softly through the trees, carrying the echo of a silent promise.
A promise of struggle.A promise of hope.A promise of something more—something they were only beginning to understand.
And somewhere far away, destiny was already writing their names among the stars.
Night fell like a velvet cloak over the group. The wind grew colder, carrying scents of wet earth and dry leaves. The sky, clear and dark, was dotted with stars that twinkled like tiny beacons in the vastness.
They found a small clearing protected by rock formations, where they lit an improvised bonfire. The flames crackled, casting orange glimmers over their tired but still lively faces.
Zyrion, sitting near the fire, stirred the embers with a stick. His gaze was lost in the flames, but his mind wandered far beyond them.
Karion, as always, tried to lighten the mood.
"Did you know that technically, camping without a tent makes us gourmet snacks for any nocturnal creature?" he said, using a stone as an improvised pillow.
Kyrahna snorted.
"Karion, if a nocturnal creature eats you, I'll throw a party. Less noise."
Everyone laughed—including Zyrion, who shook his head with a tired smile.
Caelithra, however, remained silent, watching the fire with a somber expression. Her dark cloak wrapped around her like a second skin, and her eyes reflected the hypnotic dance of the flames.
After a while, as the group talked and joked, Caelithra lifted her gaze toward Zyrion. Her voice was low, barely a whisper lost among the sparks rising to the sky.
"Zyrion."
He turned his head to look at her, curious.
"Come with me. I need to talk to you… away from them."
Zyrion nodded and set the stick aside, standing up. Caelithra was already walking toward a more secluded corner of the clearing, where the shadows deepened and the murmur of the wind felt almost intimate.
They stopped beside a large rock, where the firelight barely reached. Caelithra crossed her arms and looked at him intensely.
"Have you thought about the future?" she asked abruptly, with no hesitation.
Zyrion tilted his head, intrigued.
"In what sense?"
"In what's coming. In what we're risking… in what we might lose."
Zyrion leaned his back against the rock, letting out a sigh.
"I think about it all the time."
"And doesn't it scare you?" Caelithra insisted, her eyes piercing into his like twin blades.
Zyrion took a moment before answering.
"Of course it scares me. But I won't let fear decide for me."
Caelithra lowered her gaze, her fingers gripping the folds of her cloak.
"I used to think like that," she murmured. "Before I lost everything."
A heavy silence settled between them, broken only by the distant crackling of the fire and the far-off howl of a wolf.
Zyrion stepped closer.
"What did you lose, Caelithra?"
She looked up, and for a moment, Zyrion saw beyond the coldness. A deep sadness. An open wound.
"Everything," she whispered. "A family. A home. A purpose."
Zyrion extended a hand—not touching her, but offering his presence.
"You don't have to carry it alone."
Caelithra blinked, as if she hadn't expected that answer.
"And what do you know about carrying someone else's pain?" she asked, her voice barely trembling.
Zyrion smiled sadly.
"More than you imagine."
They stayed in silence for a while, listening to the music of the wind through the trees.
Finally, Caelithra spoke again—softer this time.
"If we fail… if all of this ends badly… do you think humanity will still have hope?"
Zyrion looked up at the starry sky, thoughtful.
"Humanity doesn't need everything to go right. It just needs a spark. Something that reminds it that even in the deepest darkness, there can be light."
Caelithra let out a dry laugh.
"Poetic."
Zyrion shrugged.
"I prefer that over giving up."
She studied him for several heartbeats, as if trying to memorize every feature of his face.
"Maybe…" she finally whispered. "Maybe it is worth believing in something again."
And for an instant, in the cold darkness of the night, Caelithra let her walls fall.
They didn't hug.They didn't touch.But the connection between them was stronger than any physical gesture.
When they returned to the camp, Karion had already fallen asleep on his back, snoring like distant thunder. Kyrahna kept watch, her sword resting across her legs, her gaze alert despite her eyelids occasionally drooping.
Zyrion and Caelithra settled near the fire in silence.For the first time, Caelithra sat just a little closer to him than to the others.
The wind carried the scent of damp earth, the crackle of fire, and a strange feeling… as though despite everything—despite the danger, despite the darkness—there, under those stars, something good was beginning to grow.
A promise.
A friendship.
Perhaps something more.
The fire kept burning, and the first spark of destiny began to ignite within the hearts of Caelithra and Zyrion.
TO BE CONTINUED…