Caedus slipped in and out of consciousness. He dreamed of billions of stars scattered across the endless void of space, which pulsed and burned with a brightness he had never seen before. Comets streaked past him, their bright tails painting the darkness in fading colors of emerald, crimson, and sapphire, following in their wake.
The vast expanse of space shifted around him, and then he felt something. He barely had enough awareness to keep his eyes open and his mind active, but he felt something watching him.
The celestial bodies he saw made him feel like he was being looked at and analyzed down to every cell in his body. Nebulas flared in the distance, waves of violet and gold unraveling in slow motion, filling his vision. The light swallowed everything until it seemed to pour into him. His chest ached with its weight, his body trembling even in the dream.
Then, in the silence of the cosmos, a single word pressed into his mind as if speaking to his soul. Echoing in his head, as if he were memorizing the essence of the word.
'Violetshade'.
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Caedus opened his eyes at last. The cosmic sight he had dreamed about was no longer in front of him.
He was lying on his back looking up at a boundless, brilliant blue sky. It was impossibly clear compared to the view he had in the valley. Massive white clouds drifted lazily across it. For a moment, he lay still, staring upward at the breathtaking scene.
'Is this another dream?" Caedus sat up and immediately felt the dryness in his throat and mouth. The soreness from last night's efforts was eating at his body. Looking at his hands that were caked in dried blood and feeling the uncomfortable sensation throughout his body made him aware he wasn't currently dreaming.
"Damn, everything hurts." Caedus struggled to his feet and examined his body.
'Thankfully, nothing feels broken. I'm just sore and dehydrated, but where the hell am I?'
He was surrounded by a sea of green. Grass swayed around him, thick and lush, each blade glistening under the sun. One look was enough to know that this wasn't where he had fallen unconscious. The plain was incredibly flat with no hills or divots. The green rolled on and on until it bled into the endless blue above. The plain was so large he couldn't see the end of it.
"Shit. What is this? I haven't even heard of a place like this from my Grandpa." Caedus complained, thinking about how thirsty he was.
But then it struck him. The memory. The moment before he blacked out.
A sharp pain tore through his chest, and for a heartbeat, he couldn't breathe. The weight of last night came crashing back, and his eyes burned as he fought the sting of tears.
'Don't live your life for the sake of others. Be your own man.'
The last words his grandfather spoke to him were etched into his mind.
"Damn brat. Be your own man." Caedus chuckled, imagining what his grandfather would say if he saw him holding back tears.
*slap*
Caedus slapped his cheeks with both hands, making them sting with a little burning sensation.
"Let's see if we can find someone." Caedus then looked at where the sun was positioned above him and decided to just pick a direction and walk.
'It's about noon right now, and I don't really want to walk facing directly toward sunset later, so heading East it is.
The grass brushed against his legs as Caedus began his long, arduous walk. His soreness was screaming at his muscles to stop moving, but Caedus knew he was dehydrated and needed water soon or he would be in trouble. After a long night of running, sweating, fighting, and coughing in smoke, he wouldn't be able to last much longer than a day and a half.
He had lost a lot of his gear in the forest between running for his life, hunting cultists, and carrying his grandfather; all he had left on him from last night was his trusty hunting knife.
Caedus walked for hours as the sun lowered, causing the endless bright green plains to be drowned in a warm orange color, not unlike the orange glow of the forest fire he had caused last night. He left his mind wander, thinking about all the details from last night.
'What could I have done differently?'
'What if I turned around sooner and ran back to grandpa. Would he still be alive, or would the situation have been worse?'
'What if I went to bed when I was told, would I have even felt the earthquake?'
He didn't regret killing the people, despite last night being the first time he took a life. He knew he probably wouldn't have been alive if he hadn't. However, the fear and anxiety he felt last night awakened in him a desire he was new to.
He didn't want to be weak. He didn't want to be at the mercy of others ever again.
A fire ignited in his chest. He wasn't angry. He wasn't feeling wrathful. After all, he and his grandfather had killed many cultists last night during the conflict and the fire surely killed a few more. He was sure the two other criminal organizations would take the opportunity to wipe them off the map now that the Hollowed Earth cult was weakened.
Even if he was angry, who could he direct it at? Himself? He has done his best in the moment, and there was no use in being angry for the choices he made in the past, but he knew if he was strong, then in that moment, when his grandfather told him to run; they could have fought side by side instead of being split up.
So the desire to never be oppressed again ignited in him a strength to keep moving forward.
A desire to be stronger every day than he was the previous day.
The sky deepened in color, and the last streaks of sunlight melted into violet dusk. Shadows stretched long across the plain, and the once-warm breeze grew sharp and cool against his skin. It wasn't cold enough to make him shiver, but still enough to help his sore body relax. After a full day of walking and being lost in his own thoughts, the weariness ate at him, and he knew he had to sleep now so he could hurry on his journey again tomorrow.
*growl*
Caedus flattened a nice bed of grass for himself while his stomach growled. He felt a bit nauseous from not eating all day, and he suddenly had an idea to help with it. He stared at the grass for a bit.
*growl*
"Fuck. This is going to be gross." Caedus sighed to himself. He needed to eat something for energy, and hopefully, the grass could solve his immediate water problem.
"Before I do anything though, I need to get this blood off," Caedus muttered, looking down at his blood and soot-covered hands. He walked a few steps from his makeshift bed before scrubbing them with his clumps of grass. After he was satisfied, he sighed to himself again, thinking about the dinner he was about to partake in.
Caedus reached out and pulled a large handful of grass out of his hands and holding it tightly. He raised the handful of grass over his head with both hands and twisted it with all the strength his arms could muster. After a few seconds of twisting it with all his might, finally, a few drops of liquid came out of the grass.
The drops slid down his hands, cool against his skin. Caedus lowered his hands and licked where the liquid was pooling greedily, the earthy, bitter taste of green filling his mouth. It wasn't much, and it was barely enough to wet his tongue, but the relief he felt was instant.
He twisted again, harder this time, until his arms trembled. A few more drops came out before Caedus gave up on this handful of grass. The nausea dulled for only a moment, replaced by a hollow ache in his stomach that reminded him how empty his stomach truly was.
"Better than nothing," he muttered, letting the crushed blades fall from his hands. He grabbed a few dozen more clumps of grass for what felt like forever until his body was semi-satisfied with the warm, earthy, and bitter water.
Finally, it was time to satiate his hunger. He winced, thinking about the bitter dinner he was about to eat, before he pulled up another clump of grass and took a small bite.
The grass was tougher than he thought it would be. It scraped against his teeth and was incredibly hard for him to chew into smaller bits. But each mouthful he swallowed eased the emptiness of his stomach. He didn't eat too much as he didn't want to throw it all up. But it was enough for him to be able to rest now.
Caedus walked back to his makeshift bed and lay on his back, putting his hands behind his head. To be honest, despite all the sensations he was feeling today, he still wasn't positive it wasn't a dream.
An endless plain he had never heard of contributed to the thought that he was still dreaming. How did he get there? That was the biggest question in Caedus' mind, but he had no logical answer for it. Had someone drugged him and carried him for weeks before dropping him off in the middle of nowhere? No, that wasn't logical.
Caedus' shook his head slightly before staring up at the moonless sky. Before his eyes widened in shock at a realization.
"Wait. It was just a full moon last night." Caedus jumped to his feet in shock.
Caedus' heart was pounding. 'How much time has passed? Why is it a new moon and not a waning moon?!'
Caedus stared at the star-filled sky, looking for a familiar sight in desperation.
'Nothing.'
There was no familiar sight. Every single constellation his grandfather taught him was missing from the night sky.
Antlia, Cancer, Ursa Major, Canis Major, Orion, Crux. They were all gone!
Then another clue hit him. When he was walking all day, it wasn't chilly like it was during Autumn. If anything, it had been quite warm all day.
Caedus began to panic slightly. "Where the fuck am I?!"