1 Prologue

Her breath still lingers on my lips…her scent—clings to my skin.

Your world will fail…my love… Those words still spread shame to every corner of my gut, but as I picture her radiant eyes full of rage and hate, I still believe it was the first meaningful thing I ever said to her. Because those words—that one fleeting sentence—made her world my world.

But now…nothing. Conquered and chained—that's all I am on this grim voyage back to Earth, with nothing but pain and defeat for company; a journey that will finally end the flame I helped spark, and Earth will get its justice.

Was it all worth it? In this bleak silence, I ask myself.

Was that brief freedom worth it?

Was that friction that consumed worlds light-years apart worth it?

Was fighting for someone I believe in worth it?

Was her love…worth it?

Hate myself for thinking that last part, but can't ignore it. Can't ignore it, because death is all I have ahead of me. So…after all that happened on that distant, sacred world…after all the war and peace we found…after all the wounds and devotion we shared…after all the lies and broken oaths, only one truth remains alive in my heart—countless blunders I made, but she wasn't one. Never was she one! My Elyse…and her Casia.

Cold tears glide down my cheeks as mind rushes to Casia's iris waves, forever locked in an awkward waltz of might and embrace. White winds rest at my side whenever they halt their icy howl late into the night. Blue flames and violet auroras twine between my fingers before submitting to gusts of sand and lavender, as they silence all shadows and bring peace…peace to Casia. And in that peace, she still waits. So…my eyes find the small porthole of my Tomb—my only link to the outside—and I search the empty void for that one star…our star, where our world still lingers. The only world that ever truly mattered. Before I had to ruin it all.

Every hour I seek her, and every hour I find her; beneath her gaze, I'm bare, open, exposed. Ten thousand confessions boil to freedom from a broken place within, shackled beneath layers and layers of self-righteous creed; they scorch my lips, but she just smiles…as though…as though she understands…and then I see Elyse again.

Memories lost to blank nothingness return rich with life and color. Her hard, deep, violet eyes shaped by fire and grief; her thin lips and silver hair tangled in a knot of hasty mess, but lush with aura of flowers, honey, and summer; her serene grace that moved millions with a single flick of her hand…her fury and violence that demolished armadas of iron Hammers in full armor. And her peace…peace and love she shared with me. Peace and love I'd never known until she took my hand and led me through that door.

I cry. Each hour I find our star…and cry. Like a little child who seeks warmth and comfort, but all I get is silence, tears, and darkness…all I get is me. A broken Hammer alone in his Tomb awake for the entire journey back to that dreadful place we all rise from. Someone with less guilt feasting on his soul would've lost all sense and purpose, but not me. I lost that shit when I lost her war!

Doesn't matter…there's still time. And a screen. A chance to share my story. Maybe…just maybe…her spark won't fade, and you might see Casia for what it really is, and not the lie Earth wants you to believe. Not a nest of beasts, vermin, and selfish scum, but a place of vision, beauty, and rare freedom.

Share… Yes…that notion doesn't spring from the kindness of my small, dark heart, but from a frail, anxious desire for you all to know. Because if I don't…my entire journey…memories I still know to be true…last time our eyes met, flaring rainbows and gusts…last time we held one another, kissed one another, and found refuge within one another…last time we shared Casia and whispered words only two melded souls can share…all of it shall disappear. And you'll never get to know the real Elyse…and her Casia. You'll never hear about the chains she broke, mountains she moved, skies she conquered, delusions she untangled.

So…let me tell you how the First Hammer Fall of Casia crushed that distant, sacred world within forty-three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Let me tell you how among the ashes of what remained, I found a small child who'd lost everything she'd ever known. Let me tell you how I fled that world only to return and clash with a young, defiant girl as maelstroms gasped and gales bellowed in our wake. Let me tell you how I brought Earth back to rain Hammers once more, but instead of a young, defiant girl I found a fierce woman…a woman who broke all chains that tied me to delusion, cleared my heart of embers, and healed my broken soul. Let me tell you how she alone claimed freedom for our world.

Now…I'm not sure what sequence of unfortunate events forced you to end up in this wasteland within the data stream…but here you our. And here I await my end. So…I'll share. But if you seek a collection of dry, boring facts of how Earth conquered Casia, better leave now, because all you'll find is disappointment. But if you want the truth…truth about what happened on that distant world…truth about the flame we sparked just because we dared to find one another again and again…then bear this journey with me and let me tell you about the only world I've ever called home…and let me tell you about her.

The child I saved…the girl I fought…the woman I loved.

Let me tell you about Elyse.