From the light

He continued to sprint and his speed and nimbleness increased as his speed did.

Everything on either side of Selene blurred and in truth that wasn't much different from how the world was to her before she was carried off. She abruptly appeared in a new world, on a battlefield no less. The first thing she saw was her own people. For the first time in years, she finally saw another Stral she could talk to. She'd finally realized a dream she held nearly as dearly as completing her naming ceremony, but the dream quickly became a nightmare. They drew their weapons on her, and nearly took her newly earned life.

Her unfocused eyes made the blurry scene even more so. At some point, her eyes focused once again and the world was no longer what it once was to her. She noticed that the man carrying her finally came to a stop and what she saw was a large gated area.

Along the fence were small towers no larger than three stories high, people in black and grey armors stood on each tower. Inside the fence, as far as the eye can see were grey squares half-sunken in the ground, reminiscent of an above-ground cemetery. A slight surprise came to her when she realized they were somewhere in the middle of a forest clearing. This was most shocking because even if she hadn't observed it much she knew she had been in a city not long ago. Even this far out though the sky was still filled with ash and smoke, creating a permanent overcast.

Selene snapped out of it when she abruptly felt the ground on her back. It was then that she realized she had been unceremoniously dropped from the man's shoulders. Her head snapped up and the icy glare in her eyes met an equally icy glare she could barely make out through the man's helmet. As if to make it clear that his gaze was in fact just as cold as her's his helmet opened, revealing his face.

When their eyes met she froze. His gaze was still, and what she imagined would be an icy glare was instead one of neutrality. But somewhere in his eyes lurked a danger. Though his face remained impassive, Selene felt that within moments and as naturally as breathing she could lay dead before and he would think nothing of it. It was a difficult concept to understand, but somewhere deep in his eyes, something made it clear that he understood it and lived by it.

"Novis! Enough of that, the least you could've done is got the girl a blanket," a woman's voice sounded from some distance away. But when Selene turned her attention to it, she was already being covered and lifted off the ground.

Next to her was a young woman. Having broken away from Novis' emotionless gaze, she was finally given the time to observe these people. There were at least two dozen people at the tower she was dropped in front of. The young woman next to her had curly bright purple hair and an angular face with sharp features all around. Novis, the young man who ungraciously carried her in a position she was just starting to feel the discomfort of had a wolfish face, and ice blue eyes, and aside from his squared jaw she couldn't see much else as his inner wear and armor hid the rest.

"It's been three hundred years and you still refuse to learn how to treat people," the woman said again.

"Say's the resident interrogator. What would be the point of learning now, they'll die sooner or later. Tempos is proof of that," he said with an unsettling impassivity. His expression hadn't even changed on a micro-level when mentioning the death of his comrade.

Though Novis was able to remain impassive at the notion of a comrade dying, the same could not be said for everyone else present. They were so caught up in the brief event of Novis speeding to the tower kicking up a cloud of dust and dropping a naked woman on that they had failed to remember why he was sent out. Only now realizing that although he did not return alone, he did return without Tempos in tow.

"Rotten bastard, it should've been you."

"This arrogant piece of trash can come back but not a good man."

"The wicked always survive, if we've learned anything living here it's that."

Some cursed Novis and returned to their posts. Others excused themselves, breaking down in tears before they could leave earshot. A few on break raised their drinks and observed a moment's silence for the fallen.

"You're a real ass you know that," the woman beside Selene growled. Her grip on Selene's shoulder's tightened. She stared at Novis for a few more seconds but still, no change was seen in it. Without another word, she led Selene away.

Selene was led into a long corridor that proved to be an unsettlingly familiar sight to her. The further she walked down the corridor, the more it spun. It grew to become seemingly endless, and the ground moved like the ocean waves Synthia had once shown her. Then the waves stopped and the floor, ceiling, and walls became one as the spinning intensified and they grew closer in her sights. She stumbled a bit but was caught by the young woman.

She stared at Selene's face which had become sickly pale and quickly led her into one of the nearby rooms, placing her on a bed. She left her alone in the room for a short moment and disappeared behind another door on the side. When she exited she held an outfit that looked similar to the one under Novis' armor.

"Here, get dressed first. Although, it's not cold here I imagine walking around with no clothing is still pretty breezy."

Selene accepted the outfit, but soon realized it was strange. There were no holes large enough to place her body inside. After surveying the suit from all sides she shifted her gaze between the woman's back and the outfit several times.

"It is fine, I don't feel cold. I do not feel much of anything right now."

The woman turned around at Selene's voice and observed her in silence for a moment.

"I suppose the fur would keep you pretty warm. But you should still wear it, it protects you from more than just the elements. The last thing you want is to get hit by a stray attack during a random Galexian attack."

"Galexian? You mean the Stral?"

"Stral? Never heard of it, maybe it's not translating well," she placed her finger near her ear and tapped the inner lobe several times, "Can you say that again please?"

"The Stral, they are my people and they tried to kill me. Just what is going on? What world is this?" Selene grew more irritated being reminded of the event from not long ago.

"Well, this isn't a planet per se. Rather, it's a point both outside and inside of time. Or maybe it's at the end of time. Despite being here for so long I've never really had the time to stop and think about it. Maybe we're not meant to know-"

"Please, just tell me where I am, what this place is, and what is going on."

"This is the Omega Point a place for all the rejects of the universe, those that could not grow and we are at war with the oldest known power in the universe and their until now unknown masters," the woman's entire demeanor changed and she spoke solemnly.

"You called them the Stral, and perhaps you know even more than us about them. But we just know them as the Galexian, the first cosmic empire built by one of the Archons as they say. I believe we have much to talk about. But first introductions, I am known as Azura, as Novis said I am the resident interrogator it's my job to find out what you know. By any means necessary, but I'm sure it won't come to that."

Hidden in the sweet smile that adorned her face, Selene could see the threat of a caged beast slowly rattling the locks away. And she had now found herself locked in a room with just a few shakes between her and that beast.