In the vast silence of the cosmos, a radiant planet named Aetheria shimmered like a dream, suspended in the heavens. Its surface was a tapestry of crystalline landscapes and ethereal structures, glowing with the colors of the universe — a living canvas of light that whispered promises of eternal harmony.
But that promise was unraveling.
Night had fallen upon Aetheria, but it brought no peace. The stars themselves seemed to weep as a relentless chaos swept across the skies.
Descending upon the planet was not a mere threat — it was a calamity incarnate. A presence stitched together from the void itself, absorbing all light, all hope, all life. Its form defied reason, its existence an offense to the very laws of creation.
Its arrival was like the shadow of a storm cast over a land that had never known rain. The ancient runes etched into the mask it wore pulsed with a chilling energy, and its aura — woven from the deepest shadows of the cosmos — carried a cold so profound it could freeze the soul.
"Lyra…" Orion whispered, his eyes locked on the encroaching darkness. "It's getting closer."
Lyra, mother of Jake, summoned radiant waves of power with trembling hands, her golden hair flaring with light in stark contrast to the void around her. Her eyes, deep and desperate, stayed fixed on the horizon as she held the line against the coming storm.
"We can't hold them back much longer, Orion!" she cried, her voice cracking under the weight of urgency and heartbreak. "We have to send Jake away! He's our only chance!"
Beside her stood Orion — Jake's father, a towering figure of raw strength. His dark hair whipped in the wind, and his green eyes shone with ancient wisdom. As wave after wave of shadowed beasts crashed against him, he stood unmoved, a last pillar of resistance.
"I know," Orion said, his voice low and resolute. "We do whatever it takes. If Aetheria falls… it won't be in vain."
A deafening roar echoed across the skies. The air thickened. The shadows were almost upon them.
"Now, Lyra!" Orion shouted, gritting his teeth as he fought back another surge of creatures. "There's no time!"
With a final incantation, Lyra opened a rift in space — a portal carved through the chaos, blazing with the promise of safety.
"Jake, sweetheart," Lyra said, kneeling before her five-year-old son, whose wide eyes shimmered with confusion, "you're going somewhere safe now. Far from here. And wherever you are, we'll be with you, always. Okay?"
Jake nodded slowly, uncertain but trusting her voice more than anything else.
"We love you, little one," Orion whispered, kneeling beside them, his hand gently brushing Jake's dark hair. "You're going to be strong. I know it."
With tears streaming down her face, Lyra guided Jake into the light.
"Take him," she pleaded to the portal, her voice fracturing as her son vanished into the glow — snatched away from a world collapsing behind him.
The portal slammed shut with a brilliant flash, swallowing the last sliver of hope. Aetheria's final breath was a silent explosion of starlight and shadows — a scene carved in despair and eternal loss.
"We will," Orion whispered, clutching Lyra's hand as the darkness swallowed them. "We will…"
Then came silence — heavy, absolute — the kind that follows the death of a world.
In the blink of an eye, Jake found himself somewhere else entirely. There was no fall, no sensation of travel — just an abrupt shift. One heartbeat he was in Aetheria. The next, he was standing alone in a quiet, unfamiliar park beneath a sky that felt alien.
Waiting for him were Margaret and Jeremy, the couple who would take him in.
Margaret, with her soft brown hair and gentle eyes, knelt and wrapped him in a warm embrace, trying to make a strange new world feel less terrifying.
"Hey, sweetheart," she whispered, holding him close. "It's okay. We're here for you now."
Jeremy stood nearby — solid, watchful, a quiet strength behind his wife's comfort. He rested a hand on her shoulder, his gaze fixed on the boy.
"He's a strong one, Margaret," Jeremy said softly. "We'll give him the love and safety he needs."
Jake said nothing, but in the warmth of their presence, he felt — however faintly — the spark of hope flicker within him once more.