The Stars And I - SCP Foundation

I have never felt so indistinct.

This form, manifested from a fragment of my own will, felt… smaller than I anticipated. I knew I'd become something different if I attempted something like this, but what it would actually feel like? I was now nothing but a speck in the middle of an ever-turning world. The immortality I had disappeared as the only feeling I felt now was. I finally became one of them and now, the universe became indifferent to me.

All the strength I mustered up was now gone, leaving me fatigued. I began slightly leaning without a single thought as the gravity pushed down on my shoulders. My growing tiredness began taking a toll on the rest of my body as I started feeling a numbness in every single limb. Suddenly, as my legs gave out, I fainted on the ground with a thud to the side of my head as I landed. Within a couple of seconds, I instantly blacked out and all the pain faded away. After that, all I could feel was just…

…nothing.

As I began to rest, I started having this strange dream.

The stars, carried by tides of glistening nebulae, began to vanish into a rift of blinding light. Around me, the stones and sands were lifted off the ground and flew straight into the rift, breaking apart the manmade structures that stood aside me. The rift became enraged with fury as it ripped into the worlds and moons I've soared by before, leaving me with a sense of hopelessness. When all was gone, only the darkness remained and its cold, ghoulish form wrapped me like a cloth.

I tried to scream, but no one heard me. It was silent, at first, but then I began to hear voices. One by one, they began shouting all around me and I hoped they'd go away when I covered my ears, but they continually persisted. Suddenly, a gust pushed me forward as the voices became deafening. All I could do was submit as I was hurdled across the void of my own mind. What's happening to me, I worried. Am I… already dead?

Then, there was silence. A nulling silence.

However, it felt different as if it was protecting me.

My back stood against an invisible wall as a force held me against it. The wall felt coarse and rough with hundreds of sensations itching my back. I could feel the wind and it felt much stronger than anything I was used to. At first, I had an eerie feeling that cringed the back of my neck, but then I woke up.

There I was, staring into a blue and orange-hued sky lit by the sun that skimmed the horizon.

My father had told me everything about this planet and how it was unique to the both of us. He told me he was born here years ago and became an ancient legend, but that was all he really was. After my birth, he planned to bring me here to see and live among this planet's natives, hoping to follow in his footsteps. Though, wherever I was now, I had a strange feeling that his touch on this world would help me. Taking everything in, I pushed myself off the ground and attempted to keep my balance this time, wrapping my fingers around a long, broken branch and using it as a pole.

The trees encompassed the land around me, grouping together like a cluster of a thousand stars. The grass swept under my feet, though they kept rooted to the earth against the gales. In the distance, two mountains created a barrier like a wall of asteroid belts. The animals, each one distinctive as the next, whistled with their calls that echoed. The air felt cool with an added warmth from the sparkling bioluminescence of these fireflies, lifting my spirits in a new way.

It's peaceful, I admired. Just like home.

I knew my appearance had changed as well. My body, manifested from dirt and dust, felt soft and smooth. My hair stretched down to my shoulders with a blonde, curled design touched with a silk of grey. A sensation rose in my chest, continually beating like a rapidly emitting pulsar. My mind began racing with thousands of thoughts in confusion and awe as I began to comprehend my surroundings.

There was no clear path; no direction or trail to guide me. The sun was my only way.

A tempest with clouds that resembled the pulses of a supernova crawled overhead with walls of fog, descending with a brisk humidity. Once the storm rolled in, goosebumps ran down my arms and I felt… scared, which I only felt once. With an obscured sight and water sliding down my head, I attempted to run in the clearest path, but I tripped, dropping my branch and nearly collapsing on a rock beside me.

Using what energy I had, I slowly shuffled on the ground as water muddied my skin. In the distance, a small crevice created by an uprooted tree gave me relief, though this storm continued to persist. The puddles began to slowly rise, covering the grass with waves of the mire that flowed like a stellar stream. Luckily, it was wide enough for me to fit as I noticed radiant sparks of lightning covered by the clouds above, like the solar storms that once entertained me.

I dropped into the crevice, which was mostly dry. The entangled roots created a wall that blocked out the rain, though provided enough space for me to look outside. Knowing that this was all I could do, I could only sit here, waiting until the storm calmed.

From my spot, I peered into the night: the rain continued, though lessened with the departure of the larger, murkier cumulonimbus. In this weather, time felt slower, as if I forced myself, or rather my surroundings, to stop. However, I looked up to the sky in between the cracks and the stars had never been so…

…far.

They began to fade away before me, returning to the shade that embraced them. The constellations disconnected and the nebulae evaporated, fragmenting into nothing but gas. Everything that I had been accustomed to seemed so foreign all within a matter of minutes. If I went back now, I fear that I will not be able to return to this place.

But inside, I knew this was it. I had achieved isolation, yet I was nowhere near where I needed to be.

I can still hear the sound ringing, resonating in my head. I laid down on the hard, firm soil, surrounding myself with the few leaves that were left dry. Drifting away into my unconscious, my body relaxed, my mind calmed, and my eyes slowly closed as the light from the moon disappeared.

My consciousness began to wander into my own unknown.

And finally, I embraced it.

Four runes stood before me.

Each one a symbol I had recognized.

"Her blaze lasts."

Scorpio.

"Yet her body withers."

Aquarius.

"It will hold until moment foretold."

Libra.

"As all have before."

Pisces.

"Whether she will make it."

Aquarius.

"That is the question."

Libra.

"Then, let us hope she will make it."

Scorpio.

"For hope is what remains."

Pisces.

Their message was told.

They return to their light.

And finally.

There was nothing but a ping.