Here, sound was forbidden.
Light was optional.
Only meaning existed.
And yet, even here… he wasn't alone.
In the distance, something stirred.
Not a creature.
A concept.
Its shape refused understanding.
Every time Aiden tried to focus on it, his thoughts bled sideways. Like trying to remember a dream that wasn't his.
But one word took form across the ground beneath his feet, burning brighter than the rest:
"Elyr'ha"
His breath caught.
Not because it meant something.
But because it didn't.
It was the original unname.
A concept so pure, it never needed to be spoken—until now.
And now that he saw it, the being turned.
No eyes. No form.
Just presence.
And intent.
"You are not of this time."
The voice was emotionless.
Not mechanical—just outside emotion altogether.
"You are a fracture."
Aiden exhaled slowly. "Then what are you?"
The name pulsed again: Elyr'ha.
"I am the First Gaze. The one who looked into the Void before the Gods gave it meaning."
