A Name Lost in Time
Lyra's fingers trembled against the windowsill.
The stranger stood still beneath the twin moons, silver light painting him almost ghostly. He didn't move, didn't blink—just stared at her, like she was something sacred he had finally found.
> "Who… are you?" she whispered, though the window was closed.
But he heard her.
He slowly stepped forward, his voice deep and calm.
> "You knew me once. A long time ago."
Her heart pounded louder.
> "Is this a dream?"
Because if it was, it was the same dream that had haunted her since she was ten. The one where she stood in a grand palace, wearing a crown of crystal and fire, with blood on her hands and sorrow in her heart.
> "Lyra," he said again, his voice softer this time, "your real name is older than this land."
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The next morning, Lyra didn't tell anyone.
How could she explain that a man appeared outside her window, spoke as if he knew her soul, and vanished before the dawn?
Instead, she wandered to the old ruins at the edge of the forest.
The place where the dreams always ended.
The air here felt older. Heavy with memory.
As she stepped over the cracked stones, something clicked beneath her foot. She bent down… and found a fragment of a broken mirror, its surface etched with ancient runes.
She touched it—and the world spun.
---
Flashes.
A throne room bathed in golden light.
A battle, skies torn with fire and screams.
Her own voice, shouting in a language she didn't understand—yet felt like home.
And him. The same stranger. Standing at her side… bleeding.
---
She gasped and dropped the shard.
> "What is happening to me?"
---
That night, he returned.
This time, closer. No longer a shadow in the trees—but standing just beyond her fence, where moonlight touched the earth.
> "You don't remember, do you?" he asked gently.
Lyra didn't answer. Her voice caught in her throat.
> "I watched you die," he said.
"I swore I'd find you again."
She looked into his eyes. Something in them cracked the surface of her fear.
> "What was I to you?" she asked, almost a whisper.
> "You were everything."
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To be continued...
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