Before The Cataclysm

"Stellar…," a faint voice called. It sounded so far but it was insistent. "Stellar… Stellar!"

Stellar blinked, her eyelids felt heavy. Then she opened her eyes fully. "Where… where am I?" She asked, her voice tinged with confusion as she sat up and looked around.

"You passed out when you looked into the box," Older Altair explained, sitting beside her. He appeared calm, but there was a hint of concern in his voice. "We're inside the manor now. Are you okay?"

Stellar's tear-filled eyes met his, his concern genuine. Flustered, she quickly wiped her face and nodded, "Y-yeah, I'm good… How's younger you?"

Altair tilted his head towards the corner of the room. There, Younger him was curled up in a ball, bawling his eyes out.

"How long has he been like that?," Stellar asked softly, her chest tightening with an ache that felt all too familiar. She knew the pain he felt all too well. It cut deep—raw, unrelenting.

"Almost two hours," Altair replied with a sigh. Rising ton his feet, he walked over to his younger self.

Without warning, he kicked him in the side. "Suck it up! They're not coming back, and crying the entire day won't change that fact!"

Younger Altair's head jerked up, his tear-streaked face contorted with anger. "You're telling me you didn't cry? Huh?" 

Older Altair paused, his shoulders dropped. He crouched down to his younger self's eye level, his tone growing softer. "Look, I get it. I get it better than anyone in this room. It hurts—it hurts a lot. And yeah, you feel powerless, like you should have done something about it. But the truth is, there was nothing you could have done about it. We both thought they would come back after a week and continue their research on the moons… But that wasn't the case." He rested his hand on his younger self's shoulder. "Solaris wouldn't want this. He wouldn't want to see you wasting away like this. He'd want you to finish what he and Mom started. Don't you think that would be a better way to honour them than crying over what is already gone?"

Stellar, now fully awake, sat up straighter. She heard Altair mention that his parents were also studying the moons before they were murdered. 'Wait… could it all be connected?'

"Altair," she called out to him, curiosity in her voice. "What exactly were your parents researching before the king summoned them?"

"The moons of Arai," both Altairs answered simultaneously. "Specifically, the third," Older Altair elaborated. "Something about understanding the orbit."

Stellar's eyes grew dark. Older Altair noticed. "What is it?"

"My… my parents," she started, her voice shaking. "They were also studying the moons. Then, out of the blue, the Rex summoned them. He brought them back to me just like how he returned your parents—if mine wasn't worse."

Both of the Altairs' stared at the box and back at Stellar. "Your parents were killed too?"

Stellar nodded, holding back tears. "That was almost ten years ago."

Altair's eyes widened in shock. If Stellar had been living in the wild for all those ten years, then she moved there after her parents' death. Also, the gap between her parents' death and his is pretty wide. What could the Rex be up to?

Older Altair began to pace across the room. He was thinking of something. "It's a known fact that the Rex has ears all over. He's verified it by finding out about our parents' research. But why did he kill them?"

Younger Altair caught on. "The moons of Arai… the third moon specifically. There's nothing wrong with studying orbits. Maybe…" he paused, his mind racing. "Maybe, he was scared they'd uncover something he didn't want anyone to know."

Older Altair's eyes gleamed with realisation. He grabbed his younger self's shoulders. "You're a genius!"

"Of course I am," younger him said, his voice toned with pride. "I'm you."

Older Altair rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the Chronicle. He flipped through the delicate book. "Here… I'm sure this has something to do with it."

'Lunox: The Youngest Son of the Goddess Aria'

"If the legends are true—" he hesitated, "—and despite this going against all my principles as a scientist, the moon's random behaviour is similar to that of Lunox, the demi-god of destruction and discord. He hated his mother, Aria, for creating Arai, and its people. Our mere existence sickened him. Enraged by his attitude, Aria cast him from their heavenly abode. Yet still, she longed for his love and named the third moon after him."

He pointed at the diagram of the orbit. "The moon has an abnormal orbit, unpredictable and stubborn, just like Lunox. Lore says he cursed the moon, creating 'Entities of Destruction' who carry on his will. They inhabit people, biding their time until they may unite and bring chaos and destruction to Arai. This is what destroyed my world… the future."

Stellar and Younger Altair's gaze shifted to him, the gravity of his words sinking in. 

"The future has been destroyed?," younger him asked, his voice no higher than a whisper. 

Older Altair nodded grimly. "Precisely. And just before it happened, these symbols appeared on the third moon." He pointed at the diagrams on the next page. Stellar's eyes grew darker.

"What's wrong, Stellar?," younger Altair asked, concerned.

Older Altair leaned in, his desperation perceptible. "Have you seen it anywhere before? Maybe crossed paths with anyone with one of the symbols?"

"N-no," she denied, her hand shifting to her eyepatch. "I've never seen it before."

Older Altair sighed, closing the Chronicle. "My mission is to find these people and put an end to this crap."

Younger Altair's eyes lit up with excitement. "So cool! I want to come with you!"

"Not a chance, kid," he said to his younger self, ruffling his hair. "You still got school to worry about. The cataclysm doesn't happened for another year, and I'm going to stop it before it happens. Besides, it's going to be dangerous. I can't afford to leave Seven all by himself again." 

He crouched down to younger Altair's eye level, firmly placing a hand on his shoulder. "Take good care of Seven… He's all you've got. And Nelly too."

Younger him flinched. "But she's—"

"I don't care," Older Altair interrupted. "Yeah, she can get annoying sometimes… but trust me, you can't afford to lose her."

He straightened up, his expression heavy with unspoken memories. "Wish me luck," he said, heading for the door. 

Before he could leave, Stellar grabbed his wrist. Her eyes burned with resolve. "I'll go with you. I don't have a family or anyone to worry about. And if your mission leads you to the Rex, I need to face him." 

Altair blinked, then smiled. "I could use someone with your skills," he nudged her shoulder playfully, shouting a disarming grin. Her resolve faltered as a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

Just as the two of them left the manor, younger Altair ran after them. "Stellar!," he called, skidding to a halt and grabbing her hand. Flustered, he looked down, his cheeks having a pinkish tint. "When… when you're done with the mission and you come back… do you want to hang out? I mean, you look pretty cool," he mumbled, scratching his nose nervously. Stellar stared at him, stunned. Then she giggled, her cheeks also turning slightly pink. "Sure. I'd like that."

"Alright, lovebirds, enough of that," Older Altair called over his shoulder. "Let's go, Lortfors." 

She chuckled, jogging to catch up with him.

And so, the journey to find the Cataclysts of the Cataclysm begun.