Reflection of the Divine

The Fragmented Soul

The sky above Eira stretched endlessly, a canvas of pale gold that blurred where the horizon met shifting dunes. The air was thick, neither hot nor cold, just weighty, as if it carried secrets too heavy to lift. She stirred, sand clinging to her skin like whispers of a life forgotten.

Her eyes opened to an alien world, her chest rising and falling with shallow, uncertain breaths. A vivid dream clung to her like the fading echo of thunder. A world sundered by fire and clouds, the two forces spiralling into chaos. She could still feel the heat on her left side and the cool bite of frost on her right. But it was the weight of a question—one she couldn't quite name—that pressed hardest against her chest.

Eira sat up, her hands trembling as they sank into the sand. Her first coherent thought was of her body. Something felt... off. She pushed back the loose, tattered sleeve of her tunic, her breath hitching as she saw the marks.

The patterns spiralled across her forearm, their design intricate and otherworldly. On her left, they blazed a faint red, pulsing like embers beneath her skin. On her right, a cool blue hue mirrored the designs, soft and serene yet alive with latent energy. She touched them gingerly, flinching as the markings seemed to respond to her curiosity, glowing brighter for the briefest moment.

"What is this?" she whispered, though no one was there to answer.

The silence of the desert was absolute, save for the occasional gust of wind that carried whispers of a language she didn't recognize. The fragments of her dream began to dissolve, leaving her with only the vaguest sense of unease. She had no memory of who she was or why she had woken in this desolate place.

Eira rose unsteadily, scanning her surroundings. In every direction, the desert stretched on, shimmering and vast. Only the horizon to the north caught her attention. A faint, jagged outline broke the monotony of the dunes. Mountains, perhaps? They seemed impossibly far away, but they were the only feature of the otherwise barren land.

She had taken just a few hesitant steps when a voice called out.

"Lost, are you?"

Eira spun, her bare feet slipping slightly in the sand. A figure stood some distance away, their silhouette blurred by the wavering heat. As they approached, the details became clearer. The stranger was clad in a loose cloak of weathered fabric, its edges frayed from long travels. Their face was partially obscured by a hood, but the glint of piercing green eyes shone from within.

"I—" Eira hesitated. "I don't know where I am."

"Few do," the figure replied, their voice calm but laced with a strange intensity. They gestured at her arms. "But you... You carry the marks. The fire and the frost. The halves of existence."

Eira instinctively covered her forearms, though the gesture felt futile. "What does that mean? Who are you?"

The stranger tilted their head. "Names are fleeting here, as is memory. You can call me Kain. But I am not who matters. You are."

"I don't understand," Eira said, her frustration mounting. "What am I supposed to do?"

Kain stepped closer, close enough now for her to see the faint scars that crisscrossed their weathered hands. "You are fractured, child. A soul divided. The fire within you burns for destruction, the frost seeks to preserve. Until you unite them, this world—your world—will remain broken."

Eira stared at him, her heart pounding. "How do you know this? What do you mean, 'my world'?"

Kain shrugged, a motion both casual and laden with a weight she couldn't grasp. "The markings speak louder than you think. You carry the balance of existence within you. Whether it is a blessing or a curse... that remains to be seen."

The desert wind picked up, and for a moment, it felt as though the entire world was listening.

"Unite the halves," Kain said again, more softly this time. "Or all will fall to chaos."

Before she could respond, the stranger turned and began walking away, their figure fading into the shimmering distance as though swallowed by the desert itself.

"Wait!" Eira called after him, but her voice carried no power here. He was gone.

Eira looked down at her glowing arms, her mind racing. The dream, the markings, Kain's cryptic words—it was too much to unravel. Yet, one thing was clear.

She couldn't stay here.

Taking one last look at the distant mountains, she set off toward them. If answers lay anywhere, she hoped they were there.