The stars pulled away like retreating memories, galaxies collapsing into silence, until only one scarred world remained beneath the cosmos—Amata.
Once torn by war and stitched by time, Amata healed under a sky lit not by sun or moon, but by the faint glow of a lone planet and the bleeding purple shimmer of a damaged universe.
The camera of fate closed in.
A mountain rose like a wound that never closed.
And there, standing at its base, was Elara.
Wrapped in a frayed cloak, eyes hollow yet unyielding, he stared at the jagged peak ahead. Wind howled like ghosts around him, whispering stories long buried. But Elara did not flinch.
Today, he would begin.
(Elara's Pov)
The air was thin, colder than I expected. I placed one foot forward when a voice echoed—lazy, ancient, amused.
"Are you also here to die, young man?"
I didn't answer at first. I looked to the peak again, letting the question pass like wind through stone.
"No," I finally said. "I'm here to complete it."
A chuckle stirred from nowhere and everywhere.
"So did the others," the voice said. "All 999,999 of them. You're quite the lucky one—you'll make it an even million."
I didn't react.
"Then let this be the first soul you fail to count."
The voice paused, then laughed. Not mockingly—genuinely. A rich, surprised laugh that rolled down the mountain like thunder.
"You made me laugh," it said. "After so long... I'll reward you. I'll grant you one grand wish if you survive to the end."
I stepped forward.
"What's your name?" I asked. "I won't walk a path guided by a ghost."
The voice grew still. Calm. Cold.
"If that's your wish, then you'll have it at the end of the journey."
Then warmth again, like the smile of something ancient and cruel.
"You're interesting. I like you. So here are the rules."
"At the end of each Chosen's story, I will ask you a question. Answer correctly, and we move forward. You may ask a request in return—only the truth will be spoken. But fail to answer me, and…"It didn't finish the sentence.
The wind picked up.
"This journey may take years, or your entire life," the voice whispered. "Shall we begin, my Millionth one ?"
I walked forward.
The mountain didn't move.
But something else had begun.