Remembrance And Recollection

Celm's breath came in shallow, desperate gasps. His heart pounded in his chest, but it wasn't from running—it was from the overwhelming weight pressing down on him. It felt as though his body had betrayed him, as if he were no longer in control. Every movement was slow, labored, and unnatural. His legs felt like lead. His arms, heavy and stiff.

"What is happening to me?" Celm whispered, his voice weak, as though the words were not his own. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Was this real? Or was he losing his mind?

He stumbled forward, eyes scanning the blur of the world around him, trying to find some sense of stability. Everything seemed distorted, like his vision was being pulled in every direction. His head spun, and his thoughts clashed in a storm of confusion. The ground beneath him felt uneven, shifting with every step. It was as if the world itself was bending, warping, refusing to stay solid.

"I... I can't trust my own senses," Celm muttered, his words heavy in the quiet air. "Am I going crazy? Is this even real?"

He reached out to touch the tree beside him, grounding himself in something, anything. The bark felt rough under his fingertips, but it did nothing to ease the growing anxiety gnawing at him. The silence around him was deafening. There were no birds, no rustling leaves. Not even the sound of the wind. Only a thick, oppressive quiet that seemed to smother every breath.

"Where did the wind go?" Celm's thoughts were loud in his head. "Where is everything?"

The world was empty. Still.

"Is this real?" His voice was barely more than a whisper, like the words themselves were afraid to break the silence. "Or am I... broken?"

His hands clenched into fists, nails digging into his palms as if the pain could ground him. It didn't. His thoughts were slipping through his fingers like sand. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the darkness would give him some peace, but it only made everything worse.

The images—fragments of dragons, flashes of memories—flashed through his mind in rapid succession. They weren't his memories, though. At least, he didn't think they were. They felt foreign, like someone else's past, someone else's life. Something deep within him stirred, something primal, clawing at his chest. Something wanted out.

"I can't even trust my own thoughts anymore," Celm muttered, his voice breaking. "What if this is all just a dream? What if none of this is real?"

He grabbed the pendant around his neck, his fingers trembling as they closed around it. The cold metal felt heavy in his grasp, like it was pulling him down, dragging him into the depths of whatever madness was consuming him.

"This thing... it's supposed to help me, right?" He turned the pendant over in his hands, as if it held the answers. But it didn't. It never had.

A cold gust of wind swept over him, and for a moment, the fog in his mind seemed to clear, just a little. He looked up, blinking against the disorienting shift in his vision. But the world around him had not changed. If anything, it had only become worse. The fog swirled around him, thickening, choking the air. The distant sound of something... shifting.

"Is that... something moving?" Celm's voice was barely audible, his own fear making it difficult to speak. His heart thudded in his chest, each beat echoing like a drum.

The shadow in the distance moved again, slowly, its form taking shape. Something huge. Something terrifying. It was massive, its silhouette barely visible against the thick fog. Celm's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat.

"What... what is that?" He felt paralyzed, his body refusing to move, as if it had forgotten how to act.

The fog thickened around him, and for a moment, Celm thought he might suffocate. His chest tightened, his heart racing with panic. He had to move. He had to get out of here.

But his body refused to respond. His legs were rooted to the spot, his arms trembling as if they were made of stone.

"Why can't I move?" He forced the words out, his voice shaking. "Why... can't I move?"

His grip on the pendant tightened, the cold metal pressing into his skin. A faint pulse radiated from it, like a heartbeat. It wasn't much, but it was something. Something to hold onto.

"Please... let this work," Celm whispered, desperation creeping into his voice. "Please."

Then, as if answering his plea, the pendant flared with light. The warmth spread through his chest, filling him with a brief sense of clarity. The fog around him seemed to recede, as though the very air itself was pushing it back. The shadow in the distance faltered, wavering like a mirage in the sunlight.

"Wait…" Celm's voice caught in his throat. The pendant... it was doing something. The darkness was receding.

For a moment, everything seemed still. The weight that had crushed him, suffocated him, lifted, though it was not gone completely. The oppressive presence remained, but now there was a sliver of space to breathe.

"Is this... is this really happening?" Celm whispered, his mind racing to make sense of what was happening. "The pendant… it's working. It's actually working."

But even with the light from the pendant, the world was still far from right. The fog retreated, but something else remained. Something darker.

The massive shadow before him began to shift again, its form flickering like a shadow in the fading light. Celm's heart raced. It was coming back.

"No, no, no!" He tried to step back, but his feet wouldn't move. It felt like the earth itself was holding him in place, as if it didn't want him to escape. The fear swelled in his chest. "I need to get out of here. I can't stay here. Not like this."

But the more he thought about escaping, the more the reality of his situation pressed in on him. There was no escape. Not yet.

Then, the shadow stopped moving. The fog dissipated, and the world around him began to clear. Slowly, piece by piece, things came back into focus.

Celm's breath steadied, though his heart was still racing. The quiet rustling of leaves filled the air, the soft murmur of trees swaying in the breeze. But something wasn't right. It wasn't safe.

"What is this place?" Celm muttered, his mind still trying to catch up with everything that was happening. "Where am I?"

He crouched down, his eyes scanning the ground beneath him. The rocks felt cold under his palms as he touched them, but they seemed... strange. Almost unreal. He pressed one to his ear, trying to make sense of the odd sound echoing from inside the stone. It sounded like something breaking, but when he looked, the rocks were whole. No cracks. No damage. Just a strange, hollow sound.

"What the hell is going on?" Celm whispered to himself. "Is this... real? Or am I losing my mind?"

His mind was still a tangled mess, but at least he could think clearly enough to form some kind of plan. Or, at the very least, an idea.

"I need to find a way out. I can't stay here. Not with whatever that thing is lurking out there."

The wind shifted again, brushing against the back of his neck. He spun around, his senses on high alert. The sounds of the forest grew louder, closer. The trees creaked and groaned, the ground beneath him trembling. Something was coming.

"What is that?" Celm's heart raced, the fear clawing at his chest. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

He turned, scanning the trees for any sign of movement. But there was nothing. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. That something—no, someone—was out there, waiting.

"I have to hide," he muttered, his body already reacting before his mind could fully catch up. "I can't be seen. Not yet."

Without thinking, he scrambled behind the nearest tree, his breath coming in short bursts, heart pounding in his ears. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to run, but he forced himself to stay still, to remain hidden.

"Please..." He whispered to himself. "Please let it pass."

For a moment, the world was still. Then, the ground began to shake again, the creaking of trees growing louder. Something massive was moving through the forest, and Celm could feel the air growing heavier, charged with an unknown energy.

"What is it? What's coming for me?" Celm's mind raced as the sounds of the forest grew louder.

And then, just as quickly, the noise stopped.

Celm froze, holding his breath. His heart hammered in his chest as he peered around the trunk of the tree. His eyes widened when he saw what lay before him.

It wasn't the dragon he expected.

It was worse.

An enormous eye. A dragon's eye.

The pupil

was a deep, endless abyss, and it locked onto him. Celm's entire body froze as the gaze pierced him.