#flufflerwrites

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hewwo. It's my first time since I was like 13 both writing AND posting my stuff, so please be gentle with me haha. I'll keep posting the story under these tags and, welp, I hope this helps you understand my characters a bit more. Thank you so much beforehand for even taking the time to check it out :'3.

Word count: 856.

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Tap… tap… tap… tap…

The echo of heels striking the floor resonated at a lingering pace.

With every footfall, a short-lived shockwave lit up across the crystalline surface that mirrored the stars in the firmament. If not for the towering walls surrounding it, it would be almost impossible to distinguish up from down. The main hall… looked as empty as ever.

It had been millennia, perhaps longer, since a single soul had wandered beneath its opulent dome. The Elder Stars, deities whom the ancient inhabitants worshipped and honored with crowded feasts and banquets, had mysteriously vanished along with those who adored them. Every child, every man, every woman who once brought brilliance to the place now only existed in his blurred memories.

Tap… tap… tap… tap…

Beside the main entrance stood two colossal statues, their hands raised toward the heavens as if trying to reach them. Between them, at the point where they met, a small sphere of light flickered, on the verge of extinguishing. An index finger, covered by a glove as black as the Void itself, slid gently over the feet of the one who, in a bygone era, would have been his father. 

—Stardust… —he murmured to himself.

It was his only legacy in the corpse of a world abandoned by the cosmos. The lad brushed his hands against his white suit and continued his way. Descending the marble steps, he sighed, reflective. No matter how many times he traversed the desolate paths of his kingdom, the same question always lingered in his mind: “Why?”. It was as if the entire universe had decided that he was the only living being unworthy of sharing the fate of all the other souls that inhabited his lands. Not just the people, but also the beasts and the plants; it seemed as if even the water lacked vitality. As if the very concept of “soul” had departed, never to return. 

That mystery kept him awake, which made him feel even more frustrated, for every moment he spent conscious, he wished he wasn't. He was free to wander wherever he pleased, to create whatever his mind dictated, and he had all the time in the world. So much time… Too much time. He had long since stopped counting. In the beginning, he tried to use the star maps stored in his observatory as a point of reference. But even the long-lived cycles of the stars seemed to have halted their trajectory. It was then that he felt the need to create his own model, his own unit of time. At some point in that distant past, while contemplating the sky reflected on a crystalline lake, the idea appeared so abruptly that he himself felt surprised. 

“Flicker”. 

The word was as clear as the twinkling stars upon the water. 

“How long does a flicker last?”, he wondered. 

The answer also came on its own, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“A flicker lasts until it goes out”. 

With a massive, almost desperate determination, the prince stood up abruptly from where he lay and walked briskly toward the statues at the palace entrance. Once there, panting, he regained his composure and breathed deeply. Closing his right eye, he joined his hands and conjured all his strength, making a potent magic flow through his veins. Moments later, a flash of light overflowed between his fingers. He didn't look at it with wonder, but with the cold scrutiny of an architect. He raised his chin, and the air around him seemed to hum in a perfect, terrifying chord as he spoke:

—Define. Ignite the boundary between then and now.

At his word, the light solidified. It ceased to be mere energy and became the first ticking second of a clock that only he could hear.

As if delivering a gift, the prince directed the “flicker” toward the place where the hands of the king and queen touched, forming an arch. The young man contemplated the scene, inexplicably proud of his feat, and a timid smile of satisfaction emerged between his lips. 

But, as the emotion of the moment faded, a strange sensation began to flood him: a feeling between emptiness, nostalgia, and… shame? Of course… That had been the best idea he’d had in cycles, but… to what end? 

The realization that had surged through his body just seconds ago now weighed on him like a mockery. He had just created a solution for a problem that had never existed in the first place. 

“Now time is measured in flickers”. 

And then what? What did it matter if two hours, five centuries, or a hundred flickers passed? After all, time meant nothing… not as long as he was the only one living it.

In the blink of an eye, the prince woke from his ancient memory and found himself once again at the feet of the statues. With disdain, he watched the small light that flickered intermittently. 

“It’s almost time”, he thought, his gaze lost on the horizon. 

Nothing stopped him from commanding the spark to go out. He didn’t even have to say it. A snap of his fingers would be more than enough. Perhaps even by just thinking it, it would obey. 

But that would be turning the pointlessness into something even greater. 

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Ok so this is part two of the story. It's alittle bit longer than the previous chapter. I hope you enjoy it uwu. I'm still working on what happens after, but I think it's nicely wrapped up for now. See ya later :D!

Word Count: 1,967.

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The sleep was not deep. It never was. 

Still groggy, the prince rubbed his face sluggishly. His hand stopped over the patch covering his left eye; for a moment he didn’t recognize it, but soon remembered he had worn it since the day everything changed. Just before he could sink into that thought… 

Click. 

A chill ran down his spine. 

Something was wrong, very wrong. 

With a sudden movement, he sat up on the stairs, still unable to pinpoint what had woken him. A hunch? A premonition? There was no sound, no light, no movement… and yet, something didn’t fit. The sensation invaded him completely, sudden and undeniable: it was an absence.

For the first time after flickers accustomed to absolute stillness and solitude, a forgotten instinct emerged from within him, tensing his body. 

Fear. 

With a racing pulse, he scanned the landscape, searching for an origin he couldn't name, until his eyes landed on the light between the statues. The sphere was still there, flickering weakly between the stone hands. But something had changed in its reflection. The crystalline floor, which always returned an exact replica of the firmament, now… did not match.

Confused, he furrowed his brow and stood up slowly, without looking away. A star, barely perceptible, was not where it should be.

He blinked.

There it was again.

He blinked again.

It vanished.

—No… —he whispered. And then… A laugh. Contained, almost inaudible. But absolutely impossible. The sound did not resonate off the walls, it didn't echo, as if it didn't belong to that space. The prince spun around. 

Silence. 

His breathing became irregular. Forcing himself to regain control, he took heart and inhaled deeply. With a voice raspy from disuse, he exclaimed firmly: 

—Show yourself. 

It was a command to the universe.

In that same instant, the stars twinkled in unison, as if they had been called to attention. The firmament tensed, aligning in impossible patterns. The ground vibrated slightly beneath his feet, responding like a docile surface. A draft of wind swept through the empty landscape, tracing invisible paths between columns and arches, as if searching for something to reveal. 

But nothing answered. Nothing, except… 

The prince froze. He was sure—he could swear it—he had felt a tug on his sleeve. But that was impossible. There was no one. There was never anyone. Still, he lowered his gaze slowly.

And there it was.

A small, gloved hand. Gripping his clothes as if it had always been there. And before he could follow his gaze to whom it belonged, he heard a mocking voice at the level of his head. 

—I'm over here.

Looking up, to his horror, he found himself face to face with the culprit. Before him, a creature no more than a meter tall floated, sitting cross-legged. She wore a jester’s outfit, with a pointed hat and shoes, and around her waist, a skirt under which striped leggings peeked out. Three bells adorned her neck, and others tinkled at the tips of her skirt, her shoes, and her hat. But what caught his attention most was the mask. It looked like porcelain, with a permanent expression of mischief carved into it: long eyelashes, and two circular marks at the corners of the lips. A messy, pink lock of hair poked out between the hat and her forehead. And most unsettling of all…

A huge smile of sharpened teeth. Just centimeters from his face.

—Are you done?— the intruder said, tilting her head.

The prince’s feet reacted on their own, stepping back quickly. He inhaled once more, opening his right eye—which now glowed with an intense red—and stared at her.

— Back. 

Space contracted and stretched at the same time, as if an invisible force were rewriting distances. The stairs creaked, sliding away from him, and the stars shifted in impossible trajectories, obeying the command as if it were a physical law. The entire universe bent to fulfill his will. Everything… except the jester. 

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

His brow furrowed with even more confusion. “How?”, he thought. Shaking his head, he concentrated the magic in his eye again. 

— Do not move! —he shouted, interposing his right arm between them.

The effect was immediate. The wind died flat. The air hung suspended. The reflection of the water froze like glass. Even the blinking of the stars stopped, trapped in a motionless instant. Time, or what was left of it, obeyed. 

The jester arched an eyebrow. 

—I’m not moving —the same voice, this time behind him, startled him. Panicked, he turned around to find the creature again, who was now holding her own smile with both hands in an innocent manner. The prince’s stomach twisted into a cold knot. 

—What… —a thread of a voice escaped with difficulty from his throat— what are you?

— Me? A jester! —she celebrated—. I thought it was obvious from the clothes… unless what you meant to say was “who,” right? —she added in a mocking tone—. Anyway, my name is Marilulu, a pleasure to meet you, mister… —she gestured with her hands, inviting him to introduce himself.

Despite being an obvious anomaly, he couldn't detect any malice in the jester's words. The prince kept his arm extended, but his authority now felt like a cracked shield.

—I am the Star Prince, sovereign of these lands. As for my name… 

“My name…” he thought to himself. The weight of the word dragged him toward ancient memories. A coronation. Distant cheers. The smell of incense from a forgotten court. But the specific sound, the syllables that defined him, slipped away like water through his fingers.

—A name is a label of distinction. I have long since dispensed with it —he admitted, lowering his arm slowly. The crimson glow of his eye began to fade, while his gaze fixed on the sphere of light flickering above them. Marilulu’s smile was tinged slightly with a look of confusion. 

—Seriously? Wow… No offense but, that’s the saddest thing I’ve heard in my five minutes of life —she said, turning upside down and crossing her arms— How should I call you, then? 

He wasn’t going to admit it, but that comment drove a small dagger into his ego. That being claimed to have just been born and yet, she already allowed herself to pity him. 

— I told you. My title is my identity. You may call me Your Majesty.

Marilulu let out a small snort.

— Your Majesty? Wow. What a privilege— with a mischievous expression, she leaned into an exaggerated bow— If that is what you wish, it will be a total pleasure to be your humble, and only, subject.

The prince clenched his jaw. Beyond her insolence, the creature was right. For as long as he could remember, his role had been to rule over everyone who was part of his kingdom, not as a mere leader, but as the anchor of the universe. His word was law, and the commands he proclaimed became reality. Was it truly right to consider himself the sovereign over the first being in existence that refused to obey his commands?

—Anyway…—the jester’s voice came from above. Looking up by reflex, he found her this time sitting on the shoulder of the king’s statue, swinging her legs carelessly— What’s that?— she said, pointing to the spark levitating over the hands of the ancient monarchs.

The prince felt a sting of indignation; no one, even in the times of the great processions, would have dared to touch the effigy of the Greater Star, much less use it as a footstool. 

—What are you doing up there? —he managed to say, regaining his composure— Get down immediately, it is a sacred place. 

— This giant mister? I thought it was a lamp, since it has a light turned on —as absurd as it sounded, her tone of voice was one of genuine interest.. 

—It is a monument —he corrected her, arming himself with patience— to the creator of this universe, and that light —he pointed his finger at the sphere— is a flicker, a tool to measure the duration of its existence. 

—Seriously? —she exclaimed, like an astonished child— and how long does a flicker last?

—A flicker lasts…

Out of nowhere, a strange sensation washed over him. That question had stirred something deep within, as if the gears of an ancient clock were starting to turn again—not in the world, but inside his chest. The resulting daze, though fleeting, reduced his answer to a mere whisper.

—Until it goes out.

—The what? —she asked again, waking him from his trance— I can't hear you from up here!

—A flicker lasts until it goes out —he responded firmly this time.

Marilulu tilted her head, analyzing the speck of light that threatened to disappear at any moment. 

—Well, it looks like it won't be long before that happens —she commented, thoughtfully. 

—You are right —he affirmed, nodding his head. For a few seconds, neither of them spoke again. Given her unforeseen seriousness, the prince took the opportunity to insist. —Now. Could you please ge—

—And what happens if it doesn’t go out? —she interrupted him.

The question stopped him in his tracks. It was a proposition that would never have crossed his mind. But the answer was logical. 

—That is impossible —he remarked—. Every spark is a unit of time. It has a beginning and an end. They are not designed to be eternal.

—Sure…—Marilulu put a hand to her chin—. But, hypothetically, what would happen if, let's say, I don't know… something made it stay lit?

Her persistence was more than irritating to him. Was not even an absolute fact enough to satiate her curiosity? 

—That cannot happen —he reiterated—, it contravenes its own nature. Here, everything is governed by imposed laws, and the only one capable of altering them is me.

—And wouldn't you like to know what would happen?— she inquired, straightening up and placing both hands on her waist— If it’s true that you have the power to change it, why not do something different?

The prince opened his mouth to sentence her with an axiom, an irrefutable truth about entropy and duty. But, for the first time, the words knotted in his throat. He contemplated the flicker. Since the cataclysm, his existence had been a succession of straight lines, a millimetric calculation. What would happen if the geometry curved? That doubt, which barely occupied a fraction of a second, unearthed a sensation buried under eons of infallibility. For an instant, he felt his pulse quicken, not out of dread, but from an unknown warmth; an emotion that was once familiar to him, present in that remote time when he still possessed a name. The idea slowly became an image within his mind; that doubt…

It was a vacancy in reality.

—I...— he stammered.

A violent earthquake shook the foundations of the palace, destabilizing it. The crystalline floor fragmented into a thousand pieces. The wind, previously static, exploded in uncontrolled gusts, while the stars accelerated and braked their course in the firmament. The world was collapsing because the will that kept it cohesive had just faltered. As he tried to stand, a sharp pain pierced the eye hidden behind the patch, forcing him to fall to his knees. Above the hands of the statues, the sphere made an erratic jump, losing its perfect orbit. It vibrated with a high-pitched hum, threatening to bolt into the void.

—Oh... no, no, no, no, no!— Marilulu exclaimed, swaying frantically on the Greater Star’s shoulder— Stay there!— she spoke in vain to the sputtering orb. 

Looking up, the Prince watched in horror as the jester extended her arm toward the light.

—Wait! Don't touch it!—