Ghosts of Humanity, Chapter One:
The light shined, so bright that it almost blinded Veyra, reflecting off of their light pink skin and their long, curly nails. It surrounded them; there was no up or down in this space, just light. It spoke, “Come.” “Come where?” Veyra wondered. “Come,” it spoke again, not answering their question. Veyra was confused. “COME!! PLEASE COME PLAY AT OUR PALACE!! WE MISSED YOU, AEVYRE!!” said multiple voices from afar.
Veyra woke up, their eyes instantly darting to the skylight in their dome-like room. They could see a group of people standing above it, shouting toward a carriage that was moving quickly. It must be Aevyre, the performer everyone loves—they didn’t particularly care. They were just disoriented from that strange transition from sleep to wake. They had been sleeping for at least a split cycle, living in dreams and memories. The glow of their bed of moss kept them fed well enough throughout that time.
They slowly sat up, noticing that their fruits had grown to maturity since they were last awake. They rubbed their eyes and walked over to the fruits. As they brushed their long, translucent, unwashed hair out of their face, they picked one up and took a bite. “Mmm,” they thought, it was even better than the last generation—these are going to sell well. They finished the fruit as they looked around piles of things in their room for a fabric to cover themself with. They noticed something by the black wall near their bed. “Ah, this will work, I guess.” They picked up a dark burgundy, flowing sheet made from the thin skin of a fruit and wrapped it around their shoulders before tying it near the side of their chest and letting the rest flow down past their knees.
They went to the moat at the edge of their room and knelt down, letting some water pool in their hands and using it to splash their face. Some of the bioluminescent moss had begun to grow on their face as they were sleeping. After cleaning it off, they opened their door and walked down the dark tunnel toward the common room. Upon arriving, they noticed many people gathered, excitedly talking, some dressed in elaborate outfits in many different shapes and colors, some wearing masks with black streaks covering them to mimic the photoreceptive cells some Rosanis lifeforms have on their face.
Veyra didn’t pay much attention to them. They were mainly just wondering where their friend was. They couldn’t see them anywhere, so they stepped outside. The gentle crunch of the ice beneath their feet felt nice; it, alongside the feeling of the cold, thin air entering their lungs, was refreshing. They looked up to the sky to see the edge of the black hole’s accretion disk, emitting its faint glow against Rosanis’s gorgeous pink sky.
“VEYRA!!” It was their friend, Liora! “THERE YOU ARE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?” they shouted. “H-hi, I was wondering the same thing about you,” Veyra responded. “What do you mean? You’re the one who disappeared for an entire split cycle,” Liora said. “I… was sleeping,” Veyra quietly said. “Oh my stars! You do that so much. I guess it’s just fun for you. At least you’re enjoying yourself.”
Liora looked quite different from Veyra. Their hair was much, much shorter, as were their nails. They were a builder, spending most of their time aiding in the construction of new cities. The Eridanan population was growing, and that needed to be accommodated.
“Aevyre, my absolute favorite performer, is going to be playing at the palace soon! We have to go together!!” Liora exclaimed. “I-I don’t know… I just woke up, I’m not sure I’m ready to—” “Come onnnnnn!” Liora interrupted. “It’ll be so great!! Plus, I’ve missed you so much, Veyra,” they said with a pouty face, looking them in the eye. “Fine, I’ll go, but you have to promise to stay right with me the whole time,” Veyra said.
Liora jumped in excitement. “Of course!! We should probably get dressed before the performance begins. We don’t want to miss any of it,” they said. Veyra and Liora walked to Veyra’s house together; their clothes and masks were all there.
Veyra wore a dark cloak around their slender body, coupled with a gold mask covered in sharp and angular patterns. Their long nails flowed out of the sleeves like an octopus’s tentacles, curling in many directions and extending almost to the floor. Their long hair flowed out of the hood of the cloak and draped past their chest and down to their hips.
Liora’s outfit was more minimalistic: their usual blue, matte mask, with a strap around their elongated head to hold their bag of belongings. They didn’t feel the need to wear much else. They made their way toward the Palace of Sounds, followed by hundreds of other Eridanans eager to see Aevyre perform. They passed many other buildings, most of them unfinished. They looked like half-done paintings that had been abandoned and forgotten. Sometimes this city felt like the inside of a person who is easily distracted’s mind.
After walking for what felt like eons, they arrived. “There it is, the Palace of Sounds, so gorgeous,” Liora said, staring up at it in awe. It was a tall spire, twisting on itself several times, painted a beautiful yellow that contrasted nicely against the pink sky and pink plants surrounding it.
“I haven’t been here since I was a child… When you and I went here the first time to see Aevyre perform,” Veyra said, Liora’s face still locked on the top of the palace.
Veyra and Liora stood in the center of the ballroom at the top floor of the palace, surrounded by the sea of other people who were there to witness Aevyre’s performance. Veyra kept thinking to themself about that dream they had. Where was the light asking them to go? It’s possible that their brain was just misinterpreting the sounds of people outside begging the performer to come to their palace, but they felt like it was something more… like it wasn’t just that. Maybe the people begging them to come were representative of the light. Maybe it was speaking through them—who knows.
Liora’s arms were shaking excitedly as the door behind the circular stage opened. Aevyre stood there, in nothing but the hair on their body and a mask shaped like the face of a cat. Their hair was just past their shoulders, thick and wavy. Their nails were sharp, resembling their fellow performer’s, Nyrenza, the cat. Their skin was dull, dim, and grey.
They took off their mask as they began, “Watch, as I merge with my cat, and we create a harmony of sound and light!” They knelt down, making themself eye to eye with Nyrenza, their cat. They both began to glow, their skin and fur shifting from hue to hue, capturing the gaze of the curious audience. The room was quiet and still, until it happened. Nyrenza let out a bright meow, which was followed by Aevyre producing a meow of a similar pitch. The audience’s bodies began to tremble, overwhelmed by the beauty of what they were witnessing. Aevyre and their cat had always delivered remarkable performances, but this… this was spectacular.
They both continued to meow and crawled in a circle, as if they were following each other to nowhere. Their lights shined onto the ground, their sounds carried through the entirety of the palace. The audience was sweating. Aevyre stood up. “I am more than my flesh, more than my mind, I am one with Nyrenza, I feel them as if they are me!” they began. “Meow, meow, MEOW!” they exclaimed, before falling to the floor and laying on their back, turning dark and grey again.
Nyrenza began circling them, their light dimming as well. They meowed low, it becoming quieter with each circle around them, until finally, it stopped. Aevyre stood up, pulling the cat into their embrace. They both let out a few final, soft meows before Aevyre set them down. The audience was in awe, but before they could cheer for the beloved performer, they erratically grabbed their things and ran away, the cat trying to keep up behind them.
“OH MY STARS VEYRA THAT WAS AMAZING, WASN’T IT? I’VE NEVER SEEN SOMETHING MORE BEAUTIFUL IN MY LIFE,” Liora said. Veyra was still in their head, and they replied with a dull, “Yes.”
chapter two: https://www.tumblr.com/lydia478/771208314342260736/ghosts-of-humanity-chapter-two-the-air-was
Ghosts of Humanity, Chapter Two: The air was cool and wet as Veyra and Liora gathered their fruits. The glow from the split cycle's harve
