Work Text:
The first thing he heard was the trees.
A hushed shuffling, a distant whisper. It sounded familiar.
Jayce looked around him, at the cedars that towered over where he sat on a small field of lush grass.
He looked up at the night sky, full of constellations he had never seen before. spiralling, spinning stars that seemed to shift and disappear. Thousands of them, akin to frenzied etches on chalkboards, winking down as if they knew something he did not. Jayce could smell chalk under his fingers, but when he looked down at his hands, they were clean. He did not remember the last time his hands were clean, he did not remembering anything at all.
Then the realisation dawned upon him.
Something was missing. Something vital, something that itched at the back of his head.
His hand impulsively reached towards his chest, feeling for a pulse. Something was wrong, perhaps he really was dead. But no, his heart hammered on, stubbornly.
He wondered why he felt like something had been ripped from him, his mind beginning to spiral. A wave of panic rushed over him, and he stood up abruptly.
He took one last glance around the clearing he had woken up in, and once more at the sky.
His eyes narrowed. He felt like if he stared long enough, the etching of the stars could spell out the answers for him, like handwriting he had come to memorise in some past life, from a life he could not recollect.
He took a deep breath, and began to walk.
Hours passed, maybe days, Jayce could not remember. He had reached a plain at the edge of the cliff. It was night time now, in fact it always had been. There seemed to be no sunlight in this place, but the light from the stars was enough of a guide.
Smoke wafted up into the sky, and Jayce could see the distant amber of a fire kindling.
So he wasn’t alone. The aching in his chest weakened.
He walked slowly towards the fire.
As he approached, he saw a figure, sitting behind the fire. From an angle, it looked like the person was being engulfed in the flames.
Soon he was standing in front of him, the warmth of the fire caressing him.
The man looked up. What struck Jayce first was the molten gold of his eyes. He had never seen such a colour, at least not in this small lifetime. Perhaps if there was a sun in this world, he could compare the two. But the man’s piercing eyes were akin to none, not even the embers in front of him. His face was pale, and cheeks hollowed, lips pursed as if waiting for something. His hair was the colour of cedar.
“Who are you?” The man asked, his voice soft yet somehow sharp.
Jayce cleared his throat as he realised he had been standing foolishly.
“Where am I?” he asked, ignoring his question. He wasn't even sure how to answer it, truthfully. He felt like nothing, and at the same time, everything. He felt like he had never been more himself, but he also could not remember himself.
The man watched him slowly.
“You are nowhere,” he replied simply.
Jayce looked back up at the sky, constellations still mocking him.
“You see them too?” the man asked. Jayce looked back at him.
“The writing?” Jayce questioned, before inhaling. “Yes. The stars- they aren’t really stars, are they?”
“Who knows.” he mumbled. Their eyes met briefly as they glanced away from the sky.
“Sit.” he gestured.
Jayce quietly sat across from him. He watched him, noting how the fire seemed to soften his features.
“The stars write down our fates, I believe.” the golden eyed man said. “I feel we must have something to do with it.”
Jayce blinked at him. “Us?”
“I know you.” he said softly.
Jayce said nothing, searching the other’s face. He once again tried to reach out for any distant memory, and yet nothing came up. It was like trying to start a fire with wet wood.
“Who are you?” Jayce asked, voice trembling.
“I’m not sure. They called me Viktor." Viktor said. “Eons ago. Though i don't remember where they called me that, and why.”
“I remember my name- Jayce.” Jayce whispered. “But that’s all.” he looked around, shifting in his seat.
“That name…” Viktor mumbled, a clouded look on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing.” he glanced back up at the stars. “It is nice here, don’t you think? A whole universe, an endless abode. With so many possibilities.”
“Could it be… heaven?”
“No, not heaven.” Viktor whispered. “Perhaps it is simply home.”
Home.
Jayce watched Viktor smile at the constellations, and the word started to resonate.
Viktor looked at him, his expression serious.
“Whatever it is, I think you and I are meant to be here. Together.”
“And do what?” Jayce whispered, not daring to look away.
Viktor shrugged. “Live. In whatever ways we can.”
Jayce watched the embers of the fire flicker.
“It’s not even cold here.” Jayce blurted.
“Yes but it is so very dark.” Viktor smiled softly, gentle and warm.
Jayce felt his chest tighten… something was shifting, something galactic, something very deep inside the vessel his soul occupied.
“I know you.” Jayce whispered. “I know you from somewhere. I just… I need time to remember-”
“There’s no need.” Viktor raised a hand, eyes softening. “This-” he gestured at the sky, at the flames.
“This is enough,” he whispered.
Jayce nodded. “This is… enough.” For the first time since waking in this strange place, Jayce felt relief.
“Will you stay, then?” Viktor asked, a hint of a plea in his voice.
Jayce watched the stars that had somehow multiplied. Billions of specks in the dark sky, twisting and floating. They now seemed to look like thousands of numbers, equations leading to nothing- nothing at all. Something missing, and long gone.
“I think this is exactly where I am meant to be.” Jayce spoke, his voice far away.
“Come then.” Viktor whispered, standing, his hand outstretched. The fire had burnt down into ashes.
Without a word, Jayce took the other’s hand, and every piece in the hollowness of his heart shifted into perfect place.