//------------------------------//
// Starry Night 
// Story: Eljunbyro 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

             I sat up, hyperventilating.

It was cool.  It was night.  Stars stretched majestically overhead.  I looked straight up and saw the splinter edges of a crumbling house.  The ceiling had caved in years ago.  I smelled mist and pondwater.  There was a dirty, plain mattress beneath me.

I tried to stand up and walk around, but my limbs disobeyed me.  I strained and struggled.  In spite of the tranquility of the moment, my heart was still exploding through my chest like a ball of firecrackers.

"Dalton?" I murmured, and yet I didn't.  I realized that my jaw was tightly shut.  My face was wet with tears.  It was a glorious, warm, and yet hauntingly lonely sensation.  "Dalton, where am I now?"

"Just relax, Bellesmith.  It's a far more centralized sphere.  It took me a while to localize it, but it's the calmest one I could find in such little time."

"I feel..."  I stammered, then winced.  "I mean she feels..."

"It's okay to be confused.  If it helps you, darling, just describe your feelings to me.  Don't be afraid or ashamed."

"How do I feel?"

"Yes.  Do go ahead."

I gulped as I felt myself curling into a fetal position on the bed.  The stars above blurred from my tears as I whimpered, "I feel lonely.  So very lonely.  It's a blessing and a curse."  I bit my lip and managed to say, "I miss the singing.  I miss the music and the colors and the warmth..."

"Very good.  Very good.  Just let it out..."

I sniffled and clenched my eyes shut.  "I love myself and I hate myself.  I'm so alive, and yet I'm so worthless.  I can't stop moving.  I can't cease for a single moment."

"Where are you heading to, Bellesmith?"

"I... I don't know..."  I shudder and shake.  "I don't care to know.  I just don't care.  All I want is just one chance to nuzzle her and tell her how I feel..."

"Who, Bellesmith?  Who do you care so much for?"

I gasped.  My eyes were brimming with tears as I sought a sparkling truth amidst the stars.  "I don't know.  If I found her, if I saw her eyes, I might die."  A whimper escaped my lips.  "Oh beloved, forgive me.  By the Spark..."

The house began to shake and buckle.  Beams of black obsidian pierced through the cosmos to envelope me.

"D-Dalton?!"

"We're losing contact!  Another sphere is taking over!"

"Dalton, I'm scared—"

"We're pulling you out.  Just stay calm, darling!"

"Dalton... nnngh..."  My eyes were darting left and right.  The world spun.  I felt twin needles poking into—out of?—my forehead.  "Dalton, you must go back where you began."

"What was that?"

"Twists and turns are my master plan..." I hissed as the world spun.  My tongue cut itself on a jutting fang.  "Th-then find the elements b-back where you began."

"Blessed Spark... Bellesmith!  Listen to my voice!  You must stay focused!  You must stay—"

I plunged.