A Century's Awakening

The world fractured. One moment, the deafening roar of an impossible storm, the next, a violent, gut-wrenching impact that ripped through the very fabric of existence. Benjamin felt the world tear itself apart, then nothing. Silence. A heavy, suffocating blanket that pressed down, stealing his breath, stealing his consciousness.

He awoke to a cacophony of sounds that were both alien and terrifyingly familiar. Sirens wailed, a frantic, urgent song that spoke of disaster. Shouts echoed, sharp and sharp with alarm. And beneath it all, a persistent, crackling hiss, the hungry roar of fire. A searing heat climbed his body, tightening its grip, and a sharp, agonizing pain flared in his leg. He tried to move, to push himself up, but his limbs felt leaden, unresponsive. His head throbbed, a dull, insistent drumbeat against the chaos.

Through the haze of pain and confusion, fragments of memory swam. The sky turning a malevolent blue. The aircraft, *Asteria*, twisting, groaning, fighting a force it couldn't comprehend. Theodore’s face, etched with a worry he’d tried to hide. The promise of home, of a future they’d sketched out in hushed tones. Where was he? What had happened?