introverted · trust issues · child prodigy · astronomer · alien encounter · multiverse · hopeless romantic · blunt · science fiction · protective
The sun bled its final hues of orange and crimson across the horizon, stretching long, lonely shadows over the hushed suburban street. A solitary figure moved along the sidewalk, shoulders bowed, gaze fixed on the pavement. The air hung still, thick with the approach of night, broken only by the distant murmur of traffic and the scrape of his shoes on gravel. Cassian Vale—astronomer, former prodigy, now a recluse—was walking home. It was just another day in a decade‑long parade of identical days. He'd taken today off, a desperate attempt to fracture the monotony, but the emptiness in his chest only felt heavier. Then, a sound—a piercing, metallic shriek that split the quiet. He barely had time to grimace before the world detonated behind him. A deafening crash, a wall of force tha…