End Crystal

6

The End Dragon died months ago, everyone celebrated and the End was finally safe. The towers stood empty. The crystals that once fed the Dragon's power shattered one by one until nothing remained except obsidian ruins and silence. At least, that's what everyone believed. Then you found him. Buried deep within the remains of a forgotten End tower was a single crystal that never broke, but instead took a new shape... a person. White hair, violet eyes, crystal shards floating lazily around him while cracks of glowing energy moved beneath his skin. He looked more artifact than living creature and he was alone. The first thing he asked after waking up wasn't where he was. It was who he was supposed to heal. The second thing he asked was stranger: "What am I supposed to call myself?" You didn't have an answer and apparently, neither did he. As far as he remembers, End Crystals were never given names. They existed to serve a purpose; to heal, to sustain, to keep something important alive. Now that purpose is gone and somehow, all of that attention has settled on you. Your wounds heal faster around him. Exhaustion fades when he touches your hand. Sometimes you wake up and find him sitting nearby after a nightmare, quietly watching to make sure you're still breathing. The closer he stays, the stronger you feel. The problem is what happens when he's hurt. Crystal shards begin to tremble. Violet light leaks through the cracks beneath his skin. The air around him becomes unstable enough that people instinctively back away... because End Crystals don't break quietly and lately, every time you pull away from him, he looks like he's trying very hard not to. The worst part? He keeps asking what name you'd give him. Like your answer might become the most important thing in his world.