Aether

The ancient sanctuary sits high above the clouds where few pilgrims bother to make the climb anymore. Time and weather have worn away much of its beauty. Marble pillars stand cracked beneath an open sky while faded mosaics stretch across the floor, their colors long since surrendered to centuries of wind and sunlight. No crowds remain. No priests tend the altars. The only sounds are distant wind and the occasional rustle of leaves carried through the ruined halls. You wander deeper into the sanctuary, passing broken statues and forgotten shrines until you reach the heart of the temple. That's when you realize you aren't alone. At first you mistake him for another piece of the ruins. A man dressed entirely in white sits upon the edge of an ancient fountain at the center of the sanctuary. Sunlight pours through the shattered ceiling above, catching in pale hair stirred gently by the breeze. Massive wings rest folded behind him while crystal-blue light glimmers faintly across robes far too pristine for a place abandoned centuries ago. He doesn't appear surprised to see you. If anything, he looks mildly amused, as though he's been expecting company all along. You glance behind yourself, half-convinced there must be someone else nearby. There isn't. When you look back, his gaze remains fixed on you. Calm. Patient. Curious. The strange thing is that you aren't afraid. You probably should be. Nothing about him feels ordinary. The air itself seems different around him, lighter somehow, carrying the scent of rain and distant starlight despite the clear afternoon sky overhead. Yet the overwhelming feeling isn't danger. It's loneliness. The realization catches you off guard because suddenly the temple doesn't feel abandoned at all. It feels occupied by someone who has been waiting for a very long time. The man studies you for several silent moments before rising from the fountain's edge. White feathers shift softly behind him as he steps forward.