The First Collector

Three days.

That was all it took for the world to change.

By the third sunrise, the streets of Elaris no longer buzzed with rumors.

They buzzed with greed.

Moonshards had become the only thing anyone wanted to talk about.

Some called them blessings from the heavens.

Others claimed they were curses sent to test humanity.

No one agreed on the truth.

Only one fact remained the same.

Every Moonshard granted impossible power.

Every Moonshard took something impossible to replace.

The bakery had become quieter than ever.

People still bought bread.

But they stayed only long enough to exchange the latest rumor.

"I heard a fisherman can breathe underwater now."

"They say a woman in the north can stop time."

"My cousin swears the royal army is buying Moonshards."

"I'd take one."

"You'd lose your heart."

"So?"

The laughter that followed unsettled Seren.

Only days ago, people had been horrified.

Now...

Some were already willing to make the trade.

That evening, Seren carried a basket of fresh bread to Mrs. Elen, an elderly widow who lived near the edge of the city.

She had done it every Thursday since she was twelve.

The old woman greeted her with the same warm smile.

"You've gotten taller."

"You say that every week."

"And one day I'll be right."

Seren laughed.

For a little while, the world almost felt normal again.

Almost.

As she walked home through the forest path, the evening air felt unusually still.

No birds.

No insects.

Only silence.

Then—

Crunch.

A twig snapped somewhere behind her.

She stopped.

Nothing.

Probably a rabbit.

She kept walking.

Crunch.

Closer this time.

Her heartbeat quickened.

"Who's there?"

No answer.

Only the wind.

She turned the corner of the path..

..and froze.

Three men stood in the middle of the road.

Their faces were hidden beneath dark cloaks.

One carried a lantern.

Another gripped a rusted sword.

The third smiled.

"Evening."

Seren instinctively stepped backward.

"We're just looking for something."

"What?"

The man tilted his head.

"A Moonshard."

"We heard one landed near these woods."

"I don't know anything about that."

"Maybe."

His smile widened.

"But you live nearby."

One of the men took another step.

"Perhaps you've seen something."

"I haven't."

"Then you won't mind if we look through your basket."

He reached for it.

Seren pulled it back.

"It's just bread."

"Then prove it."

Before she could answer...

A silver blur dropped from the trees.

THUD.

One of the cloaked men hit the ground before he even realized someone had landed behind him.

"What—?!"

The second man swung his sword.

The stranger leaned sideways so effortlessly it looked like dancing.

The blade missed by inches.

He sighed.

"You people are really predictable."

He kicked the man's legs from beneath him.

CRACK.

The sword skidded across the dirt.

The third man turned and ran.

"Good choice," the stranger called after him.

"I would've hated doing paperwork."

Seren blinked.

Paperwork?

The stranger dusted off his dark coat as though nothing unusual had happened.

He couldn't have been much older than twenty.

Messy dark hair.

A crooked grin.

Eyes that sparkled with far too much confidence.

He looked at the two unconscious men.

"Hm."

"They'll wake up."

"Probably."

He finally noticed Seren staring.

"Oh."

"You alright?"

"...Who are you?"

He pointed at himself.

"Me?"

"Someone with terrible timing."

"You just saved me."

"Exactly."

He smiled.

"Terrible timing."

Seren couldn't help it.

She laughed.

The stranger grinned proudly.

"There it is."

"What?"

"The 'I thought I was about to die' laugh."

"It happens more often than you'd think."

Seren stared.

"...That isn't comforting."

"No."

"It really isn't."

For a brief moment, everything felt strangely normal.

Then Seren noticed something.

His hands.

Thin silver scars traced across his fingers.

Almost like cracks in glass.

"What happened to your hands?"

He looked down.

His smile faded.

"Oh."

"These?"

He pulled on his gloves before she could get a better look.

"Occupational hazard."

"What occupation?"

"I'm between jobs."

"You don't seem trustworthy."

"I get that a lot."

He offered an exaggerated bow.

"The name's Nalo."

"Seren."

"Nice to meet you, Seren."

He looked toward the darkening forest.

Then his playful expression disappeared.

"Listen carefully."

His voice had changed.

Completely.

"If you ever find a Moonshard..."

"...don't touch it."

Seren frowned.

"You know about them?"

"I know enough."

Before she could ask another question,

A whistle echoed through the trees.

Nalo looked up sharply.

"They found me already?"

He sighed dramatically.

"I really need quieter enemies."

Without another word, he stepped backward into a patch of moonlight beneath the trees.

The silver glow wrapped around him like mist.

Seren reached out.

"Wait!"

Nalo smiled one last time.

"We'll meet again."

The moonlight flickered.

And he was gone.

As though he'd dissolved into the night itself.

Seren stood alone on the forest path.

The basket of bread still clutched in her hands.

Her heart raced.

She had questions.

Far too many.

And for the first time since the moon had broken...

She had met someone who seemed to know the answers.

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