Helper Flickers

Sawl sat in the shuttle, the familiar hum of the craft surrounding him. The mission was straightforward. The leaders were back on Earth, ready to begin the implementation of Novaheim's plan. His role was simple: oversee the execution of the systems they had discussed, track Earth's progress, and continue his part in maintaining order, the order Novaheim had perfected. The Chancellor's vision was clear, and Sawl, as always, was confident in his part.

He leaned back in his seat, his gaze drifting out of the small window toward the stars. Earth was distant, and the mission awaiting him was routine, just like all the others, nothing new and nothing unexpected.

But as the craft cruised through the vastness of space, something tugged at him. A faint unease he couldn't quite place. Sawl shook his head. He had been trained for this. Earth's chaotic systems, its broken structure, they would see how Novaheim's guidance would bring them peace. It was simple. The leaders, the systems, everything was already set in motion.

His thoughts flickered back to the fragment he had read, the strange words still echoing in his mind. The discomfort he had felt after reading it hadn't gone away, but he pushed it down, focusing instead on the task at hand. Why does it still linger?

The shuttle's soft hum seemed to fade into the background as Sawl's thoughts deepened. He had always been a part of Novaheim's structure, operating under its precision and perfection. But now, in this quiet moment on the craft, as Earth grew larger on the horizon, Sawl felt something stir within him.

He stood and moved toward the craft's small observation window, staring down at the planet below. Something about the sight of it unsettled him. The chaos that had been part of Earth for centuries was still there, hidden beneath the surface, and it seemed so…familiar.

The fragment's message came back to him. It wasn't in the systems. It wasn't in the perfection of Novaheim. The truth, the real truth, was somewhere else. His mind replayed the fragment's words, and this time, they felt different… more urgent. He hadn't felt it before, but now, the words resonated deeper.

It wasn't about fixing the systems, it was about finding what was missing within. He had spent his life immersed in Novaheim's perfect world, believing it was the ideal. But now, standing on the precipice of Earth, he felt something else. He felt something that reached beyond the technology, beyond the polished surfaces of Novaheim's society.

As the shuttle continued its descent toward Earth, Sawl's eyes fluttered closed for a moment, overwhelmed by the weight of his thoughts. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he couldn't deny the pull. A quiet flicker of light caught his attention. It wasn't external, it was within him. It was a brief but profound sensation of presence. It wasn't anything he could touch, but it felt almost tangible, like a guiding force just beneath the surface.

His breath slowed as the light grew brighter in his mind, just a flicker at first, before it settled, like a gentle nudge. Sawl's chest tightened as the light pulsed, quiet and persistent, like a whisper he couldn't quite hear but knew was there.

It was as if something was trying to break through, trying to get his attention. Sawl shook his head, trying to push it away, but the feeling didn't leave. He could almost feel it, a presence. It felt warm and calm, but still…undeniably powerful.

Before he could process it further, his eyes closed, and a dream took over.

Sawl stood in the center of a vast, empty space. It was quiet, eerily so, with no clear beginning or end to the surroundings. It was as if the world around him was made of nothing but soft, shifting light. His heart pounded in his chest as a strange calmness washed over him, not the stillness of Novaheim, but something raw and alive. The air was heavy with anticipation, yet soothing, as if it were calling him to remember something he had forgotten.

Then he felt the presence again. Not behind him or before him, but all around him. It surrounded him, and in an instant, the void was filled with warmth, with light. Sawl stood frozen, unsure of what was happening. The feeling was both familiar and foreign, as though he had always known this presence but had never truly understood it.

And then, a voice, gentle but unmistakably powerful, reached him.

"Sawl," it called, soft as a whisper, but it felt like thunder in his chest. The sound vibrated through him, down to his very bones.

Sawl's breath caught in his throat, his heart racing. He wanted to speak, but his words failed him.

"You have walked so far, thinking you are alone, thinking you know the way. But you have always been seen. Always loved. Always held."

Sawl's chest tightened as he felt the weight of those words, always loved. He had never felt so…small, yet, in a way, that smallness felt tender, and not crushing or belittling. It was the kind of love that swelled within him like an ocean, waves rising and falling in rhythm with his breath.

"I have always been here," the voice continued, softer now, like the embrace of a parent to a child. "Your steps have not gone unnoticed. I have watched you, Sawl, and I have waited for you to see. You do not need to find the answers in the world, in the systems. They cannot show you what has always been yours."

Sawl felt his knees weaken as the words sank in, his breath shallow, his heart pounding so fast it almost hurt. He wanted to drop to his knees, overwhelmed by something he couldn't understand, something he had always feared and yet longed for.

"Let go," the voice whispered again, this time like the breath of wind against his skin. "Let go of your certainty. The world you know is not the only world. Open your heart, Sawl, and you will see. Open your eyes, and you will find the path that was never hidden from you. The truth was never far. It was always within you."

Sawl couldn't speak. His breath was coming in shallow gasps, his chest tight with emotion he didn't know how to release. His entire being felt torn. A mix of fear, longing, and a quiet sense of peace that was too profound to grasp.

"It is not the world that will save you," the voice said, the words wrapping around him like a blanket. "It is your heart, your trust in what is unseen. Come home, Sawl. Come back to the truth you've always known."

He felt his body tremble as the words flooded him, pouring into every fiber of his being, settling deep in the places he had locked away. His eyes stung as though something was awakening inside him. Like something he had buried beneath the perfect surface of his life.

"I am here," the voice said once more, love and guidance in its tone. "I am always here."

Sawl's chest tightened with emotion, and before he could breathe another word, the world around him began to blur, the light receding as the darkness began to take shape.

Sawl sat up quickly, his body drenched in sweat. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat louder than the next. He could still feel the warmth of that presence, the tenderness of the voice, like it had been wrapped around him and now…now it was gone.

The feeling lingered, though. He could still hear the voice, soft and clear in his mind, echoing through his thoughts:

"Come home."

Sawl's hand flew to his chest as if to hold it in place. The ache, the yearning, the pull, it all felt too much, too real. He couldn't explain it, couldn't put it into words. But something had shifted. Something had opened.

His body felt light, but his heart felt heavy with an unfamiliar weight. Something inside him had been cracked open, and for the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do with it.