Obsidian Rain

Obsidian Rain


The Black Rain

The storm began as a whisper on the horizon—a low, rumbling hum that trembled through the metal spires of Styx-5. The miners paused in their tasks, craning their necks toward the ash-colored sky as a strange stillness settled over the colony. For Arlo, the change in the air was tangible. He felt it seep into his skin, cold and foreboding.


He squinted toward the oncoming storm, wiping a streak of grime from his cheek with a calloused hand. The horizon was a haze of swirling shadows, and at its heart, flashes of violet lightning illuminated the advancing maelstrom.


“What the hell is that?” muttered Jace, his partner, his voice barely audible over the sudden gusts of wind.


“Something new,” Arlo replied, his tone edged with wariness. He had lived on Styx-5 long enough to know that the planet’s rare storms were both beautiful and deadly. But this... this felt different.


Within minutes, the sky unleashed its fury. Not with rain or hail, but with black stones.


They fell in a relentless cascade, each piece glistening like polished obsidian. The first impact shattered the silence as a stone struck the metal platform beside Arlo. It ricocheted, leaving a jagged dent, and landed at his feet. He stared at it, transfixed.


“What are you waiting for? Grab it!” Jace shouted, his voice tinged with curiosity and unease.


Arlo hesitated. The stone was no larger than his fist, its surface unnaturally smooth and shimmering faintly despite the lack of light. Against his better judgment, he crouched and picked it up.


The moment his fingers closed around the stone, the world around him dissolved.


He was no longer standing on the barren surface of Styx-5. Instead, he was back on Earth, standing beneath a canopy of trees that swayed gently in the wind. The scent of pine filled his lungs, and the sound of laughter rang in his ears. He turned, and there she was—Evelyn. Her auburn hair caught the sunlight as she smiled at him, a basket of wildflowers in her hands.


“Arlo,” she said, her voice warm and melodic.


It was impossible. Evelyn had died years ago.


“Arlo, wake up!” Jace’s voice jolted him back to reality. The vision shattered like glass, leaving him gasping for air. He dropped the stone, his hands trembling.


“What did you see?” Jace demanded, concern etched into his features.


Arlo shook his head, unable to form words. The memory of Evelyn’s smile lingered, haunting and beautiful. He looked down at the stone, now lying inert on the ground, and felt a chill crawl up his spine.


All around them, the storm raged on, and more stones fell, scattered like seeds across the colony.


Inside the colony’s central hub, Dr. Reina Solari watched the storm through a reinforced window. Her pale fingers tapped a nervous rhythm against the glass as she observed the chaos unfolding below.


“What do you make of it?” asked Vance, the colony’s security chief, standing behind her with his arms crossed.


Reina didn’t turn. “I don’t know yet,” she said, her voice clipped. “But it’s unlike anything we’ve encountered before.”


“Those stones are causing a stir,” Vance said. “Miners are picking them up, and I’m hearing reports of... strange reactions.”


Reina’s brow furrowed. “Reactions?”


“Hallucinations. Visions. One guy said he relived the worst day of his life. Another saw his dead wife. Whatever these things are, they’re messing with people’s heads.”


Reina’s heart quickened. She had suspected the storm would bring something unusual, but this was beyond her expectations.