I stood alone on an empty world. Around me, the darkness of a lifeless galaxy spanned the endless sky.

I was alone.

But then I saw life. High above me were more worlds hanging in the night, life slowing coming into being on their surfaces. I watched civilizations rise and fall, growing all the while to fill the whole galaxy with life.

I saw things that astound me to this very day, but do you know what else I saw?

Light.

Every being with life, no matter how small, had a light, and each life burned in the darkness like a distant star, filling the galaxy with light.

I watched it grow as the decades turned into centuries and soon the galaxy glowed like a sun. But among the billions in the sea of stars, I saw a special few blessed with great power. The light of their lives burned silver in the night, shining like suns. These special few kept the peace, guarding and protecting the hundreds of species in the galaxy.

Then... the darkness came.

Like a tidal wave they poured from beyond the edge of galaxy, purging all in its path. In terror I watched as the galaxy itself was extinguished, the darkness smothering the lives of billions under their relentless purge. The silver lights among them fought valiantly, but even they were overwhelmed. One by one the worlds fell into darkness, once again leaving the galaxy in an endless night.

And I was alone once again.

I waited for the darkness to take me as well... but it receded, returning to the night outside the galaxy.

As I wondered over why it did this, life began anew. Civilizations rose and fell, and once again I watched as the galaxy filled with life. I watched it grow, joyful at it's return, for life could never truly be extinguished.

Then, at the height of their power, the darkness came again.

Once again I watched as the galaxy was purged. Even the silver lights were powerless to stop it, overwhelmed by its power. And when the purge was complete the darkness once again left the galaxy in peace, to wait the rise of a new nation.

Then I realized its purpose.

Like a farmer tilling the land, the darkness tilled the galaxy for its life, harvesting it into their own. And the darkness only grew in strength. With each passing purge they grew in number and strength.

And I stood alone... powerless to help.

Over and over again I watched the galaxy grow until the darkness came and reaped its harvest. The endless cycle of death, imposed upon the galaxy by its dark caretakers. I lost count of the nations I saw rise and fall, all to be consumed by the darkness. I was sorrowful, but there was nothing I could do. I was alone, watching like a ghost.

Then I looked down and saw my own world. Life had begun to grow on its surface.

In that moment, I felt true fear. Fear for myself, my family, our children and my entire species. In terror I watched them grow until they reached out to the stars, eager to taste its secrets. They grew quickly, meeting others and forming an empire that spanned the stars. It was a time of great rejoicing.

But I could only weep.

I knew the fate of my people, and I cried for them. Nothing could escape the darkness that was to come.

But then... I saw light. A single bright star shining in the galaxy, set apart from the cycle of death. Hope. Not for my people, but for those who were to come. A single hope for the galaxy. That hope is what I have striven towards my entire life. But that is my story, not yours.

But what was that hope, you may ask? First, let me ask you something, Little Rose.

Do you believe in destiny?

Silver eyes opened a panic, reflecting the furious fires around her. The voice in her head vanished as quickly as it had appeared, fading into the back of her mind like a forgotten dream. But she was given no time to think about it as an explosion rocked the ground beneath her feet.

She suddenly realized that she was lying on her stomach, head pressed into the dirt. Her chest burned in pain and her body ached from exhaustion. But that all went away when she saw the fires blazing around her, striking fear into her heart. The heat burned her skin and made her eyes smart. She opened her mouth to cry out but smoke and ash rushed in, filling her lungs.

Fighting through the pain she pushed herself onto her feet, coughing violently. Another explosion blasted through the air, knocking her back to the ground.

Her ears were ringing and her vision swam before her eyes, her imagination turning the jumping flames turning into unimaginable horrors reaching out for her. She started to panic, choking for air as she pushed herself back up and desperately looked for a way out of the flames.

Burning buildings surrounded her, their windows belching black smoke. But what horrified her most were the burned corpse that lay around her. Their charred forms twisted on the ground as if they were dancing, their open expressions of agony morphing into terrifying grins in the shifting light. The crackling flames seemed to laugh at her, filling the air with the ghastly noise and rejoicing that they had claimed another victim.

She ran. She ran and she didn't stop, past the burning buildings and the corpses into the firestorm beyond.

"Hello!" she cried into the air, then coughed. The smoke was too thick, clogging her lungs with ash. But still she tried again.

"Hello?! Help m-"

From the flames on her left another explosion rocked the earth, slamming her back into the ground.

She gasped in pain, tears pouring down her face as she helplessly looked around at the fires that strove to engulf her in their fury.

"Please!" she screamed, pushing herself back up as she started running through the burning streets of hell itself. "Someone! Please help me!"

Anderson watched as another building exploded, barely feeling the shock wave wash over him. He was far enough away from the burning settlement to be safe from the detonation of exploding fuel tanks. Even if something did reach him, his N7 armor could protect him from most of the splash damage.

Another prefabricated shelter bust into flames as he watched. He'd been waiting for ten minutes now, under orders to rescue anyone from the burning settlement.

The Batarians had razed Mindoir to the ground, enslaving thousands and killing the rest. Nothing remained except ashes and bodies.

They were too late.

"Lieutenant, report." The voice of Admiral Hackett spoke over his helmet radio.

"Its bad, sir," he said gravelly. "The raiders left nothing behind." The Admiral could probably see the fires from orbit so there was no need to elaborate.

"Any survivors?"

His head dipped and a scowl threatened to break across his face at the Batarian's ruthlessness.

"None so far," he replied, surprised by the optimism in his own words. "Just one more hour, sir. That's all I ask."

Hackett sighed. "Lieutenant, I'm sorry, but there's no one left here. I need you back with your squad to secure the next settlement. Understood?"

Anderson looked over his shoulder. The rest of his team was just cresting the top of a hill, moving away from the burning town. They had searched the outskirts for any survivors, but none dared enter the raging inferno. They had waited for a bit, just too see if anyone would come staggering out, but as time passed it became apparent that nothing had survived.

But for some reason Anderson held onto hope. He ordered his team to move on while he waited just a little bit longer, but now he couldn't disobey a direct order.

"Understood sir," he said quietly.

The comm cut out with a crackle.

Sighing sadly, Anderson reached down and picked up his helmet from the ground and slipped it on. He was just about to turn away when a flash of movement caught his eye. He froze, staring into the flames.

There, in between two of the burning building, no less than twenty meters away from safety, a black form ran through the fires, heading straight for him. It was too small to be a Batarian or any grown up.

A child then.

Anderson's heart jumped in his chest. Without a moments hesitation he plunged into the burning inferno, charging through the jumping flames to the mysterious person, heedless of his own safety. As he got closer he could see that it was a young girl, no older then sixteen. But before he could reach her, she tripped and fell, ploughing hard into the ground. Anderson was on her in an instant, gently picking her up before running back to the safety of the outside world.

As she felt the arms of her rescuer wrap around her, the girl pressed herself into his chest, shivering in fear. He held her tighter as he ran, heedless of the fires that threatened to engulf him

At last he broke through the wall of flames and burst out into the clean, open air. Panting, he slowed to a stop and heard the girl's ragged coughs. He breathed a sigh of relief. She was alive. They had found a survivor after all!

"Medic!" he shouted into his helmet radio as he gently lay her on the ground. "We need a medic over here!"

Far off in the distance his squad heard his cry. They turned and ran back towards his position. But his primary focus was the girl. She was short for sixteen, maybe not even fifteen. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she greedily sucked in air.

She wore the strangest clothes Anderson had ever seen. A blouse with a tight corset wrapped around her waist above a burned ragged skirt that hung from her hips. A pair of black tights covered her legs and heavy combat boots encased her feet. A belt was clipped around her waist, covered with loops for storing old fashioned bullets. A brooch, engraved with a stylized silver rose was clipped to it. But oddest of all was the long red cloak that hung from her shoulders.

Her style made Anderson raise an eyebrow. He hadn't seen clothes like this since... forever, really. From his vague understanding of the subject, the Gothic trend had gone out of style almost centuries ago.

A gasp made him look up. The girl had opened her eyes, revealing brilliant silver irises, staring up into the blue sky above. Her skin was pale, dotted with spots of ash. Her youthful face was framed by locks of black hair that turned red near the tips.

She blinked, staring up at the sky in bewilderment, then slowly trailed down to gaze at him. The shock, fear and relief on her face was palpable as she saw her savior.

"Easy, it's alright. You're safe now," Anderson said softly, easing off his helmet and smiling comfortingly at her. "What's-"

Before he could react, she jumped up and hugged him around the waist, crying and babbling intelligibly into his chest. He hugged her back without a second thought. The poor girl had just lost her home, her family, and very nearly died herself. This was the very least he could do.

Anderson let her cry for another few minutes until her sobs slowly subsided, then he gently questioned; "What's your name, child?"

The girl looked up from his chest, tear stained cheeks and silver eyes reflecting the fires behind him. Her face was oddly blank, as if she was having a hard time remembering such a simple fact. Then she swallowed.

"Ruby... Ruby Rose."