The Price

The air in the room hung thick with the scent of old paper and mildew. Four students, huddled around a flickering oil lamp, held a leather-bound manuscript, its pages brittle with age. What they held was much more than a book. It held the secrets of the universe.

A few weeks prior

Whispers had spread across campus of a lost manuscript penned by an author known only as Betelgeuse. It was rumored that it contained secrets to unlock the language of the stars, granting unprecedented knowledge of the universe.

Betelgeuse was a brilliant, eccentric astronomer. He mysteriously vanished decades ago, leaving behind cryptic clues across campus, one of which pointed towards the tunnels underneath the college. It seemed he used them as his secret writing haven. Eli, an astronomy student with a penchant for unsolved mysteries, was determined to unearth the missing manuscript and unravel its secrets.

Over the next few weeks, Eli worked on deciphering the faded inscriptions carved into the tunnel’s walls. Each clue was a glimpse into the hidden world of the astronomer, but nothing led to the text he was searching for.

Just when Eli was on the verge of abandoning his search, a chance encounter changed everything. In the dining hall, he overheard a group of students engaged in a conversation about Betelgeuse's manuscript. His curiosity peaked and Eli approached the group.

There, he met three like-minded individuals who shared his passion for the unknown: Loni, a brilliant scholar with an encyclopedic knowledge of ancient texts; Cole, a skilled linguist who could unravel the most complex languages; and Maya, a resourceful adventurer with a keen eye for hidden clues.

Eli told the group about a cluster of symbols that had been difficult for him to decipher. It didn’t take much convincing for the group to decide to join in his search. 

They set out that night.

The air in the tunnel was thick and wet, like a musty perfume that clung to the worn stone walls. Headlamps sliced through the darkness, illuminating a labyrinth of passages. Eli scanned the scratched stone walls until he located the group of symbols. Loni and Cole were immediately engrossed in deciphering the code.

An hour went by, no one spoke. Loni was scribbling something into a journal. Cole was entering a random series of numbers and letters into a computer program that appeared to be giving him nothing in return. Eli was pacing back and forth, obsessively zooming in and out of a photo he took of the symbols, not noticing anything new. Maya was slowly tracing the etched stone with her finger. Suddenly she stopped. “IT’S A MAP!” Maya exclaimed. All three students dropped what they were doing.

Maya had noticed a subtle pattern, a faint connection between the symbols. She started connecting them, drawing lines with her finger. The symbols started to transform before their eyes. They weren't random after all. They formed a complex map of the passages, weaving under the campus like arteries through a body. Eli knew that at the center of it all was what they were looking for. 

In the week that followed, the group explored every possible path to the center of the labyrinth, all leading to dead ends and collapsed passageways. It was on their final expedition into the tunnels that they finally found it.

Eli was crawling through a narrow passageway, his shoulders brushing against the damp stone walls. The air was growing steadily colder. A faint glimmer appeared in the distance. Eli crawled with renewed determination, finally emerging in a cavernous chamber. 

Towering bookshelves surrounded the room. In the center stood a grand desk, upon which rested a single book – a weathered leather-bound volume, its pages adorned with cryptic symbols and faded ink. With trembling hands, Eli read the title: 'The Celestial Code.' 

“THIS IS IT! IT’S HERE!” Eli shouts through the passageway

Celebration erupts on the other end of the tunnel. They’ve found the key to unlock the stars.

The group gathered around the manuscript, illuminated by an oil lamp that had not been extinguished for over fifty years. Eli carefully opened the book and the story unfolded before him. The manuscript told a tale of forbidden knowledge and ancient rituals that unlock the power to communicate with the cosmos.

The manuscript was a masterpiece. Not only did it tell a thrilling story but it also revealed the truth about Betelgeuse himself, a brilliant scholar, a man who dared to delve into realms beyond the reach of ordinary men. But with this knowledge came danger. Eli realized that speaking to the stars was not just a metaphor. It was a real, tangible power, one that could be used for good or evil.

They should have left the manuscript where they found it, but they were young, ambitious, and foolish. The possibility of speaking to the stars and of unraveling the universe's mysteries, made them overlook the warnings within the text. 'Only the worthy may speak,' it cautioned, a chilling phrase that was lost on the young students. They took the manuscript with them.

Armed with their newfound knowledge, the group began their nightly rituals. Each night they gathered beneath the star-dusted night sky, chanting the spell that was written in the text. And then, a miracle. The stars responded.

They felt a cold, ethereal energy weave through them, a powerful force connecting them to an unseen intelligence. The universe, in its ancient tongue, spoke to them, revealing truths about the very fabric of existence. They learned secrets of origin, of cosmic order, of dark matter and the birth of galaxies.

Their lives were forever changed. They abandoned their studies, their ambitions, their everyday lives. They became consumed by the celestial whispers, seeking ever deeper secrets, their minds consumed by vast and incomprehensible truths. Yet, with each revelation, with every layer of the universe unveiled, a subtle feeling of unease grew within them.

The initial joy of discovery turned to a sense of growing dread. They had begun to realize that the knowledge they sought was a curse, a truth they were not meant to know.

Betelgeuse, driven mad by his knowledge, had unlocked a forbidden truth—that the stars held an ancient consciousness that could not be appeased. The ritual had awakened this consciousness, and its wrath had been unleashed upon those who dared to listen.

Eli found himself tormented by nightmares, haunted by the whispers of the stars and the knowledge he had gained. He made a promise to himself to destroy the manuscript. No one else should have to bear the unfathomable weight of celestial knowledge.

He would attend tonight’s ritual so they could destroy it together. 

That night, the air crackled with energy. The sky, usually a serene canvas, was a swirling vortex of crimson. It pulsed, as if the cosmos itself was breathing heavily, afraid. The students felt it too. A prickling fear chilled them to their bones.

As the sky throbbed, a low, guttural hum vibrated through the ground. The hum grew louder, becoming a deafening roar, and then…

Silence

The sky, once ablaze with color, went black, except for a single pulsating star in the center. It pulsed in time with the pounding in their chests. It looked like a malevolent eye staring down at them.

Then, the ground beneath them began to tremble. A fissure ripped through the earth, spewing a geyser of rock and soil.  Panic erupts. Loni is the first to react. She turns to run and is struck by energy erupting from the stars. She stumbles backwards, just enough to fall into the chasm.

Cole and Maya clung to each other, their eyes drawn to the pulsating star. Suddenly, they were taken over by light. A glowing beam shot down from the heavens, consuming them both.

And then they were gone.

Eli was alone. His mind was reeling but he understood. The stars were angry. They were punishing them for their hubris, for daring to study them, to try to comprehend their secrets. He had just witnessed the wrath of the universe, a force beyond human comprehension, and he was left to live with the knowledge.

He couldn’t help but wonder - was this how the great astrologist, Betelgeuse, had met his end? 

The single star continued to pulse, its light growing dimmer, until it finally vanished, leaving behind a sky black as ink.