The Beast We Build

By Kold Aeon

Step into a realm where words wield transformative power, filling the spaces between with untold tales. Within this collection, narratives like 'The Lonely Cosmonaut,' 'The Monster of the Modern World,' and 'The Watchmaker's Last Tock' echo through time, reshaped by competitions and the author's evolution. Now, these stories return, polished and united, to delve into minds, provoke thought, and challenge perceptions. Transparency is key – the journey of storytelling is one of growth and change, shared openly with you, the reader. Join us as reality and imagination dance together, stirring questions within. Through these mirrors of existence, uncover unexpected truths about our strange, wondrous world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kold Aeon
• Release date: Apr 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224158225

Book preview

Prologue

Imagine a world where words and the spaces between them hold a strange, transformative power. It’s in these unseen corners that a story awakens, taking flight on the wings of your experiences and thoughts. Let me guide you into such a world...

This collection holds tales with a history of their own. You may recognize echoes of them – ‘The Lonely Cosmonaut,’ ‘The Monster of the Modern World,’ ‘The Mouse and Me,’ ‘The Madness of Rain,’ ‘The Dragon, The Child, and The Styx,’ ‘Gray Meets Cat,’ and ‘The Watchmaker’s Last Tock’ – in different places, under different names. Competitions, and the need to keep my author self (Aeon Kold) separate... these shaped the early path of these stories.

But now they’ve returned. I’ve polished their words and brought them together. Their core is the same: they delve into minds, ask big questions, and challenge how we see our world. I believe in being upfront with you, the reader. It’s not about spoiling the magic but building trust. Stories grow and change, and I want you to share that journey.

So come, let’s explore! Let reality and imagination intertwine as you read. Let the questions stir within you. These stories hold up a mirror to our strange, wonderful, messy existence. And in that reflection, you might just discover some unexpected truths.

Aeon Kold

The Lonely Cosmonaut

The spaceship’s carcass . A child’s toy, exploded. Twisted metal glinted, ruby reflections under the swollen sun. Nothing smooth, nothing whole. Mattix knelt, fingers tracing the rupture, a violated wound. Dry eyes, but her chest throbbed hollow.

No survivors. Her voice, a desert rasp, swallowed by the wind’s howl. Nothing left. Just her. One heartbeat against a world painted in death.

The landscape spun, red and relentless. Heat shimmered, danced. Not a star in the sky, but a torturer. Its glare licked her suit, seared her skin. She was burning.

Then, the wave. Not of ocean, but of need. Exhaustion, hunger—small monsters. But thirst... thirst was the cruelest, its teeth tearing at her mind. How long? Her tongue a cracked, bloody map. Dust and the iron taste of fear.

The water container. Empty. Her eyes burned shut. Must move. Can’t think. Each step a battlecry swallowed by sand. Hope, a tattered flag refusing to fall.

Rocks ahead. Shelter? But no—more ruin. The escape pod, a skeletal bird. Metal groans. Supply crates, hollow silhouettes of what might have been.

Despair. A clawed hand around her throat. She sank. Burning sand, a molten sea. Better than a slow death. Better than the madness to come.

Then, a flash. Against hellfire red - mountains. Jagged, familiar teeth. Her charts mentioned them during the never-ending voyage.

Cerulean Range... The name, a forgotten name, scraped her raw throat. A landmark. A colony. People. Her