#I can’t believe Legend - A Dragon Ball Tale came out two years ago

[jimjamjomjum]

Goku and Gohan (with inspiration from Naseer Pasha’s design for flavor)

[simplysoriya]

The Eternal Serpent

{Prelude, vibe }

Chapter 1: Decisive Discoveries 

Legends are fickle things. While most reside in the imagination of a simpler time? There were always grains of truth embedded into the story of it all. Some stories were like a ball of snow rolling down a hill of the same. In our very nature there was always a spin, an addition, a subtraction, sprinkled with some embellishment, equaling a legend that had an easier flow or a more adequate lesson. There was nothing malicious about the practice- As was the truth behind all oral histories, they tended to bend over time.

Though, even as a rarity, some legends had more truth than others…

A busy desk was toiled upon in the humble two bedroom apartment in Silvermoon as raindrops pounded the glass sill beside it. There was some personality to it between scrawled out papers and hand sketched maps. A seashell here, a dream catcher there, decorated in all one would expect from a bubbly monk who loved the beach. But those personalized decorations were eclipsed by the obsessant project, looking every bit a detective's motive board rather than a delve into Pandarian lore. 

A cork-board rested against the wall at the edge of her desk, each of the four corners used as a section for her stockpile of information. Pictures both useful and purely aesthetic were tossed about, both pinned to the board and lazily resting on the simple oak desk. A quadrant flanked one side labeled Eye Witness’, complete with three portraits pinned into them, two of which seemed to have notes skewed to the back of the sketch. Though under it had a similar portrait sketches, they seemed to be silhouettes of a head complete with a question mark over the face. 

Adjacent her collection of interviews was a similar set up of information. This time focused on the legend itself. The Temple of the Eternal Serpent was written in bold letters above what looked like a transcript bearing a Lorewalkers seal. A text she had scoured over more times than she could count, to the point where she could comfortably recite the tale with little error.

Directly beneath the subject of her investigation, and the tale that sparked it, was geographical maps of the Pandarian provinces with locations both circled in red with some even sporting a cross through them. While the mainland of Pandaria was focused on in her markings, there were cutouts of the Isle of Thunder as well as a map of Azeroth before the Cataclysm.

Each section had a simple line of thread running from their corners into the center of the board where Possible Locations??? was listed…. Though the lack of anything concrete paved the way for a blanker looking space then the rest of her work, with naught but a picture of a full moon with more question marks scrawled on it out of frustration.

One section sat solitary in its own corner with no tether to speak of. Simply labeled Trials of the Serpent along with three sections representing the three tests written out beneath them. Strength, Spirit, and Soul. Perhaps the busiest of sections of board, this one in particular had scrawled out notes pinned with personalized reminders and revisions to the stories she’s heard. While it had the most information, it looked to be the least figured of the bunch- save for maybe the possible locations she lacked.

Burying her face in her hands as frustration at her own stagnation mounted. Desperately pleading to herself for a good break in unraveling the mystery of the Eternal Serpent. Not often did the chipper monk wallow in self-doubt, but a rare concession was made as she sat at her desk. Listening to the sound of rain against her window.

Right up until an impressed “Damn.” pierced the white noise as a voice came from over her shoulder. “You tryin’ to catch a serial killer kiddo? Cause I know a few.” 

The mixture of silent footsteps and her focus elsewhere paved the way to Soriya’s miniature heart attack. Jolting forward in her chair as the familiar voice of her father found her ears. He did this near constantly- and yet every single time it never failed to scare her.

“I’m going to punch you one of these days.” The young monk replied in an aggravated tone. Or as aggravated as Soriya got, at any rate. 

“Good. See? That’s good parenting right there. I’m teaching you how to get on that fight response instead of the flight response.” Kirollis added with the usual joking swagger exuded. 

Turning in her chair to better face the rogue, Soriya sent her backhand toward Kirollis’ shoulder in a love tap. “Be that as it may…. I won’t be playing pocket healer that day.” She chided before poking her tongue out in his direction in teasing fashion.

Kirollis half-smirked, half-smiled, as he knew full well just how empty those words were. He let her have the moment in the end, instead shifting his attention back to the cork-board with an interested bob of his head. “So what’s with uh… all this?”

With a forearm the young monk cleared the notebook chalked full of tabbed pages. Shifting her gaze toward the corner of her desk as her lips contorted to one side. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep her little venture to herself, rather a sense of pride. She wanted this to be hers. 

��It’s just this legend from Pandaria. You wouldn’t like it. It’s full of dragons and wishes and poor villagers and voodoo and stuff.” However she never was all that convincing of a liar.

Kirollis quirked an auburn brow as he gaze Soriya a questioning look that denied anything other then genuine intrigue. Eventually settling on the edge of her double bed both letting her know he wasn’t going anywhere and making himself comfortable.

Once more Soriya let out an exasperated sigh at the realization that he wasn’t moving anywhere soon. “You’re exhausting, you know that?”

“C’mon, tell me about it.” Pointing a finger toward the board in question Kirollis continued, “I know what that is. You’re lookin’ for an old legend?”

“No.” The monk countered. “Well… yes. But I’m really close to finding it!” She exclaimed, only to be met by an unconvinced audience. 

“Right. So... a dragon? In Pandaria. Like a Cloud Serpent?”

Soriya gave a single nod of her head in confirmation. “More like -the- cloud serpent. Or well, the lineage of one.” Begrudgingly she relented to tell the tale. “So the story goes that the son of Yu’lon, long ago, neglected his duties and went to go live in a mountain. Basically he gave bad wishes to the villagers who lived close by, essentially like… bribing them to worship him. So eventually the villagers got a buncha bad wishes and they made a temple tomb for him.” The Mistweaver summed up as simply as she could.

The rogues eyes flicked toward the board once more, seeming none too phased by the rigid retelling of a tale that clearly had a lot more too it judging by the evidence right before him. It certainly wasn’t the strangest thing he’d ever heard, and that point was further drove home as he simply commented, “Neat. So, where do you think it is?”

A silence overtook the pair as Soriya blinked a few times before staring at her father. But a fleeting sense of admiration took her as Kirollis just seemed to believe her chasing after some legend as if it were true. 

“Neat? That’s it? You hear about a dragon granting wishes and you’re response is ‘neat’?” Soriya questioned in a patronizing tone, despite the warm feelings a mere moment ago.

Kirollis took the jab well, simply shrugging, “Sori… our ranking government literally comes from another planet. A giant demon stabbed our planet baby last year. I’ve somehow managed to make it to almost two-hundred. Stranger things have happened.”

Soriya’s brow furrowed as she conceded. “Yeah… fair points.”

 “So?” Pointing toward the center of her board he added, “Is your best lead really the moon?”

“Uhm… well…” She reached a hand up to rub at the back of her neck. “I’ve talked to a couple of peop-... well the families of a couple of people. Stories their grandparents used to tell them.”

“Oh!” As an afterthought Soriya swiftly added, “There was this one group that was said to have actually found it pretty recently. But I can’t find -any- of them, the last person I can prove saw them said it was on the Isle of Thunder, but I couldn’t find anything even close out there.”

Kirollis took a moment to take in the information offered, letting out a “Hm.” As he got to his feet and took a closer look at the maps drawn out. “Ya ever think about the outskirts of Uldum?” 

“Uldum?” Soriya brushed off the random location. “Why would I go there? I mean, looking for this that is.”

Once more the rogue cast an incredulous look at his daughter. “Cause thousands of years ago Azeroth was all sorta connected? Pandaria probably connected somewhere around Uldum.” Squinting some he hesitantly asked, “Sori, did you not know that?”

“Why would I know that?!” The monk protested.

“...because it’s basic world history…”

A quick history lesson was given as the father and daughter duo exchanged ideas well into the night. While Kirollis educated her on the finer points of early Azeroth, Soriya filled him in on the legend she pursued. They had always got along and found common interests, but when it came to entering the others world there had always been a lack in joint projects. And while she was reluctant at first? Soriya eventually found herself thankful for the lucky break she was looking for.

[abion1992]

The ashen one

                                PROLOGUE

When the age of the ancients ended and the fire was born, three creatures rised and within the flames discovered the lords souls of power, Nito the first of the dead claimed the soul of the death, the witch of Izalith and her daughters of chaos claimed the soul of life and lastly Gwyn the lord of sunlight who claimed the soul of light.

But it is said a fourth soul was later found by the furtive Pygmy, the ancestor of humankind and god of darkness, It is said that he hid the soul away and has passed it down to his ancestors for centuries, tough this we are unsertain of since his story is mostly forgotten by time.

the soul of the three lords challenged the ancients in a war that vanquished the dragons and brought in the golden age of fire. When Seath the scaleless betrayed his own and brought fort the knowledge of dragonscales,the source for immortality.

But the power of the lord souls began to soon fade away as Gwyn's unwillingness to end the age of fire gave birth to the hollows, those that became undead soon became insane and now roam the lands in search for blood and flesh to sate their hunger.

But from the darkest of dungeons an undead rose to ring the bells of awakening and rekindle the flame to prevent the dark age. Many challenges and creatures of horrors would the undead face, the journey was not an easy one as the lords one by one tried to end the undead, but were met with their own ends as a result.

At the end only one lord was left standing, Gwyn. Tough his former glory had been long lost after ages of protecting the flame,he made a worthy battle for the undead, but ultimately had to fall as all the others.

But then the unthinkable happened, the undead consumed by power and bloodlust would not link the flame as the prophecy had told, but instead left it to burn out into ashes and became a dark lord.

And so only darkness remain and with it the wait for the end of the world. This is our fate unless a new undead will rise and rekindle the flame again, thus the prophecy will be completed and the age of darkness will be prevented.

And so a new undead will rise to light the flame, but will it end this long night or prolong it? Only the undead will know.

                                      CHAPTER 1

I woke up, dazed and confused and covered with ash, could my deepest fear be true? Had I rised again as an undead? I pray the gods will be merciful, only in legends from long ago had I hoped they would stay, but nay this fate had now bestowed me. In my deepest despair their came a sound from above my prison cell wich I had woken from, a voice clear as it could be. « are you not yet hollow? Then we are in luck, here grab this key and meet me outside, but be careful there are other undead nearby, altough I fear they may not have their wits about them as you seem to have. There was a sound of metal hitting the floor and I could see clear infront of me a key, I knew not if this voice was friendly or not, but I kew I had no other choice, If I die then maybe this curse will end and I might stay dead.

I picked up the key and tried it on the lock on the door to my cell, It swung open as the key gave away a faint clicking sound. The hallway was dark and empty, but in the far distance I could hear the moans of the undead nearby. In fear of giving my position away I walked with slow and steady steps down the hallway, searching for the voice I had heard in the prison cell when suddenly a ball of fire came rushing down, hitting me with full force and bringing me down to the ground. My journey had only begun and I was already dying. As I lost conciusnes I could hear that voice again from earlier « such a pity, I guess I should have warned you about the traps»

                                       CHAPTER 2

As an undead you will rise and as an undead you will die, but death will never grant you your freedom, only the madness and bloodlust that follows truly will.

I awoke from my slumber with the feeling of death on my mind, I could literally taste it in my mouth at the tip of my tongue, but death had not grasped me, I was again alive, how could this be? I faintly remembered being struck by a barell in flames just a few moments ago. What I saw around me reminded me of a camp, what I saw were ruins made of stone and in the midle on the ground was a sword engulfed in flames, as I moved towards it, a familiar voice I had heard before came from my left side. « hello there my friend» As I turned around I could see where that voice came from, it was a knight or what was left of one, cause the knight was not as heroic or muscular as one would imagine, but instead a broken man, a knight that had fallen from grace long ago, I did not believe he could lift a sword into battle even if he wanted to, those days was long past him.

« dont you worry, first time you awake from death is always the strangest, but it wont be the first time I promise you that, just look at it as waking up from a bad dream, a bad dream indeed»

« I believe we have not yet been introduced to each other, oh how silly of me, my name is Eon, former knight and protector of Gwynewere the princess of sunlight, you may not have heard of me, I can't really blame you, I was overtroned by Ornstein and Smough, but I can't be mad, why should I? To be overtroned by such honored knights should be an honor to me, but yet I feel nothing. It may be the curse slowly creeping in,it does take us all in the end, it always does, but you may wonder why did I rescue you from that prison cell, why are you an undead? So many questions and so little time, time you really dont have, unless the tought of being a bloodthirsty hollow interests you, then by all means just wait it out or you could maybe do something for me, after all why not use the time you have on something useful while your mind is still strong.?

Confused by this knight that went by the name of Eon I struggled to decide if he spoke of reason or was simply mad, insane or both. Yet I only asked « why me?»

Eon laughed heartidly before he replied. « If not you then who else? Do you think I am in any shape to take on any adventure? Those days are sadly behind me, short it may have been, maybe not even worth bragging about.....werry well you do as you wish, but should the wait for the curse to settle in be to tiresome, then consider ringing two bells. The first one lies high up on a tower beyond the undead parish, the other one deep below the labyrinth of Blighttown, but be ware I hear it is particularly poisonous this time of the year wich if im completely honest cant even remember, strange isnt it...to forget both time and place, a strange feeling indeed...now be on your way and maybe our paths may meet again.»

And in a flash of light and smoke he was gone. Two bells, why did it sound so familiar? Like a tale I had been told  long ago. I could not be sure if the knight had spoken the truth, but I had a feeling that ringing the bells would only be the beginning of my adventure.

Two bells of awekening needs to chime for only then  the undeads fate in this world will be known.

                                          CHAPTER 3

I needed a weapon, a sword, an axe or anything in between, going out in the fields without anything would just leed to another death and the feeling of waking up again with the smell and taste of death was something I would not want to experience again, but what Eon had said about waking up from the dead would be common in time, I still wondered if it could be true, by the gods I hoped not.

In my search for a weapon fit enough to atleast bash some skulls I came upon what looked like to once have been a forge, there was steel hammers, iron and coul scattered around a big muscular body that once must have been the blacksmith that owned this forge. He could not make me a weapon anymore I am sad to say, but among the rubble of stones and bones I did find a usable steel sword, a brown cloak and an iron shield, luck was with me it would seem.

I had not travelled far until I met my first victim. An undead was standing around the corner, spitting and making gargly sounds. I moved slowly behind it, making sure it did not hear me. When I stood directly behind the undeads back  I trhust my sword trough it, It happened naturally and I never gave it much tought, as an untrained man of combat I found the common feeling of the killing to be strange, but did I have any sympethy for the undead? I can not say I did, the beast was once human, true, but as an undead was it still to be considered human or not?

The dead body fell on the ground, smuldering into ashes and with it came a glow of light surrounding my hand before it vanished. What kind of black magic was this? I wondered in my solitude that was suddenly broken from a voice from above,  with the sunlight in my eyes I could faintly see what in my mind resembled a woman, She wore a heavy armor, a greatsword on her back, but no helmet, her black raven hair was flowing free in the light wind.

« Well met friend, I see you are experiencing the souls power for the first time, dont worry, it will make you stronger and you are gonna need it, there is a giant beast in that castle not far from here, I guess you are seeking to ring the bells, you will have to slay the beast in order to move on, I wish you luck.»

I called for her as she dissapeared wanting to know what kind of beast she was talking about, but to also ask who she was and why she could not come with me.  The castle was not far away and with steady and firm steps I moved forward to face the beast I had to kill.

The entrance door was big, really big, shattered and broken, so the way in would not be something I had to figure out since there was a big crack I could shimmy my way trough. Well inside I was met with a big empty room, the air was tick and only the faint sound of some crows resting on the beam high above could be heard. Then there was a loud crash as the beast I had been told about crashed its bottom on the ground infront of me. It was a hideous beast, fat and covered with loose skin and scars. On its back were wings so small that they could have been on a fairy, like those I was told about when I was a young kid.

In its solid and muscular arms it was carrying a big hammer and as my eyes adjusted and took in the huge beast's presence it swung the hammer sideways, hitting me with great force, the air went out of me as I hit the ground. Weak and beaten I got up, holding my sword in my shivering and sweaty hands, waiting for the next attack.

The swing came hard and low as I managed to jump away, This gave me a free path to the beast's legs, I took my advantage without thinking, stabbing my sword in the heel of one of the  legs, bringing it down to its knees. I climbed up its back and with great power and strenght managed to stick my blade into the beast's head. With a growl it fell down  with a loud bang and stayed still.

I had been lucky, there were no other explenation for why I had survived, the beast crumbled away in ash and just as the undead from before, gave away a light that dissapeared in my hand. Oddly enough I felt stronger, I was no longer tired from the battle,it felt like it had never happened.

« Good work my friend» a voice said. I searched the room to find the source of that voice and was met with the presence of Eon. « You are the first one to kill the beast in one try, normally other ashen ones I have seen dies atleast three times before they slay it, but we have no time to celebrate, the first bell awaits»

he was gone in a flash of smoke and left me wondering why he named me an ashen one and that he mentioned other ones before me. I was eager for answers and moved up the tower were the first bell was waiting, I moved the mecanism and it rang loud and clear, but when the sound began to fade I was still just as confused as I had been before.

                                         CHAPTER 4

Ding dong the bell will ring, but will it bring a new beginning or an even bitter end?

The air was still, everything was quiet and my body was as tense as it could be. I waited for the answers I had been seeking, but none came. I could not be dissapointed, altough the gods know how much I wanted to be. This was after all just the first bell, but there was another one waiting deep below the swamps and I had a feeling the path to that bell would not be as easy as this one.

With heavy steps I moved down the stairs and out of the castle, I was wondering about where to go next, when my eyes lay opon the woman I had met earlier. She was standing against a pillar, arms crossed, her eyes were shining with a clear blue color,something I found unusual considering that everything else I had seen so far was either dead or undead. This woman was none of that, she was the most beatiful thing I had seen.

« We meet again friend, You fought well and now the first bell has been rung. I wanted to congratulate you and I wish we could celebrate, but that would be impossible, Nor do I have any drinks and nor do we have any time to drink it if I by some coincidence  did have some.»

She gave away a faint smile, I admired her, to be so positive in a dead world as this. How did she do it? How could anyone do it?

« Who are you? The first words I had uttered to anyone, came out like a whisper, I was even shocked to hear my own voice, since it was normally heard in my own mind.

« I am Evelyn. A fellow undead as you,we share the same path, but as you seek to either link or burn out the flame, my path is far more personal. My brother once was an undead like us, he too was destined to find the flame, he came so close only to find it and then just dissapear, I am here to find out what happened, to get a closure and maybe even find peace.»

« Then....would you join me?» I asked

« Im afraid not, but please do not despair, I will still help as best I can, but the journey must be yours alone, its hard to explain, but that is the way it has always been, Many chosen undead's have linked the flame for centuries,but everytime the dark age returns and a new undead is chosen.»

« but, why Link the flame If it is only to prolong the inevitable?» I asked.

Evelyn got quiet, deep in tough it seemed before she answered

« I have never tought about it that way. You may be right, but why then have you ringed the bell and why do you still continue? You could just stop and let the curse take you. Im afraid that is a choice for you to take, my path is set and I know why I am here.»

I was unsure, conflicted with my mind, but she was right why did I continue, was there something else I did not see? Or was it as hopeless as I had tought?

« what ever you decide to do, decide quickly. I do hope our path meets again, it is not everyday you meet an undead, still willing to talk and even ask questions about their meaning in this world, so long.»

And with that we parted ways.  I considered turning back and forget everything, leave this quest behind, but why stop now when I had already started and the power I felt was good. I had never felt so strong before, was this the curse or was I going mad? If I stopped now there was a chance I would never find out.

And then my journey led me to the swamps and the horrors within, many a death I was faced with, but each time,I woke up near a campfire made by a sword, but strange as that was with each death I got weaker, but when I got back to what had killed me I found to my suprise a glowing light, not like the ones from before, this one was bigger and when it dissapeared in my hand I again felt stronger, much stronger than before, I was now convinced that this had to be the curse and that maybe my quest was somehow linked to lift it. Altough I had few answers one thing became painfully clear. what Eon had said about death becomming common was indeed true.

                                                                            CHAPTER 5

No man can claim to have been truly afraid until he have seen death in the eye and survived. If that was true then I was the bravest man in this land, but the feeling of fear never came to me, for with each death I suffered and the stronger I got with each creature I killed, my feelings and memories slowly faded. It was like my essence of humanity slowly got erased from my mind. It is a terrefying feeling and even more terrefying, I started to forget the simple things, wich day was it? Had I eaten or not and what was my name? Why had this  happened to me? Why did I have to be the chosen one?

The more I ventured into the depths, the more unhuman I became, my killings became quicker and easier, and my lust for blood was now instead becomming a lust for power, a power I did not know,but a power I wanted and needed desperately. When I reached the depths beyond the swamp full of poison, gigantic crabs and rats, only darkness surrounded me. It was clear that no one either dead, undead or alive had been here for a long time.

Suddenly in the distance there came a faint light, much like those I wanted. I moved closer, sword in hand and ready to kill when I met the eyes of a small and naked little creature. It was hairless and skinny. It looked at me with a look not of fear, but of sadness, it was like it knew it was beaten and just waited for me to give it the killing blow. My hearth sinks when I write this, but blind with lust for the light the creature held I slayed it without thinking and claimed the power it had protected.

But it was something different with this one, It made me not stronger, but weaker or dare I say normal. I felt cold and hurt from all my wounds and to my horror I could now for the first time see I was bleeding, something I never had felt or seen in my battles so far. But the time for wondering was soon disrupted by cryes from the undead as the whole place got swarmed with them. I raised my sword, but it felt heavier than usual, I started killing them as they rushed towards me, but their numbers soon overcame me and I was knocked out.

« are you alright my friend? Came a voice that made me wake up. I  was alive, but it did not feel like I had died, stranngely it felt like I had woken from a dream and not a bad one. Had I been sleeping?

« Take it easy, you have been out for the last hour, when I found you, you were bleeding and uncouncius, I dragged you to the nearest bonfire and just waited for you to wake up.»

My wounds made me feel sour, but as I lay my eyes upon my savoir I saw the woman I admired, It was Evelyn.

« thank you» I managed to say trough my bloodied jaw.

She moved beside me, took a good and curious look at me before she asked     « why are you not undead anymore? You look alive.»

I told her about the creature I had killed, about how greedy for power I was and how I could feel everything now, even my feelings for her wich I did not dare tell for fear of what she might say. She listened patiently to every word I said and when I finished, the silence lasted a long while, It was strange, I felt safe and at peace.

« Can you feel it too?» I asked.

She looked at me with a disturbed look, « feel what? I can't feel anything»

« Do you not feel the peace, the warmt from the fire?»

« as I said I can't feel anything, it is strange that you have all these feelings all of a sudden, whatever that creature you killed protected it was not a normal soul, it must have been far more powerful.»

I dont know why, but the more we talked the more I wanted to be with her, I did not want to be alone again, I was tired from it, but if she truly could not feel anything, did that mean she could not feel love?

« Can you tell me more about your brother?» I asked

« I cant remember much sadly, but he was kind and wise.»

« do you love him?» I asked

I could see she got uncomfortable as she fikled with her hands and starting poking the fire with a stick.

« I dont know, should I? Love, that's something I can't remember if I have ever felt.

Saddened by this answer I decided not to ask her anymore questions, It was clear the undead curse was taking its toll on her. I wanted to do something, but what could I do?

« I should get going, the bell is not far from here.»

She stood up and was about to leave when I shouted « wait!»

She turned around and looked at me

« I will find a cure you know, I can maybe save us both.» I wanted to believe it, but her answer made things painfully clear.

« dont give promises you may not be able to keep.»

She was right, how could I know if there was a cure or not?

« before you leave, do you remember the name of your brother?» I asked

« that is strangely the only one clear thing I can remember of him. His name is Eon.»

She left and I could not get that name out of my mind. Where had I heard it before?

                                         CHAPTER 6

The second bell chimed clear and loud. I felt accomplished and proud to have come so far, but my answers was still not  in sight. I began questioning my meaning here yet again, but not as much as before. For I understood better now than ever with this new power I had obtained that my quest was not simply to save the world, but maybe save myself and those that was still alive. I wanted to lift the curse, I wanted to help and I wanted to be with Evelyn. Every tought I had about her made me feel both warm and sad, why did the curse have to take her aswell? Was there no one that was spared?

I came upon a cliffside and my path seemed to end at first untill with a scream like a thousand dead souls there infront me was the biggest crow I had ever seen. It swiftly came down and grabbed me with its claws, I tought my end was near for good this time, but when it dropped me on a long stairwell leading up to a castle I was both relieved to be alive and amazed by the arcithecture and scope of the building.

This must have been the old castle of a once great king, but all I saw now was the remains of a fallen glory, nearly destroyed and covered with death and sorrow. As I entered the halls, no guards was there to stop me, no festivities or royalties of any kind, all I saw was skeletons  of once great soldiers, One was big and one was skinny. The big one lay beside a great hammer and the other a greatsword was stabbed in its back. What could have killed them I wondered as there was no marks or cuts to be seen, It simply looked like they were both in a deep sleep.

I entered another big door and what I saw was both majestic and different from everything else I had seen. On a big couch there lay a woman. She had a beautiful white dress and a Tiara on her head. She looked at me with a calm and reassuring smile as I knelt before her, knowing that this must be the queen of this castle, but why rule a castle were there were no one to command?

« Rise, ashen one, it has been centuries since I last saw one of your kind, but you look different then any other that has come before you. Are you alive? How can this be? If not the gods of darkness has granted you the soul of humankind?

« I....dont know what you are talking about your majesty.»

« It is strange indeed, but you would not have come this far if the gods did not have a bigger plan for you, one I myself cant answer im afraid, but I will tell you what I know, but first an introduction is at place, my name is Gwynewere, princess of sunlight and ruler of Anor Londo, this castle you now are in, what is your name oh chosen one?»

« my name is Adolin your majesty» I did not know how I remembered my name, but I did.

« greetings Adolin, you may speak your mind freely»

I kept kneeling, not knowing if that was the righ thing to do or not, but asked her my questions:

« I want to know if I can lift this undead curse and what my true purpose in this world is»

« You are not the first one to ask me this Adolin, but I can only tell you what I have told those before you. You are an chosen undead, your destiny is to link the flame and prevent the dark ages return. You must ultimately succeed our lord Gwyn and avert further undead sacrifices, It is your duty in fact and all the other chosen undeads that have come before you has fulfilled that duty with great success, but the dark age always returns no matter what, It is an evil dark cycle, but what else  can we do but the same thing we have done for centuries? I do not know if this will lift the curse you are talking about, since no one has been conserned or even asked about such a curse, I hope this answers some of your questions.»

It did answer some, but I was still confused and dissapointed that the princess did not have any answer for the curse and I began to fear that I was doomed.

« Your majesty, If what you say is true, then how can you be alive? Are you an undead aswell, does the curse affect you?»

« I am just an illusion of what I used to be. I am indead dead, but no curse have ever affected me. You see me only because you are the chosen one, I can only guide those that are chosen undeads. You may not get all your questions answered,but the duty is yours to fulfill none the less. I will send you to the kiln of the first flame and there you will have to face your greatest choice,

but that is a choice only you can make. Normally you would have to seek out  the souls of the chaos lords, but as I see you are no ordinary undead and equipped with the soul of humankind, things have changed.»

I bowed deep, showing my gratitude for the answers as she spoke again: «I beg you Adolin, succeed lord Gwyn, and inheriteth the worlds fire. We have only thee.»

As she spoke those words a circle of light surrounded my feets and in the next moment I stood infront of the entrance of a great tower or atleast what was left of it, the structures were beyond repair and the roof had collapsed, but from that roof it came a faint beam of light, it had to be the flame. I was about to enter the entrance and was ready to face the ultimate choice, when I saw to my right, under a rock an armor I recognised. I moved closer,  lifted the rock away and was met with the face of the woman I loved.

                                        CHAPTER 7

« Evelyn! Please wake up,  dont leave me!» I screamed , holding her lifeless body in my arms. Tears were falling down my face, I could not let her die, she could not die. Not now when I was so close to end it all.

A sudden gasp came from her and in joy I was relieved to see her alive, but that joy soon got crushed as I in horror could see that the woman I loved  had become hollow. She waved uncontrollably with her arms as I tried to calm her to no avail. Her eyes met mine and they were no longer a sight of beauty, but a sight of true hate and bloodlust.

I would not belive it, This could not be reality, but the more I sat there, fighting for control, the more I realised that she was now just an another creature like all the others I had killed. I managed to grab her dagger from her belt and as my hearth broke in true sadness I slit her troath. I could not see her like this, but I took solitude in knowing that her soul would be a part of me as she crumbled away in my hands until only her ashes remained.

My quest was nearly complete, but why should I even complete it now? Evelyn, I realised, had been the true reason for why I had pushed forward despite my doubtness. I wanted to save her and myself, but mostly her. I wished I had told her my feelings for her, now it was too late and my quest seemed pointless to finish, but I could not fail the princess, I could not fail the human kind, I was destined to save them. In the end I really had no other choice.

As I entered the entrance to the tower I could see the flame burning faintly. I had decided to sacrifice myself so that others could live, my life was pointless anyway, This had been my purpose all along, to die for the human kind. As I was about to complete the task a figure emarged from the shadows and it was then I remembered the name  of the one Evelyn had searched for, her long lost brother Eon.

« So here you are my friend, You finally are  at your journeys end. Now tell me, what will you do? Will you sacrifice yourself and prevent the dark age, despite that it will no matter what return? Or will you just walk away and become a dark lord and rule this werry land? A land that is only inhabited by death and tragedy? It is a hopeless choice no matter what isnt it? I made my choice long ago, I became a dark lord, because why would I leave such power behind? Why save a world that cannot be saved either way?

« Eon, the power has consumed you, you are a ruler of nothing as you say, so why then are you still here? Why do you prevent the chosen ones to succeed, why did you even free me from my cell?

« I am a ruler of death, that is clear, but the power I have I cannot erase, I am nothing without it and the reason for me freeing you was simply to have another worthy opponent, You really think I helped you all this way to succeed, no, I helped you to get so far only so that I could kill you for sport, but now as I can see you have regained your humanity I will give you an offer. Join me and we can rule together, we will create a new world, the way we want it to be. Why save the humankind the old way as it is clearly not helping? The world needs to change, the rules need to change, the old ways must be changed»

« I  dont believe you Eon, with a dark lord as a leader you would surely bring the humankind to its knees just for your amusement and lust for power»

« You fool! Have you not heard anything of what I have told you? Dont you see I am trying to save the humankind? Just as you are seeking to do aswell? We have the same goal, I am just offering another way. You cannot be as blind as I think you are.»

« I am sorry Eon, but I cannot join you. I will not rule a world just for power, my way may not prevent the dark age forever, but atleast then the humankind will not be forced into a leadership they may not want. And when the time comes for a new chosen undead to take this journey It will have to make the same choise as me, as everyone that has walked this path. The human race should be able to choose and handle on their own terms.»

« Then why may I ask you does the human race let it be up to only one chosen undead, why could not all choose?

« Because Eon, they have no choice and how can you know for sure that what you are offering will prevent the dark age for ever? Maybe there are no better ways here.

« then why should it matter what you choose to do oh chosen one? Why not take a chance?

I  lowered my head, knowing it was pointless, my quest was pointless, this world was doomed no matter what, but would I give it away  to a corrupt leader like Eon?

I raised my sword in a fighting stance as I said: « then we should fight for it, it is clear we can not come to an agreement and a world with two leaders both corrupted with power can only lead to even a longer tragic period and with even more innocent lives going to waste.»

« By the gods you are indeed blind, the power is destroying you aswell,  you may be right that the world is doomed no matter what, but I cannot be sure untill I have tried my way. I will make your death swift, no one has beaten me in combat and you will not be the one to finish the job»

Eon raised his sword from his scabbard and raised it high in a glorius stance as it became engulfed in flames. His eyes returned to me, his look gave me a cold sweat and as our swords clashed with each other, flames and sparks flew all around us, burning our clothes and skins, but as I tried to avoid the heat, it never seemed to bother Eon, nor did any of my attacks as he swiftly dodged away every swing I thrust at him. As the battle went on I got more and more tired, I was no longer an invincible undead that could wake up from death after all, I was a human being with flesh and blood and the disadvanteges it came with in a deadly battle. I felt like Eon was a wall that could not be broken, for every planned attack I had he always saw it comming, in fact he was most likely three steps ahead of me as every attempt  of getting a hit in resulted in a cut across my arms, legs or chest.

« You are weak oh chosen one, soon you will die and this time you will not wake up, the human soul will be mine and with it my power will become even greater. Atleast maybe in your death you can join my sister. Oh I knew about her quest and how pointless it was, I saw how you looked at her from far away and I knew you had feelings for her, oh how fun it was to see, a love that could never be and all it led to was for you to now be killed by me»

 I hated the way he dared to say it like a mocking rhyme, I had tought him evil before, but now he was only cold blooded, Evelyn had sacrificed so much to find him only to never reach him and run out of time as the curse ultimately took her, she died thinking she had failed Eon when the truth was that he never wanted to be found by her in the first place.

« you....you god damn bastard!” I screamed as Hatred consumed me. I hit his sword hard with mine. With every blow he got pushed a little way back and he struggled to get any returning strike on me as my blows got faster and harder each time. With a heavy swing I knocked his sword out of his hand and not wasting my chance I stabbed my sword right trough his chest and left it there,stuck in his body.

He fell on his kness and started coughing up dark blood. « Curse you.....how is this possible? How can a mortal human kill me?» he muttured his words trough blood and a feeling of hate as I picked up his own sword from the ground and moved beside him.

« I tought I could never feel this again, but your sister showed me it was still possible, even in a world as dead as this one»

Eon looked up on me coughing,holding his chest with one hand and steadying himself with the other  « What are you talking about? Is the curse finally taking you too? He started laughing as I raised the sword and spoke the last words he would ever hear: « Love conquers all»

And with that I swong the sword in a clear downward strike, leaving his body headless.

                                                                           CHAPTER 8

The flame is getting fainter now as I am writing these last words. Ever since I killed Eon my purpose here has been in constant conflict. I want to to do the right thing, but after all I have been trough I am starting to wonder if there is no right thing to do, it is hopeless no matter what. At first I wanted to fulfill my duty as I had been told by the princess, but then I started to think about what Eon had told me before our fight, making  my choice even harder, damn it all . If only I did not have to do this alone, if only Evelyn could be here.

I will leave my story behind, hiding it under a rock in hope that someone else walking this path may find the answers that I never got. With this I take my farewell and hope my sacrifice will do some good for the world. I am tired of  being alone. I hope with my death that I can join my forefathers and the woman that showed me that love still could exist when everything seemed hopeless.

I Collected the notes I had written, hid them under a rock and reached my hand out to the flame. As my body got engulfed and the fire started to burn my flesh I uttered my last words: may death finally free me.

                                          EPILOGUE

And so the prophecy was completed. The dark age had been prevented and again the humankjnd could live in a world without darkness. They could not know how long this would last, but the age of  fire was indeed long, so long infact that the fear of the dark age soon faded away from their minds. That was until the story of the chosen undead who claimed the soul of humankind was found.

Trough the notes written long ago the humans understood how this long age of fire had came. It was not an undead who had kindled the flame, but a living human with a beating hearth, thus the prophecy had changed and with it the world.

Baffled by this new wisdom the humans started to send a willing living being to rekindle the flame when the signs of the dark age slowly returned. This worked for a while until their couriusness got the better of them, they started wondering if the age of  fire would be even longer if a newborn was sacrificed instead of a living person that  had already lived out most of its life.

This angered the mothers and fathers of the world as was expected, since no parent wanted to bring their newborns to the flame.

soon after, a war broke out, not against any gods or beast's, but against those that believed in this new prophecy and those that didn't. This war went on for so long that the humans, blind with fear and hatred could not see the dark ages return before it was too late.

And thus the circle has started again, the world had been saved, but ultimately the human kind could not save it from themselves, the darkness has consumed us all. This is our fate.

But as we now are yet again waiting for the end of the world we are asking ourselves if this could have truly been prevented or if it was always meant to be.

                                             THE END

[irreverentnpc]

The Old Prophecy

The hotel balcony was nice enough to stand outside and take a few breaths of fresh air despite the winter cool. It was also cold enough that I wanted to go back inside, but not enough to actually go back in and face the crowd. Breathing warm air into my hands kind of helped to face the chill.

What scares me about tonight is telling everyone something that I don't want to, but not being able to back out now. Lucas has put me between a rock a hard place.

"Hopefully nothing messes this up." I quietly mused to myself, "I definitely hope Lucas doesn't show up."

A shadow stood behind me, and a hand was placed on my shoulder, but I didn't turn around.

"Hey mate, are you coming back inside?" the British voice told me it was Miles.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few moments. I still need some air."

"Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. Like I said, still need some air."

"Well don't take too long. I don't want to find you frozen, mate." He walked back inside, and let me face the dark cold again, broken only by the lights of the party.

I took a few deep breaths and started to walk back inside.

"Oh, my glass as well. I'll need that to face the crowd." I said as I walked back to the ledge of the balcony.

Feuw Something fast whizzed past my ear.

Ta-king The stone behind me cracked. I dropped to the ground and looked around for whatever it was.

Ta-king Ta-king A few more shots hit the stone. I scrambled to the nearest safe spot and waited it out.

My phone starts buzzing. "Who the heck is this?!" I thought, as I pulled my phone out.

"The heck...Lucas?" I answered the call, "What do you think you're doing?!" I knew that he was on my back but I didn't think that he was this close.

"Making sure you keep your end of the bargain Tyler." I could tell he was smiling on the other end.

"Freak man, what do you think I'm doing right now?"

"It looked like a walk to the ledge. I can't have you taking the easy way out, now can I?"

"I was getting my glass!"

"I was making sure."

"Alright, alright, I get the message."

"Tyler, don't worry. It's going go be fine. You know I just want you to scare them a bit."

"Just put the gun away and I'll do it Lucas." I said as I peeked my head over the ledge wall.

Ta-king The glass exploded as a bullet shot through it.

A laugh came from his end of the line. "Alright, that was the last one. I promise." He laughed again.

I stood up slowly and no bullets were flying at me, so I guess he was just watching me at the moment. I just walked back to the door, not having to worry about the glass this time. The crowd still daunted me, but the gun that Lucas was pointing at me was more intimidating.

I walked inside, wiped away the beads of sweat, and took my seat on the stage.

"Now that our guest of honour is back," My friend  Miles announced, "He can tell us what he was dying to tell us."

Dying, funny.

I walked up to the podium. A group of 50 close friends and work colleagues sat before me. I looked out to the crowd and remained as steady as I could.

"It's my time shine." I whispered to myself while collecting my thoughts.

"Talks never really were my thing. Miles knows that." I began, Miles gave a smile and a few nods of the head, "Nevertheless, I'm glad that you all came tonight. I'd like to start out with a story, and though I won't make it too long, it is important." I stood there straight, put one hand on the podium, and the other in my pocket.

"It starts about a year ago, with my friends Lucas and Miles. We became good friends working on this project of following a line of myths that shared the same theme. Magic.

"We wanted to know if it was possible to see magi; to use magic. Most of the things that was found looked like complete garbage that people read as fairytales, but to us they all lead somewhere. We followed the biggest tales, and the ones only passed down orally.

"As you all know from the news reports, while we were chasing fairies, I kind of had a breakdown and ran away for a little bit."

"I was in Scotland following some legend that lead me to a fairy ring in a clearing of the Fisherfield Forest. I'd been here before but I was just trying some new methods, when I got a call saying that Tyler had found something interesting in Norway.

"I went there right away, because I hadn't been to that part of Norway before. Looking back now, I think I must have picked something up in Scotland, because I don't remember much. I remember the landing strip, the valley hike, and something that looked a lot like the Stone Henge that you find in Scotland.

"I must have passed out, because this is what had happened when I woke up." I said as I stepped away from the podium. I took off my suit jacket and glove from my left hand. Hesitantly, I rolled the sleeve of my arm. As I held my arm in the air, exposed to everyone was a severely burnt arm with red Norwegian tattoos. Miles got ready to leave his chair.

"And no, I didn't have a midlife crisis and try and light my arm on fire." I chuckled awkwardly, "I found that..."

The struggle looked a bit awkward to start with, but soon the tattoo's began to glow slightly. Soon after, a candle sized flame began to form in the palm of my hand.

The crowd clapped and laughed. "I want to tell you now that this isn't a joke or some sort of party trick. This is what happens when you go looking for fairytales. You find them." I explained to the crowd with a little bit of frustration at their laughing.

The flame grew bigger now to about the size of a torch. The crowd stopped laughing, but was still smiling in wonder at the fire I held in my palm. Miles stood up and pulled me aside.

"Are you out of your mind? What do you think you're doing?"

"Miles, I'm doing what needs to be done."

"You're throwing away everything that we've worked so hard to keep hidden?"

"Lucas has her. He has Jen. I'm doing this for her."

"Ty, I'm sorry, but there's got to be a better way."

"When you think of it, tell me alright?" I said as I pulled back and started the flame again, "You all think that this is funny?"

The flame in my hand grew bigger as I became more frustrated at the crowds obvious disbelief. It became the size of my head before the crowd started to look worried. Soon I had two hands controlling this thing. The only person that caught my attention was a man at a back table with a completely straight face. No worry, no laughter.

'It's you. You were with him when this happened' I thought to myself with complete focus on him. Our eyes met and he smirked.

"TYLER! THAT'S ENOUGH!" My attention snapped back to Miles.

"IT'S NOT ENOUGH MILES! IT WONT BE ENOUGH UNTIL LUCAS BRINGS JEN BACK TO ME!"

"YOU KNOW HIM! LUCAS WONT BRING HER BACK!"

"HE WILL! IF HE DOESN'T DO IT SOON, THEN I'LL GET HIM TO DO IT!"

I faced the man again but his chair was empty. I looked at the rest of the crowd. Some were getting up to leave, some where hurriedly talking on the phone, but most were too terrified to do anything.

"Where'd he go?" I whispered to myself, "Miles, where did the man in the back go?" I turned to him but the look on his face told me that he didn't understand the question.

"What man in the back? What are you talking about?"

"He was with Lucas. I need to find him." I started off the stage but was stopped by Miles and the cocking of his gun.

"I can't let you leave Ty. Put the fire away and you'll be okay."

I turned around and there was his gun, pointed right at my chest.

"Miles, what are you doing?" I asked as I lowered the intensity of the flame.

"Lucas needs his report. If you find him, you'll kill him."

The flame almost entirely disappeared except for a tiny candle light hidden in my palm. "Miles, I'm going to look for him. He's how I get to Lucas. He's how I get to Jen."

"Ty, don't. Lucas needs me to keep you here. Make sure you don't hurt yourself."

"What!? Why are you on his side?"

"I can't tell you the exact reason right now, but there is a little bit of money in it for me. I'm going to let you know that even though he is stacked, I've got something a lot better than money waiting for me."

"You're a dirtbag Miles! I want you to know that!" I said quietly.

I let the flame get a little bit bigger, tossed a decent tennis ball sized fireball at him, then ran to the door.

Miles ducked in shock but the flame didn't hit him. He wasn't expecting resistance, but the ball caught him off guard. He looked around to see where I was, but then realised that I'd already escaped. He ran through the same door but lost me in the hall.

I ran towards the roof, and scaling the three floors of stairs, I arrived there and found a helicopter ready to take off. Lucas was already in the helicopter, but I found the man running towards the helipad. I lobbed a few measly fireballs at the helicopter and at the man, but none of them hit. When the fireballs started flying, the door to the helicopter closed and the blades started spinning. The man realised that he wasn't going to make it, so he lunged at the helicopter feet as it began to rise, hoping he could hold long enough to get away with Lucas.

Panting for air, I saw the helicopter rise and fly off. I didn't think I could do any more to stop him so I let him go. I stayed on the roof, letting the cold bit my skin through my thin white shirt. Miles came up to the roof shortly after. There were police on the road down below now.

Miles crept forward towards me, obviously not trying to startle me, after he saw what I could do.

"What the hell what that Tyler? Where did that come from?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"After what U just saw then, I'll believe anything Miles."

"Well..." I hesitated, "It came from a Norwegian Dragon."

[bittersweeties]

A Bittersweet Story: Iris (Ch.3)

3, 2, 1. The Clock Ticks.

I blink awake as the cool sun streams through the blinds of my room. I shut my eyes tightly, not wanting to go back to reality just yet.

I sigh when I only see the black goo that covers my mind. The room is dark even though the sun silently makes its way to each corner of the room. I pear out of my window; cold and grey, yet the sun is still shining. I make my way into the bathroom and shower before I check out the closet. It’s small, but just slightly larger than the one I had at home. There are only a pair of loafers, a black jacket, and the grey and white school uniform in it.

When I exit my room a smell of toast fills my nose. On the table I see a plate of toast with butter and jam and orange juice next to it. As I move closer to it, I see a note reading “Eat” on top of the plate. I slightly smile.

“Told you he’s nice.” Abigail mutters.

“He just toasted some bread for her. Not that big of a deal.” William grumbles.

“Better than nothing.” Abigail smirks as I begin to spread butter onto the toast. It tastes burnt.

“Now then, in leaue of it being the start of Remembrance Month, today we shall read about the Legend of the Lost Couple.” Mr. Evry sparkles as he quickly writes the title and page number on the board. My mouth parts in shock to hear Mr. Evry’s surprisingly seductive, deep voice. Another person I can hear, I think. The class goes into an uproar of what I can only interpret as groans.

Hikaru groans next to me. I turn my head to look at him. “What's Remembrance Month? What’s the legend about?” I ask him.

“Oh!” Mr. Evry gasps when he hears my voice. He quickly smiles and almost seems to dance his way towards me. “I’m so happy you asked Ms. Vivienne!”

“Now you did it.” Hikaru mutters as I hear my classmates give out similar hollers. I look at Hikaru questioningly, but then turn my attention to Mr. Evry waiting for him to answer me.

Mr. Evry smiles as he begins, “Remembrance Month is to honor and remember the first civil war of our kind. The legend is a tale that has been told throughout the ages. It's a love even stronger than thee Wiliam Shakespeare could have wrote! A long time ago when the discovery of magic and abilities first existed there were two lovers. The male came from the human world and the female came from the land of the Gods.

These two happened to meet at a ball designed for the beings known as the Elements because, you see, the two of them had similar elemental powers-“

“Ice and water.” Hikaru interrupts.

“Yes, ice and water.” Mr. Evry glares at Hikaru before continuing. “Because of their type of powers, experts believe that is why this couple ended up falling in love with each other. No one really knows. But, after the second ball of the Elements known as the beginning of the Dark Era the couple suddenly disappeared, vanished into thin air!” Mr. Evry uses his hands to help visualize them ‘vanishing in thin air.’

“There are some theories to what happened to them.” Mr. Evry starts.

“Of course there are.” William snorts. ”That we died. Were in hiding and died. A Power found us and killed us. Yadda, yadda, yadda.” He mimics Mr. Evry trying to emphasis the point that all the historians believed the couple died, he was right. Everything that William stated, Mr. Evry states with a dramatic tone.

“But,” Mr. Evry smiles, “there is also one theory... that the two of them were killed, yet saved somehow inside of the man’s friend. It was a well-known fact that his friend was actually the last dragon. And a dragon holds very mysterious powers that even scientists nowadays can’t understand. I prefer this theory.”

“Why?” I ask as I listen intently to his story.

Mr. Evry stares at me. He shows me a small, sad smile. “It means somehow, somewhere they are together alive and living happily with one another.”

I descend back into the goo of my mind when Mr. Evry finishes. I neither hear nor see anything. I stare silently at the three in my mind. The couple and the friend.

There is no bell that sounds the alarm, but the school’s halls fill with students heading towards the cafeteria. I slosh along with them. As soon as we walk into the cafeteria the lunch vending machines are attacked by hungry students. I get passed back and forth until I reach one of them. I push another random button, still not able to read the haze of words. Not caring what I got, I jump into the line of students heading to find a seat.

I feel a hand pull on me and lead me out of the line toward a row of lunch tables. As soon as the person and I escape the crowd I’m able to see it is Ichi pulling me.

“It’s crazy here in lunch time, huh?” He laughs as he pulls us toward a table housing four people. We stop in front of the table and I’m able to see that the four people are Hikaru, the two people that helped me yesterday, and a man I don’t know.

Ichi smiles at the people before he places me in the seat opposite of them. He sits next to me as he introduces everyone. “Everyone this is Vivienne. Vivienne you already know Hikaru.” He motions his hand as he shows me Hikaru. “The boy next to him is Christopher Gibbons and the girl is Chrys Anne Grunwald. Both of them are your age and same class. The guy next to them is Gerrit Lukas Grunwald. He’s part of the college department with me.”

All of them, except Hikaru, wave and smile at me. All of them say things to me, but it only comes as jumbled noise. I cringe in distaste with what the goo is doing to me.

I see Ichi stare at me before he motions to the three to stop talking. All three of them stop before Hikaru laughs. “Still useless?”

“Hikaru!” Ichi snaps at him.

“What? It’s true isn’t it? She can’t hear anyone and you still can’t even see in that gunk. Whenever I look at her, she seems like a mindless zombie.” Hikaru bites into a meat bun. “She’s completely filled with that nasty gunk just because her family died! So, what? She’s not the only one who’s lost their family. Just get over it!”

“Hikaru!” Ichi yells louder at Hikaru.

I bite my lip and finally look at the food that I chose: pancakes, my sister’s favorite. I feel the tears forming as flashes of memories of my sister fill my mind.

“Don’t cry, Vivienne.” William coos to me.

“Mistress, please don’t cry.” Antoinette’s eyes begin to water as she tries to soothe me.

I cross my eyebrows as I dig into my meal, trying to savor each and every bite. The pancakes are warm and fluffy, filled with a delicious maple syrup. As usual, the center is the softest and the best part.

“It tastes salty.” I murmur, mainly to myself.

“I’m sorry he said that.” Ichi places his hand on my shoulder. I look at him and see his eyes looking deep inside of me. He must have seen my thoughts, I think as I look around the table. Only he, Gerrit, and I are left at the table.

“Hikaru left and the others went after him. He’s a really sweet kid. It’s just ever since his power awakened he’s constantly on edge. And for some reason he’s been even more aggravated recently. So… sorry.” Ichi sweetly smiled, trying to let me know that both of them really meant no harm.

I simply gave a small nod and look back at my now empty plate. “Do.. do you know what’s aggravating him?” I ask as I point to his head, asking if he’s seen anything in Hikaru’s head.

He shakes his head. “Hikaru’s mind is almost like yours. It’s too thick to find the real problem. Something is always blocking me from seeing everything in that vast mind of his.”

I bite my lip and then remember that Gerrit is still with us. I look up at him. “So, what’s your ability?”

He smiles and responds to me in a murmured mess. I pout and look at Ichi for his response.

“He said he doesn’t have one.” Ichi looks at Gerrit before looking back at me. “But, he’s basically waiting to see if his will awaken anytime soon. He and his sister, Chrys, were brought here seven years ago. Her powers awakened and since they’re twins the Superiors believe that he should somehow get a similar power, but others say she may have gotten all the power capability out of the two since he hasn’t shown any sign of power activity. So, just like you, he’s here to wait and see if any powers will pop up.”

I look at Gerrit. He notices my gaze and smiles at me. “Wait. He’s a twin with Chrys, but isn’t he in the college department?”

“Ah. Yes. Even though he looks like an easy-going, down-to-earth guy, he’s actually extraordinarily smart. So he was able to jump… 5 years?” He looks at Gerrit for his agreement. Gerrit nods. “The principal of the school lets him stay because of his intelligence and helpfulness to the school. Also, the principal likes it when there are siblings or family members coming here. It helps bring a more ‘family feeling’ to the school. His top priority is to have the students be comfortable and happy.” Ichi smiles as he takes my plate and puts it on his. “Come, we don’t want you to be late for class.”

I sit and stare out the window of our classroom. The math teacher has caught a flu, so our class is doing a self-study session even though most of the class decided to take this time to chat and hang out with friends. All I can hear from them is a murmured mess, so I decided to sit and listen to the sweet songs coming from the bird nest next to the classroom’s window. Hikaru is missing, but Christopher and Chrys are studying silently together. Chrys spots me looking their way and smiles. I give a simple nod back and look back at the birds.

“It was raining yesterday, but it’s so sunny today…” I mumble to myself.

I close my eyes and listen to the sweet harmony the birds make. A silent humming starts to entangle with the bird’s song. Deep, sweet, and calming. It begins to fill my entire head as I begin to hum along. I smile as I finally see William humming to me. He smiles back at me as he shows me a slow dance. Step, step, twirl, step.

He closes his eyes as he glides through the frosted goo in my head. His hair glistens with each twirl he makes.  He stops and suddenly looks past me. His mouth parts open. “…No.”

“Open your eyes, now!” Abigail screeches at me; it sounded almost as if she was standing next to me. I quickly wake up and take huge gasps of air. I look to the birds and see that the tree branch they are on is completely iced over. I can see each breath that I take forming a slight fog as I try to calm myself. I look back into the class, no one else has noticed. I get up from my desk and head to the door. As I reach the door, it slams open.

Hikaru stands in front of me short of breath. I notice three black and red earings shining brightly on his right ear. He looks down at me, his eyes burning with fire. “Was it you?” He talks to me through his teeth. “Did you hear me? Was it you?” He yells at me and throws me back.

I cringe as I feel my spine harshly makes contact with the ground. “Ah!” I gasp as Hikaru lifts me up to his face by grabbing my collar. “Did you use that power?” He stares intently into my eyes, seeking answers that I am too confused to answer.

I press my eyes shut wanting to hide from this scary event. I feel his hand burn on the parts of my skin that he touches. I feel the heat of his breath. I feel the fire burning with his intense stare. It’s excruciating. It’s horrifying. Everything… He is making everything melt away and now I feel it. That goo which was not a liquid; that goo which was put there for a purpose; that goo that was meant to protect my mind is finally melting away. That goo was his icy protection from the pain that he knew he had caused. William, the king of ice, was meant to be my second awakened power, but by saving my life from the fire that he fears most he has caused me to feel the fire that ice brings.