Concept of Darkness: Origin of the Great

         As the pain went on, Theliel Eru could hardly discern anything that was going on. His sight was blurred, his mouth tasted of the iron in his blood, his ears were ringing, and his nose was broken. He had been slammed into a wall after his attack, but he had no way to defend himself, and he had no time to protect his head.

         He was one of the Council of four, and he was the strongest out of them all, yet he was beaten as if he wasn't a magus, as if he was back to that time. His life hadn't been a good one, at least at the beginning, being a small, impoverished family, having to look for scraps on the ground.

         Then, the incident happened. The whole world went up in flames, and civilization as we know it collapsed. These creatures- no, monsters had invaded our world, attempting to kill all living things and take earth as their own domain. That was when I learned of magic and alchemy. It was the only book we owned, and the theory was simple, but nobody had found the answer. There had been simple magic that existed; however, it was only useful for lighting fires or gaining fresh water. 10 years went by, but life was lonelier, as my sister and parents were gone. Then, I found the answer. Those... "creatures" that killed my family would leave certain objects as remains. One was discovered to drop a useless, shiny red stone. People had tried to do anything, but it seemed to be useless other than for ornamental purposes.
But what if it could possibly be- no, it MUST be the last ingredient, the blood jewel, I thought. It was told that magi would have to rely on specific objects as catalysts, and the same for alchemists. They would need a strong representation of the spell, a proper amount of mana (which is a thing I had plenty of as I learned later), and an aforementioned catalyst. All the knowledge, all the wisdom I gained would finally be of use!

         But the present was bleak, as the knowledge wasn't as useful as I thought. I had been thinking that magic was all-powerful, but it was next to nothing. I had failed. But alas, I couldn't give up. I had to avenge my family; no matter how much blood I shed. I grabbed the cold, hard blood jewel, its shiny light fragmenting red on my hands, telling me to go further, to seek the light, not dwell in the dark. I stood up, my legs weak and tired, battered and bruised, and then, darkness. There was no sound, not even the ringing of my ears, and he couldn't even feel the ground. But I must go on. I must! It was what I was born to do! I will fight this darkness! I will avenge my family!

         Suddenly, a blinding light shined onto me. It wasn't the tinted red sky I had seen the past 30 years, it felt like the warm, comforting sun that he had missed for so long. But then, his eyes adjusted from the change in brightness, and I realized: it was the sun! The sun that had been taken for granted when we had it, and when it was gone, we missed it oh so dearly. I tried to get off the bed, but I fell over from an unfamiliar feeling. My body felt spry, as if I was back in my teens, or even younger. I quickly realized that this room wasn't the cold, damp base that I was used to, but a house, one that I knew very well. I ran to my bathroom and grabbed a piece of my shattered mirror, and what I saw startled me.

         It was me, only 30 or so years younger! I dropped the mirror, only shattering it more. How can this be? No, it's physically impossible! I must be delusional, I must be! I looked out the window. Has time changed? I saw Theo's mother watering the flowers. Theo's mother?! Plants?! I looked at my young hands. It is only a memory. It is only a memory. Theo's mother had passed away decades ago! This is simply impossible, or am I living my life as a 16-year-old boy? I take a step outside, and it is much warmer than before. But what is before? I came from the future... or did the past come to me? my last name was named after the deity of time, but i never expected this to happen! My mind swirls up into a cloud of thoughts, and I am quick to keep myself grounded. "Hey! Mrs. Esena!" I call to her, my voice young, and still developing into the raspy voice I have in the normal world. But what is the normal world? I've always hated teens, now I am one. "Why, hello Theliel! Looking for Theo? He's at the farm. Go ahead, you'll find him in the barn. He's slept there all night, the poor boy." Mrs. Esena says. "Yes, thank you." I tell her.

         I remember what Theo's old family farm looked like. It was past the village center, nestled at the edge of the woods. I wonder if I am living in a certain day, a time loop. It could make sense. Theo was the third member of the Council of four. He used to be, or is, a scrawny, yet tall kid, with small green eyes, and hair like hay. He was my childhood best friend. Or is. It's hard to tell, as I've been living most of my life in the present. Or future. I try not to jumble up my brain again, and head to the village. I recognized the dry dirt roads, lined with wooden sidewalks, and the stores. As a child, I remember visiting the pub with a group of boys when I was finally 15. Some habits I deeply regretted. Although I could use an ale, but only to calm my mind.

         I checked my pockets to see if I had any remnants of the past "or would it be future now?" I muttered to myself, still attempting to understand what had happened. Eventually, I end up realizing that there's an extra pocket on the clothes I'm wearing, and there seems to be two distinct items in it. One seemed to be my collapsible wand, and the other seemed to be my magic blade. Why had these been taken with me?

         I stop by a dilapidated store and see the old shopkeeper. "Theliel! I told you not to come here again! Get out! Scat!" Shouts the man, and I remember those days me and my gang of friends used to rob this man. He pulls out a dagger in warning. I quickly head out, for the sake of this old man's mental health. He seemed shocked and pleased that I obeyed him, and I chuckled. What trouble I was back in the day. I need to find Theo, to tell him what has happened. Of course, he won't believe me, but I'd still try. Theo had trouble in believing in... anything. I remember when we were 13, I told him I had seen the faeries (which were a commonly known creature) while on a stroll with Calda Asura, but he didn't want to hear a word of it.

         Maybe I shouldn't tell Theo... Not yet at least. There was always Husin and Calda Asura, the twins. The Asura family's house was on the way. Calda was my wife, or in this strange dimension, one of my closest companions. She would surely trust me. It is strange, knowing everyone differently. It would be hard to look at Theo's mother, or Calda the same way. I suppose it was Theo who never changed.

         The sky looked like it could be afternoon, and I had almost finished walking across the town. I spotted a horse stable and walked in. I need a horse. All the horses in the stable were gone. Then, the bray of a donkey was heard. "Agnetha! Oh, I've forgotten about you!" I cried to the sight of an old donkey. Agnetha belonged to my uncle, who passed away with the rest of my family during the incident. I opened a decaying wooden gate, and hopped on her, her saddle ready. I rode her out of the stable, and out of the Village center.

         I had promised myself to find Theo, but I had to see what Calda was doing. In just over five years, she would be very ill, and I had to have more time with her before she dies. I hoped that every night she would recover, but she seemed to be getting worse. It was the air, destroying her lungs. She was supposed to be the 15th patient in the Medic room to be helped, but the few doctors were all so busy with the others. I felt a tear slide down my face and ignored it. Now wasn't time for crying. At this point in time, she would be vibrant and healthy, in a contrast to her state after "the incident" and all the changes to the earth after it happened.

         It didn't take me long to reach the Asura family's household. It was a very large house, and quite luxurious for not belonging to a noble. It had an outhouse (which some houses lacked), and a stream right outside to store milk. I stepped up to the door and knocked. I heard footsteps, and Husin opened the door. "Hello, Theliel. What brings you?" he greeted. "Hi, Husin. Is Calda home?" I asked, hoping for a yes. "She's at Theo's Farm. Why?" he answered. "Oh nothing. I'll just find her there." I replied. I didn't want to tell him yet, either. He wouldn't believe me, just like Theo. And we weren't that close of friends anyway, at least before he was my brother in-law.

         I walked back to Agnetha and departed from his land. The weather was absolutely perfect, and there was a feeling that I haven't felt in a long time. It was serenity. There wasn't any creatures or bandits around, countries trying to claim rule over me, and I was 16 again. I could run more freely, and though my mind hadn't changed, it felt fresh and creative.

         I breathed in the fresh scent of pine and listened to the sound of the creek nearby. I could get used to this. Many moments later, I had reached the farm. The travel felt quite short, as I had enjoyed it. I realized that I didn't know how much I loved this world until I had lost it. When I was 'living in the future', all this was just a memory. A utopia, perhaps. Now, I'm living in it, and I must savor every moment.

         "Theo! Calda!" I called out, hoping they can hear me. "Theliel?!" A voice came from the barn. "Hey, Theo! I'm coming in!" I yelled back. "Ok! Please do! I need to tell you something!" Theo shouted. Something seemed off. He never slept in the barn. In fact, he hated every bit of it. He had dreams of becoming a king or a minister of some sort, and his dreams had come true, leading him to the Council of four. I ran up to the olden barn, and climbed up the ladder, the rungs creaking under my weight.

         As I was climbing, one of the rungs fell out beneath me, risking the chance of me falling and breaking some bones. The only thing that saved me was that at the time I was holding on with 2 hands rather than 1. I heard Theo yelp as he heard the metal clanging against the hard wood floor, extremely surprised. Theo reached down and helped me up the ledge, when I noticed his eyes were gaunt and tired.