Ever since she was little, I have always taught my daughter not to cry.
"Crying gets you nowhere. It just holds you back. It's like a chain, all it does is pull you back into problems instead of fixing them."
"Okay, papa!"
Even in the hardest of times, I told and taught her how to lay it off.
She was always a good kid.
Even when she was older, she was always obedient to me.
It's… funny that she looks up more to me than her mother.
She always wanted to be me.
"Papa, let me touch the sails! I wanna try!"
She would always take the sails and help out even when I didn't ask her. That's something special that my daughter, Drimi had; she always looked up to me in the hardest of times. It was because no matter the event, I always succeeded.
When I had gone through my grand adventures because of my expeditions, she would always stand by my side… more than her mother.
Not even my wife herself could stand next to me as much as Drimi.
"I want to be you someday, Papa! I want to be a hero and succeed all the time! I want to be the very, very, best!" Hollered eleven-year-old Drimi in an enthusiastic tone in her voice.
She would always take on and pursue her dreams-- to compete against her father. And I never minded that, she was always a competitive child.
Though I've never seen her cry, after all, I have taught her throughout those years, when we went on a dangerous expedition to save my wife; I couldn't believe to see cold, grieving tears… falling down my daughter's face.
* * * * * * *
Beneath a long and large wooden ship painted in black, was a father and his daughter, swimming down and racing the clock to save the mother. She was caught by the strands of magical, gray seaweed and was pulled into a dry cavern into the depths, luring the father and daughter closer to an unusual place.
(This was The Cocoon. The nest for the anomaly is called The Perfect Darkness. We have swum so deep to where we couldn't even see our ship anymore.)
The vines wrapped around the mother left trails of smoke that had led Duron and Young Drimi into a dark, dry underwater cavern.
Shadows caught them,
"P… Papa…. Help!"
Tripped them,
"Just grab my hand, sweetie! DO NOT let go!"
…then slammed both down to the ground.
Snap.
All went to darkness for the father as he drowned in regret, seeing his daughter get caught with the ruthless gray strands as well. Anger and frustration bit him. He had tried everything to stop the vines, literally anything of his willpower to cut and slice them; but nothing worked.
(It would be the first time… that my daughter and my mother watched me fail.)
A sense of uncontrolled soaring, a panicked flight erupted in him as he heard cries echo over the cavern. A teeming hope bested in his mind and he had hoped those were not from his daughter, but he was mistaken.
'I… failed."
And just as he thought it couldn't get worse, a repulsive smell filled the once fresh air of the gargantuan purple-infested cavern. He noticed that the disgusting vines had taken his loved ones away.
(I felt hopeless, miserable, and abandoned. All my hope of securing a better future was ruthlessly taken away as I hear my daughter wail in agony.)
Duron followed the beckoning trail of the black mist, wondering where it was leading him. But then…
(That sight still haunts me to this day.)
There she was, laying in a pool of seemingly dry blood painted on her fresh skin. Duron broke down in sorrow, struggling to believe this was true. Tears started flying down his cheek as he scrambled and slammed his fist angrily on the ground.
"Damn it! DAMN EVERY SINGLE MONSTER IN THIS WORLD TO HELL!"
He pinched himself, attempting strongly to escape this brutal nightmare of twisted events, but nothing changed. That haunting silence still came after.
"N… No. How could this be? What did she do to deserve this?!" A loud croak sounded after.
The brooding vines of the cavern refused to notice Duron's innocence; looming over his head menacingly. Threats of the cynical cold air promised him, his daughter, and his wife an eternity of torture. The only question he had for that anomaly and external force was…
"W… What did I do wrong? I… I did…"
He took a deep breath and threw himself back to his feet, turning to swing at the vines.
(I… couldn't believe it.)
When his vision flashed back to reality, Duron opened his eyes to the sight of a blurry woman covered and tainted in crimson and a world of shadows and filtered light. A haunting sense of insecurity and horror went through him. One so traumatizing that anyone who had gone through this undeserved punishment would be broken and shattered beyond comparison.
"N… No. No. No no no no no no no NOOO!"
Whose chest was pierced through his very-own and fearful arm… was his own… wife? His hands trembled, he collapsed on the floor and saw that the vines that took his love belonged to the lover he loved the most.
The one that made connections and birthed a beautiful being, Drimi.
A loud and ferocious scream came from afar in the distant cavern, with purple strings flying over toward him in rage.
"YOU… I'LL KILL YOU!"
Her dark hair, her bright lavender eyes, and her fair skin were shrouded in a magenta light; with every corner of her presence blocked and sealed away from a thick and murky substance.
She wasn't dead, but something was off.
Duron's eyes shrunk in absolute horror as he saw the body of his wife vanish into dust.
The only thing left of his lover was a shimmering blue necklace. The one that Present Duron was currently… wearing.
(No matter what, every emotion will eventually crumble to sadness.)
. . .
"And you see, this necklace was the only remnant left from my wife."
A long and brutal silence dawned up in between the fight.
Nothing, not even the faintest of light moved from this still and traumatizing moment. When Duron shared his perspective, it made Aletha and Phthonus realize; that there was more mystery within this man than they had ever thought.
At a glance, Phthonus dropped his book and looked over to Duron with second thoughts.
Although he still never understood the reasoning behind Drimi's capture, he could feel the spiraling emotions resonating within Duron.
And with this in mind, Phthonus approached the dark-haired man and asked.
"But, that still doesn't exempt you from killing your daughter!"
Suddenly, the entire roof of the passenger car on the train was ripped apart, allowing violent winds and the sky to breach the area. Aletha gasped as she saw Phthonus still holding onto the book, even after what Duron had told him.
Her white hair flung into the air like a ribbon as she slowly crawled over to Phthonus and stopped him from going on a rampage.
"Stop!"
Duron shook his head in pity and collapsed to his knees, looking over at the necklace and whispering.
"I promise… Drimi, I will find a way to remove that curse from you."
Silence flew into the passenger car, with Aletha and Phthonus standing still with their hair dancing in the air. Was there more to Duron's story than they had thought?
The dark-haired man took a sigh of complexity and raised his voice as the wind above grew stronger from the train's speed.
"But that wasn't all. If you truly want to know…"
* * * * * * *
"Papa!"
Immediately after she had attacked, the hopeful glimmer in her eyes returned, trying to stop the Perfect Darkness from hurting her father. Even the slightest of movements was enough to accidentally trigger the anomaly to attack and injure Duron. Tears continued to fly on Young Drimi's hopeless face.
"H… Help!"
He could hear his daughter's involuntary screaming echo over the shallow abyss of the cavern; touching every frigid corner until it sunk into the darkness like a rock splashing on a cold pond of water.
When he noticed a dark blob floating in front of him, his heart became frozen. He simply perceived it as a gooey, alluring material in which every nightmare and horrifying vision had been combined into one abominable concoction.
He had no idea that it was a creature without a purpose and an abnormality that shouldn't have ever existed.
Yet despite its repulsive appearance, Duron knew its identity. The Perfect Darkness; is an anomaly that was anything BUT perfect; a talisman for true evil.
As his knees were pressed against the floor, crimson spilling out of his mouth, he slowly tilted over to his captured daughter and asked of her.
"Drimi… why? It's not your fault. I didn't fail you."
What he had all so hoped to hear from his daughter was an apology, but all he got in exchange was a brutal stare from her cold eyes.
Even the slightest of her movements were enough to accidentally trigger and release a wave of black tendrils to him.
(PEW)
They flew across the walls like raindrops, soaring, and coiling into one another, ripping apart and piercing through Drimi's body.
His mouth went dry, his muscles tense, and for the first time in his life, Duron started to shudder in absolute fear.
Purple sparks spewed from the creeping vines like water, tattering and corrupting the ground beneath; its edges and heads poked out the ground like groundhogs, waiting to lash onto Duron.
(Scree)
Duron's mind was continuously numbed, falling to the brink of death. All he ever wanted was to show his wife and his daughter his homeland, but all it ended up in was catastrophe and discovery.
What Duron had not realized was that the anomaly he and his daughter had stumbled upon in the depths of this cave served as a talisman to evil. One that would bring unexplained darkness, evil, and chaos back into the world.
(During my years, I was seen as a leader to the world, one so powerful enough that even the sovereigns would take my hand. I was the man who had protected everyone from the evil creatures and people of this world, unifying humanity and the eight nations. And now, I was nothing but a rug…)
As he painfully looked up at his daughter's lost and corrupted eyes, Duron could see evil trapping her and every corner of this cavern. The floor beneath him began to collapse and crumble, as if something bigger was beneath, grasping onto the necklace tightly too.
Throughout his descent, he felt every doubt in his soul sting his purity.
Rocks flew over several meters beneath the surface, water burst in, and Drimi's corrupted body flew down with her father into the dark pit.
. . .
After two hours of darkness and silence, Duron was greeted by a merciful and honeyed voice.
"Poor mortal. All you have ever wanted was peace for the world, but all you had brought was chaos. *sigh*, I have great pity for you-- 'for you have tried to do what no one has done before. And for that, I shall give you the gift… of immortality."
A hand covered in a magenta luminance slowly fondled the cold and lifeless hand of the man.
(Ting)
Pink bubbles splattered beneath his chest, the walls that had surrounded him began to expand, and the floor beneath him liquefied into water. It's as if a bright light was cast down, propelling the darkness and evil of the anomaly.
As Duron's body floated on the still, shallow pool of water, his gaze found a veiled girl with magenta eyes and silver hair, sitting next to him and rubbing the man's back. She whispered in her soothing and comforting voice.
"It's okay… lost soul. I know how much you want heaven in this world. I want it as well."
Duron stood there, motionless, watching as the silver-haired girl smiled and embraced the man.
"I admire what you have done for the world. You are unlike any mortal I have ever seen before.~ You're so ambitious, caring, and lovable. It's as if you pave your paths instead of following what others demand of you."
(After what I have experienced, this strange girl granted me her hospitality, saying how much she admired what I have done for the world. I just wish I told her sooner… that I never
As the darkness continued to consume the chasm, the veiled girl spoke patiently with her legs dangled above.
"That anomaly above us waited patiently for this moment. It waited for the perfect victim, and sadly, it was your daughter. I'm so, dearly sorry for your loss…"
A silence came up from her voice as she turned over to the man and heard screeches from above.
"Do not worry, beloved mortal. You don't have to be afraid. I know how much you yearn for heaven… I want it as much as you do. However, I am in dire need of assistance." The veiled girl looked over at Duron. "I need someone else, a mortal… who can help me pursue my objective. Our objective is to bring heaven back into this world. And you…" Her black hand touched the heart of Duron. "...are worthy enough of such a task. I will grant you all the power you need, so long as you agree to join my faction."
Duron squinted his eyes in suspicion and sighed, looking over to the necklace and thinking about his daughter.
"What about my daughter? What would happen to her if I agreed to join you?"
The silver-haired girl shook her head and sighed deeply, patting Duron's shoulders and spilling her pink essence into his skin. She whispered politely as the screeches slowly came to a halt.
"She is too potent for you. Someday, when you are strong enough, you will possess the power to bring your daughter back. But until then, you would have to stand by my side. Please, do this… for Heaven, we want back into this world."
Duron gulped and bent over to the rock carelessly. He knew he had no other choice.
"I…"
The silver-haired girl shut her eyes and informed as screeches sounded above.
"You have made a mistake that threatens the fate of this world. If you don't accept it, may the gods have mercy on your soul."
Then, Duron recollected.
After he killed his wife, lost his daughter, and abandoned his crewmates, all within a single night, Duron realized he would never recover from this without the girl's hospitality.
All he ever wished for was to meet his lover, but in a state of pure desperation, the miracle that was the encounter with the mysterious girl had granted him an opportunity to fix everything he had-- to succumb and fix his failures.
And so, with a determined smile on his face, Duron offered his right hand to the silver-haired girl and agreed with a determined smile on his face.
"I accept your deal."
A radiant and accepting smile came back from the girl's teary face.
"Then, it is final. Even after the dire mistake, you have made and the uncontrollable evil that you have unleashed into the world, you still have the will to fix it and accept the mercy of a stranger." She grabbed Duron's hand with her left and summoned a magenta-colored portal with her left. As both their bodies sink into and enter a realm completely unknown, the silver-haired girl announced as loud cheers came from beneath.
"My fellow minions of this mighty faction, let me introduce you to the new, fruitful KING of The Ending; Duron Eros Amadeus!"
(After I heard those cheers from the army beneath me, I knew indefinitely that my new life had begun.)