Someone's demise often creates the birth of someone's rise.
It was pretty. And it was awful around me. A thing of such beauty, a scenery littered with black flowers, and the scent of sweet blood.
The shield around me was starting to whither away, the final drops of my blood were running down my spear, and corpses upon corpses were lined below me.
It was a gruesome sight that I wouldn't even wish upon my enemies. But a sight I would also wish to be captured in a painting. This was a revolution. This was the end of an era.
I picked my body up climbing over the dead remains of my followers and widened my sight to as far as I could see.
A large flat field. Blades of black-grass and twisted flowers. Sickening, gruesome, yet surreal and enchanting.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted a red-haired girl curled up trying to protect herself from the incoming fireworks. The purple-haired one was sprawled unconscious on the ground. The short white-haired one was leaning on her sword, gasping. And the fourth one, well I left her to safety, didn't I?
They would all make it out to see a tomorrow. Hopefully a brighter one.
"How long are you going to be like that, Iota?"
I ran my hand across my torso as my shattered body slowly started to heal itself.
"For the last time, I'm not Iota." I slowly raised my spear at the one behind all of this. A being wearing bright clothing and radiating like divinity. "I'm not who you're looking for."
"Nonsense. Why must you lie to me until the very end?" It mumbled. Even after all these years, I couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy.
But I knew for sure that he was the one who ruled over all the titled Gods and the land they governed. An overwhelmingly powerful being.
The Deity of Animation. The entity of life.
And he was the one I was fighting for my life against. Anyone would think that what I was doing was ludicrous. But I wasn't going to let all that grief, all the pain that I went through go to waste. That would be tragic.
So I had to stand my ground. I had to stay firm. I had to defeat an omnipotent being.
"I really am not him, though."
I threw my spear down and let out a sigh. My eyes directly met his. I raised my hand parallel to the ground. The ground then began to shake, to rumble. With the crackle of a fire and the whiz of wind, like a meteor from the sky, an absolutely gargantuan gate crashed into the earth.
Rocks were sent flying everywhere, the ground trembled, the land was cleared of all vegetation, there was fire, everything was burning! I welcomed hell onto this world. Corpses were getting flown around the vortex.
But I didn't falter. I couldn't falter. This was it.
"Life is not a constant. A child could die before it's even considered alive. But everything alive must die. Everything that has ever existed must perish."
"Cease your blasphemy!"
"I implore thee... The law of the world, bring upon its residents and overseers-"
"Iota, stop! I don't want to fight, you! Please. Did you forget the days we spent together in our haven?!"
The gates to hell opened as if to challenge the deity. Hell going against heaven.
'I am not Iota.'
For fuck's sake, how did I even end up here?
"Entropy."
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The year 1480, in the age of Fall.
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On a sunny day, clouds cast a deeper shadow. But the shadow itself is the most pleasant shield against the heat. I don't see how anyone would find it unpleasant.
It had to be the most mellow feeling out there.
"Oi, El! Lunch's ready!" Mom waved her hands from across the waterlogged field.
"COMING!" I yelled back, shoving a rice shoot into the field.
My eyes ran across the hill I was on.
I briskly wiped the sweat dripping from my forehead as I caught hold of my sister's presence.
Uh-oh... I had to hurry up.
My sister was a beast. One that could consume food just by being in the presence of it. And I was not about to starve myself after a day of hard labour.
"Coming!" I started wading my way toward the shed. Every step left a small wave in the field.
It was so hot out that if there wasn't this cold water and sombre shadow I would've passed out already.
A few times over.
My mother was standing at the edge of the field with a jug.
"Here." She poured water onto my hands and the mud-caked on started to flow away.
My sister was a chunky woman. Not obese per se, but she had some meat on her. Chubby cheeks, big bosom and derriere and I mean, her stomach was sorta flabby. You could bury your hand in it, but couldn't grab it. But best of all, it made a nice 'Bom' sound when you slapped it. It would piss her off too.
This woman was a pain in the ass, but she meant well. She was skinny back when we were poor and couldn't afford food every day. But now, she started to live by the 'eat well while you can' motto.
It was just that our relationship was a bit immature. All on her side. I was as mature as mature could be.
I wiped my hands off on Mom's apron and cleaned my face off on it too. Without looking aside for a second I rushed into the little shed and took off my wet trousers and shirt. Unfortunately by the time I was out, my sister was already seated.
'Damn it! I was too late... OR NOT?'
To my surprise, even though she was there, the food was still present. Untouched.
"Just sit down already, you idiot. It's already half cold." My sister said was an authoritative but kind tone.
Oh, so it was one of those days.
I promptly took a seat next to her as Mom joined us.
"What did the date say this time?" I asked while swinging a fork around.
"Tha...he.cou....af...me." She mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Hh...tah...he...fod..me." Again.
"I really can't he-"
"HE SAID THAT HE CAN'T AFFORD TO FEED ME!" She snapped.
.
.
.
"Oh, dear... How much did you eat, Lin?" Mom asked.
"Not that much! I held back this time, you know?!"
"How much did you eat?"
"Just a couple of plates."
"How much?" Ah, scary.
"A couple of plates of pizza."
"YOU ABSOLUTE NONCE!" She picked up Sis' chin.
"Mom calm down!" I held her hand.
"Why'd you go out with a guy who couldn't even afford a couple of plates of pizza?! Do you think he can run a family with such a small income?!"
.
.
.
Ah, I forgot, my Mom was kinda big on being economical. After Dad died, she was the one who had to deal with the finances. Respectable.
It kinda sucked how I was the only normal one on the table.
Anyways as the two of them bickered, we sat down on the cloth underneath a tree where a meal befitting kings was placed. The other two already started feasting on their meal. My sister was a little more barbaric than my mother. Side dishes upon side dishes. All cooked with the finest ingredients and the best hands in town.
I don't know how she had space for this meal after that date. It was like the food was her entire personality.
The meal was luxurious. Only accentuated by the umbra and the gentle breeze roaming around the mountainside.
"Is Luno not coming again?" My 20-year-old ageing unmarried sister took a slurp from the bowl of soup while taunting me for my missing fiancee. She was taking her frustration with her romantic endeavours out on me. Well, unlike her inability to get one, my fiancee was just missing from this table in particular, not from reality. We were all quite aware of where exactly she was.
"You know she has her saintess training." Of course, my sister's attempt at taunting my lovesickness didn't work, because she herself had been single for the 20 something years of her life, waiting for her prince charming who can feed her eternally. Which was a shame, because with her looks there wasn't a doubt that she would have been able to enchant a man or two for herself.
Of course, she was nowhere as pretty as my Luno who fashioned her golden flowing locks, long lashes, and skin that looked like a baby's bottom- all of those made her the most perfect girl in this world. Add to that the prestige of a saintess? She was the entire package.
It was a shame that I wasn't able to show her off more.
Wait what was I talking about again?
"But she should at least show her face sometimes." Mom raised an eyebrow.
"It's not that she doesn't want to, just that she can't. You already know about this!" I complained. In the first place, I was the one who missed her the most here.
'Why did they have to rub it in like that?' I was this close to throwing a tantrum.
Luno was gifted with strength. Out of our town, she was the only one who earned the opportunity to join The Crusade. Needless to say, I was proud of her. But it would be a lie if I didn't think that it would have been better if she came back from time to time.
'Wait, I can't give up so soon! It had only been a few months.'
"You should pay her a visit." Mom rubbed my arm noticing the look on my face. "You should cherish love before you can't anymore." She said a little melancholically. Menopausal moodswings? She wasn't old enough for that.
"But if I'm gone, who would work on the fie-"
"If it's only for a week, I'll take care of it." Sis said in her usual sarcastic manner.
"Can you even do that? Aren't you pretty useless? You won't eat the rice right? It hasn't even been planted yet. I doubt the seeds taste go-"
"Finish that sentence and you die."
"Eek." Point was... I didn't want to burden them too much and a part of me was concerned about the fields too. All my sister was skilled in was waiting on tables in the eaterie that Mom set up and managing its funds.
They made more than I did. But I supplied them with produce. It was a win-win. Plus money doesn't define a family's hierarchy.
"It's fine… Just live a little. You think too much. I'll help her out too!" Mom put a thumbs up for me with a wide grin.
'Awww... Is there any other family as supportive as mine?' Moved, I fell in for a hug. But my leg got caught in the gravy and a quarter spilt all over the cloth.
"For fuck's sake, El."
"LIN LANGUAGE! AND EL, YOU FUCKING NONCE CLEAN IT UP ALREADY IT'S GONNA STAIN!"
LOOK I WAS HUGE ALRIGHT! BIG PEOPLE AREN'T THE BEST AT COORDINATING!
Sis pulled me off the mat by the ear as Mom tried to clean the mat up.
'Okay, maybe they weren't all that supportive when I messed up like this.'
"Sorrryyy!" I closed my eyes to ease the pain, but that demon of a sister wouldn't leave me.
Needless to say, the rest of the meal was spent apologising and cleaning the burning curry off my thigh.
###
Days passed and I was standing outside in front of our eaterie's door. There was a bag on my back, hands on the straps and a box of food around my fingers.
"Tell Luno that Mom sent love." Mom tried to caress my shoulders but could barely reach my biceps. Even on her toes. But her youthfulness forbade her from giving up, so she dragged me down and kissed my cheek.
"I will!" I gave her a bright smile. Partly because I was in a good mood and mainly because I was over the moon.
"Hehe, that's how it should be. Ah, you should get going, Mister Gern is waiting for you." She turned me around and started gently pushing me out of the eaterie. I bent a little and got out through the tiny door.
Despite my tender age of 18, I was quite a large man. Nearly 2 metres in height and built like a house, mainly because I laboured all day. Add to that unbecoming facial hair, and I looked like an adult.
Which wasn't a good thing. Having 6-year-olds calling me uncle stung a little.
'I should have shaved.' I thought while looking at my reflection in the window.
"Come back soon! I won't take care of the field for too long!" Sis shouted from inside.
"I will!" I waved at her as my cheeks started to hurt.
"Kahhh… Look at that smile on his face. Still such a kid. Have fun!"
"I will!"
After waving for a while, I took off on my jolly way to the city, Rottheim.
A city for new adventurers. The city furthest away from the frontier. The city where people trained and grew before they joined in the battle against 'the darkness'.
That was where Luno was. In such a sanctuary.
As I went along the path, I reminisced about the time I spent with her. From our childhood, when she promised to marry me to the time when I got on my knee to fulfil that promise. From the time she lost her family and her way, to the time she stood up for me when Dad died.
I remembered her smile when she got the opportunity to become a saint. It was all so beautiful.
As I left through the town gate, I remembered the starry night under which we swore our marriage. The bond we would forge after her return. I still felt butterflies in the bottom of my gut. It was only a couple of months ago, but the nostalgia it gave me carried on thus far.
I hoped it would carry me throughout the period of her Crusade as well.
"Still 2 years, huh?"