Is it really light, if there is no darkness to dispel?
***
Skurd whirled around trying to find the person who spoke to him, but all he saw were the same colorless walls. His senses immediately went on high alert as he carefully scanned the room for any traces of life. Finding none, he turned back to the obelisk, the 5 gashes almost pulsating ominously and it was then something struck him. If each gash represented a member of the Djinn, why were there five? Didn't they only have 4 members? Was it the fifth one the voice that had just spoken to him?
Before he could finish articulating his thoughts, a chuckle resounded in the cavern and an old man phased through its colorless walls, as though it never existed. He was absurdly tall, about 6'8, and wore a tight-fitting black robe that snuggly wrapped around his bulging muscles. His aged face that somewhat retained the handsomeness of his youth was covered by a long, smooth, metallic gold beard. and his faint wrinkles did not diminish the youthful vigor and vitality he exuded. His similarly gold hair was slicked back and he held his hands behind his back, emanating a calm and collected aura. Although Skurd was a shadow, he still felt that this amicable old man was threatening.
"I believe you figured it out. Congratulations! Well, it wasn't much of a challenge anyway. A gash for every Djinn is as simple as it could get", the old man spoke, his voice sounding much deeper now that he was actually in the cavern.
Skurd's shock increased further, and he slowly backed away from the old man.
"Who are you?" he asked, ready to slip into the old man's shadow. That would allow him to escape via the doorway in the cavern wall. But while he seemed to be wary and scared, he was internally screaming in delight. Someone who could threaten him? Someone who could make him wary? Someone who could bring back the instincts that had long escaped him? This had never happened in the past three centuries!
The old man merely smiled at his question, flashing two blinding rows of teeth at Skurd. "Me? I am the founder of the clan you sneaked into. I am the progenitor of the Djinn bloodline. I am Fiegr Harald!" Feigr boomed, his voice echoing in the cavern.
Skurd never expected him to actually answer his question. Did this old man go senile? Or was he actually so confident that he could harm him? He slowly processed that loud proclamation before finding something odd.
'Fiegr? Wasn't the current head of the Djinn clan named Andlat?' Skurd thought to himself, confused.
"You know, if you weren't so interesting, I would've killed you already. But I suppose death would be a relief to you," Feigr sighed before raising his head, his eyes carrying a look of indifference that shook Skurd to his very core.
How many Empires had he seen fall? How many kingdoms? And how many of those so-called Emperors had a similar look of disdain for all that was alive? The answer was almost all of them. there were simply too many to count. But the pure contempt, or rather the lack of it, that Feigr's gaze carried was chilling. Even if thousands of innocent lives were taken before him at this very moment, he wouldn't even care to blink. It was the air of someone who disdained the very earth, believing it unworthy of soiling his feet. An arrogance that was only carried by those believing themselves to be Gods.
"No matter. Since you dared to encroach on Djinn territory, it is only right that you pay the fair price."
Feigr's indifferent expression contorted into a ghastly grin and he stretched out his hand.
The shadows wept that night.
***
In what seemed to be an endless void, four large pieces of rock drifted almost aimlessly, yet there seemed to be an underlying beauty to them. They never touched even once, yet stuck close enough for them to pass by each other, and upon closer inspection, one would be able to notice that all four had precisely the same proportions. Every crevice and protrusion on one rock existed on the other three.
It was obvious that these were no ordinary rocks, and as if to substantiate that fact, three figures suddenly materialized, each of them on three separate rocks, or platforms, for a better word. All three beings differed drastically in terms of appearance.
One of them looked as though he had crawled out from the pits of hell. His skin was an ashy black, riddled with cracks that revealed a magma-like interior. His veins which seemed to carry lava instead of blood could be clearly seen snaking through his entire body. But what was most fear-inducing about him was his face. He had no hair to speak of, instead, his scalp extended out into numerous bony protrusions among which the longest two, stretched upward, giving him a demonic countenance. And where most would have eyes, he had two holes that seemed to be the entrances to a black abyss.
Next to him was another equally bizarre being, albeit a female. Everything from her eyes to her toenails were in varying shades of green and a dress that was stitched using numerous leaves adorned her body. But her hair seemed to be alive, twisting and coiling around each other in a hypnotizing dance, one strand seemingly trying to outdo the other. But the woman didn't seem particularly bothered, rather both she and the demon next to her were staring at the third figure with livid expressions.
The third being was familiar. At first glance, he seemed to be an amicable old man. His head was as bald as it could be and his pupils were a rich, earthy brown. He wore flowing robes of a similar brown color with green embroidery and his kindly grin would put anyone at ease. But that smile didn't seem to be working on the green woman whatsoever. Hilariously, it seemed to be infuriating her all the more.
The old man was of course H'lornd. The impression he gave was cheerful and carefree, a complete 180 from how he was before Alan. It was as though he had reverted back to when he was posing as Grandpa Joe. He even had his signature twinkle! Was this his true personality or was it the cold and unfeeling one? Perhaps only H'lornd himself knew.
He turned to the woman and the demon who stood on their own separate platforms, feigning surprise when he saw the woman about to blow her top, and as though that was the last straw, she finally opened her mouth.
"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?!!!"