I saw heaven. A place of olden times where people huddle together in front of a campfire, merry-making, and singing songs of joy.
I saw heaven. A time where gods and men live alongside each other, hand in hand.
I saw heaven. A home full of warmth, where people who loved me gathered.
I saw the heaven that will end in a tragedy that is my life.
"It seems you've forgotten many things?" The One asked.
"Only the small and important part of that life."
"Well, you're not wrong to forget that part, the part that gave you much pain and suffering."
"What's in there?" I asked.
"Hell." It answered.
Hearing its answer, I strode toward that path of bramble and flames. Observing me from afar, It stated, "That's hell you're walking into."
"It's my hell, my way to not be changed by the world." I simply stated.
My skin was torn and blistered by the trodden path, and my body weakened with each step I took. A smidge of light grants me solace, as the path widens into a clearing, revealing a lone tree, evergreen. Beneath its bountiful bough lies a woman in deep, and quiet slumber.
"There you are," I smiled, finally finding what I looked for, remembering what was lost.
"Are you sure of this path?" The One materialised behind me.
"I came here for her, I'll leave here with her," I confidently said, as everything turned to nothingness, leaving me and her behind.
=======
"Laincelot the Verse-Creating Saint. A man of such stature, capable of turning the belief people placed in him into power. The more people believed in him, the better he will be at that aspect people believed."
"He, along with Catariel the Dragonheart, a magus who was trained by dragons, was a pair of beloved adventurers who braved dangers and gave happiness everywhere they went."
"The belief that the masses placed in them gave Laincelot the opportunity to attain divinity, while Catariel trained in her magick, becoming a true dragon."
The couple walked alongside nothingness, towards infinity.
"What happened next?" She asked.
"Laincelot and Catariel continued their adventures, gaining and losing comrades, living their best life."
"They even opened a farm! Although everything Catariel touches wilted and everything Laincelot touches grew uncontrollably, they lived freely and happily."
"A farm! I've always wanted to have a farm. Want to try my hands at it, you know? Maybe I could even have a chicken who'd help the farm when it was needed." Her eyes glittered, quite expectant of that idea.
"Alright, alright. Moving on. Such a life of course can't last long."
"All manners of creatures and divinities, who were envious of the two, attacked them both."
"They fought them off, getting better and better at what they do."
"Yeah! Those pesky trespassers, they really deserve a beating," She pouted.
"Still, such attacks continued. And the very day Laincelot was at his very last step to attain The One, they attacked, with greater fervour than ever before."
"Catariel, who was also in the process of attaining the Void Dragon's physique, and in a lot of pain, stepped forward to defend him. The pain and subsequent weakness of the Void Dragon's physique finally killed her. Tearing her very existence apart."
As He finally said that line, that part of the story; He knelt in front of Her cracked and broken figure that walked beside Him, who lost even more parts in the process.
He held Her cracked hands, afraid that the slightest of pressure would cause them to break apart.
"I will make this right, I will, I will." He repeated, again and again.
She squatted, Her broken parts the size of dust and sand, trickled down, carried away by the void winds.
He released His delicate grasp on Her hands, trying to grab the lost parts to no avail, as She hugged Him, giving Him the surge of warmth He truly needed.
His eyes sharpened and His will set. He rearranged the laws of the void, creating a safe haven for them both.
"Will you wait for me?" He asked.
"Forever and ever, until the end of infinity," She answered.
He nodded and went outside the barrier, this time encasing and protecting Her within.
He walked, and walked, and walked, towards infinity.
She waited, and waited, and waited, for infinity.
He roamed the endless void, not leaving behind any part of Her, as small as it may be.
And so.
After an inordinate amount of time, exactly seventy-seven times seven times aeons, He came back to Her.
The only words that came out of His mouth were a simple one; "I'm home," tears threatening to spill out of His eyes.
"Welcome back!" She replied, feeling a little sprightly because of His return, with glistening eyes.
He took a look inside the barrier and found it full of all manners of flora. Looks like He was not the only one learning about their crafts all this time. She too had used Her time and managed to grow something here, in the very void of reality.
All parts of Her that He had collected, coalesced into a pulsating crystal of myriad colours, it was full of Her memories, and everything else. As if it too was returning home, it came back to Her snugly, finally completing Her.
"When I am waiting here for you, I slept for most of the time," She said.
"Did you hate waiting?" He asked, feeling responsible.
She slowly shook Her head.
"I liked to dream," She added.
"Dream?"
"When I sleep, I dreamt of you. I see you searching for me across time, across space, endlessly searching while I'm also endlessly waiting. That's why I love it when I could see you on your travels," She smiled sweetly.
"I hope I didn't make you wait too long," He felt like He had to say it to Her.
"It's okay, I am here and will always be here, waiting for you." She consoled Him.
He tore open the barrier He had made a long time ago.
"It's beautiful here," She quipped.
"Beautiful?" He asked, a bit baffled.
"Close your eyes. For a little bit," She instructed, "Then try to feel it with your body, your soul."
"I see nothing but pitch black here." He said, after doing everything She instructed.
"I tried to feel them when I was a little lonely, and I found that when you focus yourself, you'll find this place is full of little sparks of life," She added.
She pressed Her forehead to His's, transferring to Him how the void looked in Her eyes.
Instantly, His view changed to that of a beautiful sea of stars, each having its own brightness, tenacity, and life.
"You're right, it is indeed beautiful," He agreed.
Then. A rumble could be felt across the void. A surge of consciousness appeared.
A sound that reason could not understand appeared inside their minds, coalescing into words the consciousness spake.
"I am one that was here and always here, the primitive, the primal. I am The Primordial," It spoke, delivering its ultimatum.
"You've found what has been lost, thus, your time here is over," It informed Him.
"While your time of waiting is over, you're the first one who managed to gleam the true nature of life within this emptiness, for that, I shall gift a small part of My soul to you, learn from it, and gleam the true path of The Primordial. May your return be full of happiness and joy, like what you've always dreamt of." It caressed Her.
"Time to wake up, and farewell," It decided.
Waking up, they faced each other full of tears, with love and joy.