The boundaries between worlds were blurred as Archie slowly opened his eyes to find himself suspended in a place serene and boundless, surrounded by clouds. He was disoriented as he tried to remember his last countenance.
Then, human figures started to emerge from the clouds around him; they were familiar, yet they seemed otherworldly, which deepened his confusion and wonder.
As the realization hit, these clouds formed the visages of his parents, who were now approaching to greet him. A tumult of emotions welled up within him as he mouthed, "Mother! Father!" But there was no sound.
Archie's attempt to communicate and bridge the silence with his voice was futile. His parents smiled gently and knowingly, which words could never capture in this realm.
Frustration mingled with desperation as Archie yearned to speak to his parents about everything; he had so many questions and no one would answer him. He understood that a huge part of his life had vanished since that incident that took his family's life.
The gesture of his mother, who rested her forehead against him, made him sob. Her touching light as air yet imbued with warmth brought a flood of comfort and longing to be together again.
Suddenly, Archie was swept into a vivid flashback when he was ten again, reliving moments of his conversation with his pregnant mother and sharing a bedtime story.
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"Mummy, it is story time."
"Patients, Archie. I am pregnant. I cannot move as fast as I used to. Perhaps I should ask Daddy to tell you the story."
"No, mummy. I want you to tell the story."
"Alright, alright. You need to get in bed first before I start."
Little Archie climbed on the bed and crawled under the blanket. His mother then gently tucked the blanket up until under his neck, but he removed his mother's hand, saying, "Tell me the story of Elysium!"
"In the realm of myth and the time of magic, in the beginning stood only darkness filled with bedlam.
The creatures of primordial evil were born in the depths of an abyss, spurted out and wandered through the realm, spreading evil and ultimately creating chaos.
Devils and demons were born from the power of darkness and chaos that swirled in space, dominated the realm and brought devastation and desolation until there was nothing left. They released dragons, the ultimate force of malice and bestiality that conquered the world with death.
Some of the creatures who were born without powers were eliminated and captured to become slaves and creatures of the night.
Humans, who were the weakest creatures in the realm, were unfortunately caught in the middle of the turbulence, wreaking havoc. They were tempted with power, granted immense abilities and transformed into vampires, were-creatures, Lycans and governed other weaker beings who refused to enter the dark side and corrupted their souls for the consumption of pandemonium.
The God of Light and Order, who could not bear to witness the suffering of the helpless and the conflicted, heard the cries, pleas and prayers of the innocent for the desolation to stop.
A beam of bright white light shone in the midst, breaking the disturbance and turbulent mayhem. It pierced through the bodies of the dark creatures that were doing the bidding of the devils and destroyed them in droves.
The God of Light and Order had eliminated the shadows that shrouded the realm, reducing the size of the realm of chaos that was now known as the netherworld.
The once polluted plains were purified by the supreme one, who established a sanctuary of peace, serenity and tranquility.
Soon, the God of Light and Order bestowed powers on the creatures who pleaded for his coming to save them. Among the creatures who were granted the gifts to guard these new worlds were the elves, phoenixes, dwarves, and humans.
The world transformed as the waters, earth, fire and air shaped the plains into the paradise that we now know as Elysium.
The elves, who were the purest and wisest among the creatures, were bestowed with immortality and the power to wield the elements. They were given immense mana out of all the creatures of the realm, for none of the elves succumbed to the darkness of the devil during the time of chaos.
The phoenixes were supernatural birds adorned in bright colors of gold and red, like the elves, who were immortal.
Their tears and blood were known to heal all kinds of ailments and illnesses, even resurrecting the dead.
They were also given the power to shapeshift into human form to conceal their phoenix form from the prying eyes of the devil. They were the doctors and healers of the-"
"Mummy, can you skip the part and talk about the humans, please?"
"I haven't mentioned the dwarves!"
"They are small, stout, and the greatest blacksmiths of all races. That's it, boring."
"Wait until you meet one, and they will be your lifelong friend."
"These were just stories, mother."
"They weren't stories, but journeys into the mystical past. It might help you someday."
"They are wonderful bedtime stories, mother. Now please continue with the humans."
"Alright,
Humans are unique beings with extreme potential, possessing the possible attributes of elves, phoenix and dwarves combined.
However, they were not naturally gifted with these attributes; rather, they were required to learn these skills and pick up the traits of these different races.
So humans often learned and applied the traits and skills of other races to survive, such as acquiring enhanced craftmanship from the dwarves, elemental magic and arithmancy from the elves, and healing magic to become physicians from the phoenixes.
However, humans have an earthly nature, which causes them to sin and adopt the seven vices of evil.
The human heart is deceitful above all things, desperately sick and the devil took advantage of human weaknesses to pollute the land of light and order.
Therefore, death was apparent for men because they had all sinned and betrayed the God of Light and Order during the time of chaos."
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The dream vanished as Archie hazily regained consciousness. His vision was blurred and he saw a silhouette of a girl.
She was Aurelia, placing a cool, damp towel on his forehead, meticulously tending to his condition.
His eyes were dazed and his body numb by the overexertion he did at the foot of the cliff with the phantom.
"The phantom!" Archie jolted up in surprise to see that he was in a room on a comfortable bed.
"Fret not. It vanished. As soon as you unleashed the mana cyclone, it did not stay long to get itself caught by it. It was lurking in the shadows so it was easy to escape."
The haunting voices of his mother telling the tales of Elysium continue to linger, leaving him bewildered.