Chereads / Balancing Eternity / Chapter 5 - Chapter 4 - An Empty Throne

Chapter 5 - Chapter 4 - An Empty Throne

As my consciousness dissipated, I came to know a very familiar feeling. 

It was eternity.Or so I thought. It felt the same, but there was a major difference. I had a body. I could move and sense. A setting appeared that I could never see before. In this dark room, I saw a luxurious golden throne, stained by blood that was pooling in front of it, as if it had just gotten there. But no matter how long I stared, the blood dripping from the throne to the floor never ended. It seemed to be a cycle. An eternal cycle. I stared at the pool, thoughts filling my head. I used the senses I had previously lost to feel the eternity. As I stared at the pooling of blood emptily, I remembered I could move. I almost forgot because I was so used to not being able to. I stepped forward to the throne as I heard the tapping of my shoes. I smelt the blood on the floor. I put my finger in the spot where the blood was dripping from.Tap. Tap. Tap.The blood fell onto my finger as I felt it collide with my skin cells. I stared at the pool, blood dripping into it as if it was a sink that hadn't had the handle turned all the way off. I put my finger into my mouth and tasted the blood. I had fully sensed the eternity I was once in. Is this how somebody can become a god? But something wasn't right. I heard an almost omniscient-sounding voice enter my brain. Not through my ears, though.("This is not your eternity anymore, child.")I frantically looked around. I couldn't see anything, yet an image popped into my mind. It was a form my human brain could not comprehend. The feeling of an endless amount of time passing afflicted me as the otherworldly imagery continued in my mind. It felt the same as my eternity, so what did it mean by "not my eternity anymore"? A human-looking form of the celestial being descended onto the throne. It spoke with its mouth and its voice went through my ears. "This eternity has ended. Goodbye. However, nothing is out of reach. I will leave you with a gift, for I am not a devil." The sound of the dripping blood stopped as I was thrown back into reality against my will. I awoke to the lovely sight of Ame throwing a black t-shirt at me. He looked down at me with a slightly condescending expression. "Have a bad dream?" I nervously looked up at him as I semi-confidently spoke. "No..."He looked dead at me, with the straightest face I've ever seen in my life and spoke. "You literally looked like you were about to shit your pants. Please don't lie." "Shut up." I looked away and took off my old shirt, peeling small bits of crystal out of it. I began putting on the t-shirt Ame gave me, when a question got thrown at me out of nowhere. "Why did you lie?" "An idol I once liked told me something. She said 'Lies are love'. I lived by that ever since." "No seriously, why did you lie about it."I wasn't even entirely lying about that though. Putting on an act around others is the best way not to get hurt. It didn't seem to work on Ame though. However, I did have a better answer. "My eternity does not concern others." After all, I couldn't bring anybody else with me. If I did, I would still be with L'eau right now. Ame looked at me with a slightly disgruntled expression as he said "Whatever, just get dressed and meet me outside. "I got up and saw a pair of black pants laying on the floor. I picked them up at put them on, and they were surprisingly the right size. I walked out of the basement, stole the rest of the bread that Ame didn't eat, and walked outside. He was waiting outside with a smile, and spoke in a soft tone. "Follow me." I began to follow him as he walked over, bread still in my mouth."Whfer awe wi goinf?" "You'll see." Ame laughed as we continued walking. After about 30 minutes, we finally arrived at the destination. It was a dark, slightly barren mountain with rocky terrain all nearby. Over the horizon, I could see a desert-like area. Ame spoke up, as if sensing my confusion. "This is the border between Jeti and Baum. The Jeti army is not allowed to go here, otherwise Baum would take it the wrong way and it might start a war." I see. So that's why I had to walk 30 minutes into the middle of bumfuck nowhere. With my bread still digesting, Ame motioned for me to sit down. I sat down with him, and he began speaking. "Before we start training, I need to tell you about Jeti. Information is the most powerful weapon here." That was pretty rich coming from a guy who could kill a group of guards with ease. He opened his mouth, and began to yap for a good 30 minutes about the world, where he came from, and about his research. "First of all, you gotta know the landscape here. Jeti is a really hard place to enter, which makes immigration almost impossible without help. The army is one of the strongest armies on the planet, due to the 100 commanders and 100,000 members. Many people respect them." "Doesn't that make us somewhat of a terrorist organization?" "Uhm... Maybe! Who knows." He quickly switched the topic."Jeti is on relatively bad terms with every country, especially L'eau." My eyes widened. "Th-"He tried talking again but I cut him off. "What did you just say?" "Uhhh... they are on pretty bad terms with almost everybody, especially L'eau?" My mind was racing. What the hell? There was a country named after my girlfriend? Was L'eau still alive? Why is it named after her? I wanted an answer. I needed an answer. "Tell me about that country. Right now." I demanded he told me in an incredibly serious tone. "Uhm... well.. I was born there. I was an incredibly talented mage from a young age. I quickly became the top student of my magic school and had been invited to an international banquet. Naturally, I brought my dad, brother, and sister along. At the banquet, there was top magic students from all over the world. There were also a couple leaders and second in commands there. Most importantly, the 2nd commander of the Jeti army was there. Out of nowhere, an argument broke out between Cittaglia and Baum. During the commotion, I saw the commander appear at my table." At this moment, I could see the eyes of Ame grow ever so slightly more lifeless." He killed my father."