More than a thousand years ago, I was human—a fragile, powerless being unable to protect even myself. My existence was as insignificant as a shadow in the vast expanse of the world. The world I inhabited was unforgiving, a relentless tide of suffering and despair. My village, nestled in the shadow of unrelenting wars, was a graveyard of forgotten dreams. Every day, I battled hunger and fear, clinging to life as though it were slipping sand. I was nothing but a whisper in a storm, destined to be forgotten.
Then, he came—a being not of this world, whose presence eclipsed everything I thought I knew. He appeared not as a savior but as a revelation, a figure woven from light and shadow, his form defying comprehension. His voice resonated in my soul, a melody both beautiful and harrowing. He spoke truths that shattered the fabric of reality as I understood it: of stars that lived and died as mortal beings, of universes that breathed and collapsed in rhythms beyond time. He revealed the silent awareness of the moon and the secret whispers of the sun, and in his words, I glimpsed the infinite.
I followed his light, a moth to a flame, desperate to make sense of my smallness in this vast and unfathomable existence. But like all flames, it burned me. The light shattered, splintering into cruel shards that tore through the fragile fabric of my life. My own people, the humans I once trusted, betrayed me. Fear drove them to see me as an abomination, a threat. I pleaded, begged for mercy, but their eyes were blind with hatred. They bound me, cast me into the fire, and watched as the life they thought they ended flickered in defiance.
It was then that the gods intervened.
They lifted me from the ashes, their voices reverberating with divine judgment. Perhaps they pitied my broken soul, or perhaps they saw in me a pawn to manipulate. They granted me power—a divine gift meant to shield the weak and strike down evil. They named me a guardian, a savior, and yet I felt no gratitude. I wielded their power like a blade, severing darkness wherever it appeared. But the weight of their commands choked me. With every victory, I tasted bitterness. For in their light, I found no answers, only chains.
Decades turned into centuries, and I grew stronger. I became more than a guardian. I transcended their designs, evolving into a Supreme Guardian, a being even the gods began to fear. They called me a "dummy god," an echo of their divinity. Yet, in their fear, they revealed their weakness—their ignorance. They saw only what their light allowed, blinded to the truths hidden in the shadows.
And so, I turned to the darkness.
I plunged into the void, abandoning their light to seek the forbidden. The shadows welcomed me, their embrace cold and unrelenting. Within their depths, I found fragments of knowledge the gods had hidden, truths they dared not face. I learned to weave the void into my very essence, to twist its power to my will. It was there, in the abyss, that I shed the last remnants of my servitude. No longer a pawn, no longer a guardian. I became the Queen of Calamity, a being free from the gods' reach.
But freedom came at a cost. The abyss whispered secrets that gnawed at my sanity, truths that made even the gods' cruelty seem small. I sought understanding, believing knowledge would fill the void within me. Yet, every answer brought more questions, each more haunting than the last. I sacrificed everything—my humanity, my faith, my very soul—for knowledge.
And still, I failed.
Even in my ascension, there were mysteries I could not unravel, truths that lay just beyond my reach. For centuries, I roamed the darkness, my obsession consuming me. Then, on this battlefield, I found him—this boy. This impossible boy. The moment I felt his aura, I knew he was not of this world. His power, his presence—it was a beacon of understanding, a light I had chased for centuries but could never grasp. He held in his grasp the answers I had bled for, the truths I had burned for.
This boy is beyond this world. He is reincarnated.
I watched as Poll's essence tore through the battlefield, bending reality to his will. His power was not raw; it was refined, deliberate. He wielded forces I had spent a millennium trying to comprehend, yet he did so with the ease of breathing. My envy burned like acid, but beneath it lay something far greater—an awe I hadn't felt since I first gazed upon the being who shattered my human life.
"How?" I whispered to the void around me. "How does a child possess the knowledge I sacrificed everything for?"
My memories surged, pulling me into the past. I saw myself standing before the gods, their light blinding and oppressive. I remembered the betrayal, the fire, the void. Every step of my journey, every sacrifice I had made, led to this moment.
Poll's existence was proof that the universe held truths beyond my comprehension. Perhaps he was a key to unlocking the knowledge I had sought. Perhaps he was a rival, a reminder that I was not as supreme as I believed.
Or perhaps he was something far greater—an answer.
I clenched my fists, my dark aura flaring as the battlefield trembled. My gaze locked onto Poll, my mind racing with possibilities. He was the culmination of everything I had sought to understand, and I would not let this opportunity slip away.
"Boy," I said, my voice cutting through the chaos, "you carry the truths of the universe within you. You are what I have spent centuries seeking. And I will have that knowledge."
The battlefield fell silent as our auras clashed, darkness against brilliance. The gods' light had once blinded me, but now, I stared into a new radiance. This time, I would not falter.
For I was Tiara, the Queen of Darkness. And nothing—not gods, not shadows, not even this boy—would stop me from uncovering the ultimate truth.