Requiem Of A Failed Hero

After the abyss left, what remained of him was a vast empty sea of darkness.

The dark sea. Although it seemed incredible but Raith had suspected that this was a soulscape manifestation of the abyss effect.

The thing they say that when you stare into the abyss, it states back at you. Being associated with the abyss surely must have affected him in a way. The dark sea seemed too good to be true. That was how he thought of the whole situation from beginning.

An expanse where he could retrieve into and store item both physical and non-physical. Did the abyss leave him a very nice parting gift. No. He doubted that darned thing would ever be so nice. But along the way, he was tempted to believe that perhaps somehow, he had managed to steal something from the abyss.

But was still pessimistic about it even so...

Raith kinda looked forward to the day the dark sea was going to be a mess or an hindrance for him. Not that he expected that to happen so soon and in this way. He clearly suspected that when he met the abyss, it would be an hindrance then.

That was what he thought.

Currently, Raith was encroached by a vast wall of impregnable darkness. Floating amidst its thick veil, not even the slightest hint of light could be seen in it.

Raith was lost in the darkness of the soul.

He grimaced and turned around. There was no way further. No matter how deep into himself he was trying to tap, he couldn't break free from this shrouding darkness.

He tried harder, determined not to give up just because it would not work. On the outside, his eyes were shut, frowning with astonishing determination. The signs of how strenuous he was having it was drawn over his face.

On the inside, he dove deeper, the feeling was like trying to swim in a sea of quicksand - only that this was in reverse, quicksand normally would pull one down. But thus quicksand of darkness pulled him, as if it was enthusiastic about expelling him, it was actually.

There was something it didn't want Raith to reach, so as Raith pushed deeper, the expelling force only grew stronger. And in resisting it, be needed every bit of muscle power he could get.

A line suddenly split through him. Raith shuddered, his eyes widened in shock, he was sure something passed through him, splitting his body in equal half. But he was certainly fine.

However, something had heavily changed.

Raith looked around him. The pitch darkness was partly no more. To the right side of his body was a vast veil of white and to his left was black.

It was like light and darkness was struggling to find a balance in him. He began to feel unsettling, like being torn apart in a tug of war between two colossal entities. These things were bigger than him for sure and he didn't know what they were.

Raith held himself together. Clenching his chest as he tried to endure the pain and make sense of what was currently happening to him. But the pain only worsened by the second.

He gritted his teeth strongly, a second later, he lowered his head and a strained groan escaped his mouth. He was trying all possible best within his power to keep that groan from getting out. But he just couldn't help it.

His body felt like it was being split apart.contemporary romance

'Think, think, think… what the fuck is happening'

It was a sad realization, that his body almost didn't feel like his.

Being a vessel to the abyss has opened Raith's body to several more corruption than he even knew. He was doomed for destruction the moment the abyss was ejected somehow by Fel. It was a primordial after all.

However, Raith did not know this. What he did know was that the dark sea was not supposed to be there… simply because it wasn't there before he met the abyss.

Being a ruler does not mean the ability to manifest a soulscape. Raith didn't think so.

One side of him was light, on the other side was darkness.

Is it strange that he had been able to wield three different types of energy up until now. Normally, other people were subjected to one, it was either this or that, not this and that. Even Volmak, who was the only person Raith knew to have mastered aura, didn't use it as much.

He found a way to channel his fiendish energy and make it serve the same purpose as aura would. Of course, that came with years of meditation and energy refining. It was inconceivable for humans. However, Volmak was almost immortal, he is a fiend after all.

Raith on the other hand, could control cosmic energy, easily control aura and a strange last one… dark energy.

He had naturally thought that it belonged to the abyss. Moreso, since it served an important purpose of being a medium through which he summoned his army of death.

'Darn it'

Raith gritted his teeth harder. The harrowing pain was growing intense and piercing his muscles, getting harder to endure.

He needed to find a solution as soon as he can.

Why? Why? Why? Why?

'Why wouldn't this goddamned abyss just leave me the fuck alone??!!'

This was clearly a corruption the abyss had infected him with.

That was the case for the darkness but what about the light? what is this light? Is this light supposed to serve as a solution?

Turning his head to look at the enormous background of white was almost impossible, all his body had grown stiff and unwilling.

Raith took in the visage of the plane background for a few minutes. It was a polar opposite of the darkness, a place that undoubtedly offered tranquility. The darkness on the other hand…

Straining himself harder again, Raith looked to the other side. His head was marked with pulsating veins, eyes reddened and slowly giving out. Sweat poured from all over his face like he was bathed in rain.

Somehow, Raith seem to understand one little fact.

The light was not a solution.

The light seemed even more of a scary ally than the darkness. It felt strange and distant, maybe because he wasn't used to it or there could be another deeper reason.

Cosmic energy was the purest of energy after ether. Having a body that can store a large percentage of it, maybe that was the reason for this white plane.

No.

Something was not adding up. That was not the case. Raith couldn't piece the puzzle together but he was sure this wasn't the case… darn he didn't even know anymore.

'...what the fuck am I?'

It was high time, he started asking himself these questions about his identity... why was everything about him so complicated?

Raith grimaced and thought of something.

'...maybe all this will be okay if I start with the dark sea?'

Raith closed his eyes. Attempting to dive deeper into the depth while enduring the force one last time. As he opened his eyes the vast dark water, still and peaceful came in view.

Slowly, Raith exhaled. The pain had tremendously reduced but it wasn't completely gone.

On the still surface of the water Raith could see the two Phoenix birds playing with each other, pecking each other's feathers. As soon as they saw him, they quickly ran behind a rock to hide themselves, shaking nervously.

'...looks like they are still wary of me.'

It would take more than a while for these creatures to probably fully accept him considering how eventful their lives have been. But he didn't care for now, he needed to do something about this place.

"Sage"

[I've been expecting you]

done.co