EINAR STONBROL
"Rise, my King...."
Those were the words I heard before reawakening. As I lay in the Null realm, I had a conversation with Luna about how to return to the world of the living.
"What!" I exclaimed at the top of my voice. Luna smirked, her childish giggles making the situation even more unbearable.
"You wish to live, do you not? That's the only way," she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
According to Luna, in order to regain my life, I had to make an equivalent exchange with the curse. I had to give the curse something worth a life. It seemed that Luna had been given a similar option at the time of her death, but she had chosen not to take it.
"Are you sure there's no other way?" I pleaded with Luna, desperate to find an alternative. But she quickly dismissed me, her expression unyielding.
What could possibly be worth a life? I wondered, trying to unravel this seemingly impossible trade. What would a curse do with a human life, anyway? It's not like it would come to life or something.
I sat for what felt like eternity, trying to find a solution. What would Father do in this situation?
I thought, surprised that I hadn't asked myself that question in two whole years. Was I truly that bad of a son, even in this life?
"You know what, screw it. I'll just stay dead," I said, laying down on the vast expanse of nothingness.
Luna's face froze in confusion, clearly not expecting me to choose death over life, i mean who would honestly? "Oh. That's a shame," she said, manifesting a cup of hot tea in her hand.
"What do you expect me to do? It's not like I can trade my life for another life," I muttered.
Luna hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I suppose you can't..
And your family. Have you given up on finding them too?" she asked, her words piercing my heart.
Instantly, I was grabbed by my own thoughts. "Oh yeah...that was my mission, wasn't it?" I doubted my own convictions. At what point did I forget about my family,? The whole reason I trained for two years was so I could be strong enough to leave and reunite with them someday.
But I guess somewhere down the road, I forgot I even had a family. How selfish of me...
These thoughts constantly taunted me, and I realized I had lost my way.
"I mean, you still do wanna find them, don't you?" Luna asked, her voice gentle.
Right before manifesting an old memory of me and my parents playing together, Luna's words struck a chord within me.
It was around my sixth birthday, and Mom and Dad had planned a big surprise for me. But due to my cunning, otherworldly knowledge, I was able to find out.
However, I pretended like I didn't know a thing, just so I could see the happy expressions on my parents' faces.
"They looked happy," Luna muttered right before taking a sip of her lemon scented tea. She proceeded in showing me another old memory. One after the other, I saw old memories of times spent with my family.
After a moment, I noticed Luna staring at me with a sense of pride in her eyes. "What's wrong with you?" I asked.
"Your crying..." she replied, pointing out the tears that were unexpectedly falling from my eyes.
I was surprised, it had been soo long since I had shed a tear, for a moment I thought I had lost my humanity.
After wiping my eyes and remembering what I was truly fighting for, I made up my mind. "How do I make the trade?" I asked, my eyes filled with determination.
Luna shrugged, pointing towards an ancient door that seemed to come out of nowhere.
As I took my first step towards the door, Luna embraced me and whispered into my ear, "You're not gonna remember this, but I want you to know that ******" She let go and waved me goodbye, telling me she'd wait on the outside.
I arrived at the door and slowly opened it, only to be sucked in by the door and find myself in a desolate grassland.
At the center of the grassland stood a massive tree that seemed over a thousand years old and yet still stood strong. However what was most peculiar about this tree was that it's top burned in black flames.
The sky was a mixture of red and black, with a black sun at its centre illuminating everything around it. The scenery sent a chill down my spine as the red sky cover by dark black ominous clouds seemed to have been in constant motion, it was as though the very world itself moved in constant motion.
"Hello there," a faint voice said to me from behind.
I quickly turned, and my eyes widened in shock at who stood before me. "You...You're...me."