Keepers

Emergence

The resplendent sun battled against the splendiferous moon. The earth and sky bore witness as the two great lights fought for dominance, scorching heat against icy cold. They painted the sky an array of bright orange and stormy grey. The battle, though sumptuous soon ends at a stalemate, both magnificent forces coming together. The earth watched, the sky witnessed, the merging of the two forces, the completion of coalescence. Golden and grey became black, a bright ring of light around them. The earth trembled, the sky quivered for the omen was non other than a warning. The dark one, malevolent one, harbinger of chaos was close, his power within his reach. The world was soon to witness his emergence, behold his unforgiving wrath.

*****

The dark one awaited impatiently for the merging. Coalescence was imminent and with its appearance the veil between him and his powers would weaken. He would piece together his body and merge it with his soul. With both body and soul together again, nothing would stop him from regaining his essence. He had waited over a thousand years for this day.

His gaze turned to the two lights in the sky when the sunshine started to dim. Awe-filled eyes stared at the magnificence ensnarling in the sky. Never had he seen anything more breathtaking.

The world went dark as coalescence commenced. He picked up the goblet filled with blood and emptied half the contents onto his body parts which lay, arranged on a tomb like pedestal in the center of the cave. He downed the rest of the blood. The opening at the top was directly below the glare of the now black and gold orbs, his body parts exposed to the little light they emitted.

In a language far too old for any living creature of the world to understand, he chanted words that shook the very earth upon which he stood. The air stilled, it froze as though time itself had stopped. The world appeared to be darker, as though the little light left from coalescence was slowly being sucked away.

The body parts before him started to move. The aged heart in the body he occupied jerked as he witnessed it. Louder, stronger, his voice chanted. The blood began to seep into the parts. They sucked it up as a sponge would. Slowly, they began to take form. Fingers pieced themselves together. Followed by the toes. Soon, they merged into a hand and feet. Before long the legs and arms attached themselves to a torso. Unseeing eyeballs locked themselves into a skull, teeth one by one secured themselves into the jaw. The ears attached themselves to the head and finally, the last piece, the throat locked into place in the neck.

His crackly voice broke. His chest heaved from the energy he'd expelled carrying out the ritual. Yet, he could not falter for though his body was whole again, lying before him in all its ethereal beauty, his soul was still lost to it. If he could not restore it in time, it would perish with the ebbing body it occupied and he would fade away.

He looked toward the opening at the top of the cave. The coalescence was a powerful period. Darkness rejoiced with its appearance. However, it was fleeting. It had moved only an inch but, that was enough to strike fear into the dark one. Should coalescence end before the merging of his body and soul, it would be his end.

The sickly fingers closed over the chest of the body before him. His lips moved as he resumed with his chanting. Once again, the air stilled, it gazed unmoving at the dark force before it. The cave walls shook, dust fell from them. The ground rumbled in fear, thunder boomed in the sky. His frail body quivered yet, he did not stop. To falter was to die, fade away.

Bones cracked in his chest as his life force, his soul began to separate from the frail body and seep into the one before him. His skin began to sag, his hair fell off bit by bit. Yet, the crackly voice remained strong, even. His desire to be whole again outweighed whatever pain he felt. Seconds passed and then minutes, coalescence was coming to an end. The once dim world was getting brighter. Sunlight started to stream into the cave through the opening at the top. Time awaits no one, not even as dark a force as he.

Fear gripped his heart at the thought of perishing after waiting so long. He chanted louder, stronger, calling upon all forces in the universe. Until... Silence.

No sound reached his ears, no breeze kissed his skin. He opened his eyes to a place devoid of light. His name echoed in the space. He smiled. It was the in-between plane. A space between life and death. The prison where his essence had been trapped for longer than a thousand years. It called out to him, yearning to touch his skin, feel his soul. He answered its call and followed its whispers, tiny footprints on the sands of time.

*****

The sun's rays warmed his face. Through his eyelids, he could see its glare. They fluttered open and his eyes were greeted by a most beautiful sight. The same cave he'd occupied for years innumerable. Only this time, he viewed it through his own eyes not those of a rotting corpse. His bones creaked as he sat up. Muscles protested and ached. His heart pulsated in his chest, working hard to pump blood to all parts of his body. His head pounded, skin felt numb. He welcomed it all, the pain, for no pain could outweigh the joy he felt at being whole once again.

He looked up at the sky. Coalescence had ended, the sun had since moved from the position it occupied earlier. He could recall nothing of the in-between plane, only darkness. Judging from the sun's progression however, he had been in suspended animation for quite some time. He was stronger already. Despite the pain in his bones, the lack of feeling on his skin, he could sense his essence slowly seeping into his body. Resurrected as he were, his body could easily absorb it.

"I am whole, Nivierin, free at last. Now, I shall come for you."

The words were uttered, a promise made. The dark one was resurrected, his wrath imminent, his emergence had begun.