The tree before time
821 Words
Chapter Eleven: The Heart of the Abyss
Part Two – The Tree Before Time
Void's laughter faded into an eerie silence.
The silver path carried Lyra and her companions toward the colossal tree that stood at the center of the Abyss.
With every step, its immense size became more overwhelming.
Its roots stretched beyond the horizon, disappearing into endless darkness.
Its branches pierced the heavens, cradling dying stars like fragile fruit.
The trunk was unlike wood.
It was formed from countless intertwined memories.
Faces emerged from its bark.
Kings.
Queens.
Children.
Guardians.
Entire civilizations whose names had vanished from history.
Every forgotten soul had become part of the tree.
Lyra tightened her grip on the Lantern of Memories.
"It feels... lonely."
The First Maker nodded.
"It has carried creation's memories since the first dawn."
"It remembers what the world has forgotten."
As they reached the base of the tree, a single leaf drifted gently downward.
It landed in Lyra's hand.
The moment she touched it, a vision flooded her mind.
She saw the first sunrise.
The first wolf raising its voice to the newborn moon.
The first human child taking a trembling step.
Then she saw the First Maker planting a tiny silver seed in the empty void.
The seed grew into the colossal tree before her.
"The Tree of Origins," he whispered.
"So long as it lives..."
"The memory of creation endures."
Suddenly, the black crystal embedded within the trunk pulsed.
Darkness spread through the bark like poisoned blood.
The stars hanging from the branches dimmed.
One by one...
They began to fall.
Each star struck the ground and shattered into black ash.
Fenris let out a sorrowful howl.
"A star has died," Lunara whispered.
"A world has just been erased."
Cassian stared in horror.
"Entire worlds..."
"They're disappearing."
The First Maker closed his eyes.
"The Void Heart is feeding."
A gentle clap echoed through the Abyss.
Void stepped from behind the tree.
He looked exactly as before—calm, elegant, and almost impossibly serene.
He smiled at Lyra.
"You've come farther than anyone else."
His gaze shifted to the Tree of Origins.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
He rested one hand against its trunk.
"It remembers every joy..."
"...and every sorrow."
He sighed.
"Tell me, Lyra."
"If you had the power to erase every painful memory from existence..."
"...wouldn't you?"
Lyra looked at him carefully.
"Pain teaches us."
Void shook his head.
"Pain destroys."
"It creates hatred."
"War."
"Loneliness."
"Grief."
He looked toward Kaelor and Vaelor.
"Everything standing before you began with suffering."
Vaelor cried out once more.
The darkness around him tightened.
He fell to his knees.
"Don't..."
"Listen..."
His voice was fading.
Void glanced at him sadly.
"He still believes pain gives life meaning."
"It doesn't."
With a flick of his fingers, another vision appeared.
Lyra saw a world without sorrow.
No sickness.
No death.
No betrayal.
Children laughed forever.
Families were never separated.
No tears had ever been shed.
"It can all become real," Void whispered.
"I only need the Seven Moon Hearts."
The Black Moon Queen stepped forward.
"I've seen that future."
Void smiled.
"And?"
"It isn't peace."
Her voice trembled.
"It's emptiness."
The perfect world began to crack.
The people inside it stopped smiling.
Their eyes became vacant.
They no longer dreamed.
They no longer loved deeply.
Without sorrow...
Joy had lost its meaning.
The vision collapsed into dust.
Void watched it disappear.
For the first time...
A trace of sadness crossed his face.
"I tried."
His words were almost a whisper.
"I truly tried."
The First Maker stepped beside Lyra.
"He was once the Guardian of Silence."
"He believed he could protect creation by removing every wound."
"But a world without pain..."
"...can no longer grow."
Void slowly turned.
"And a world full of pain deserves to grow?"
The First Maker answered quietly.
"It deserves the chance."
The black crystal within the Tree of Origins cracked again.
A thunderous heartbeat echoed through the Abyss.
The roots began twisting violently.
From deep beneath the tree...
A colossal throne slowly rose from the darkness.
Forged from obsidian and ancient bones, it was wrapped in chains that seemed older than time itself.
Upon the throne rested a crown of black crystal.
Void looked at it silently.
Then he smiled.
"At last."
"The Throne of Eternity."
He turned to Lyra.
"The final choice cannot be delayed any longer."
He extended one hand toward the throne.
The Moon Hearts within Lyra began to glow.
Seven beams of silver light surrounded her.
The First Maker's voice thundered across the Abyss.
"Do not let him claim the throne!"
But before anyone could move...
The ground beneath Lyra shattered.
She fell into a bottomless darkness.
The Lantern of Memories slipped from her grasp.
Its silver flame drifted away into the endless void.
As darkness swallowed her, she heard one final whisper.
"Welcome..."
"...to the place where even hope is forgotten."
To be continued...
- Writer
