Moros the Primordial Fear

I am frustrated. Angry. Resentful.

 

When he opened his eyes, Nicholas was consumed by the grudge that had been brewing in his heart.

No reason; just anger and frustration. I want to kill things.

His disgust for life rose to the top of his throat and he wanted to spit it out.

 

Stomp on it. Tear it apart! Crush it so it can never rise again.

 

With each horrible thought, Nicholas felt like his entire heart was burning hot.

As if he were alive... Suddenly, a smile tugged at Nicholas's lips.

 

Hah hah. Here comes a cheeky one.

 

The rumbly voice reverberated, clenching at his heart at once.

At the same time, Nicholas felt black liquids with sharp teeth attacking him and dodged.

He looked around. There were black liquids everywhere that felt unpleasant, like a conglomeration of raw, angry energy.

 

How didn't I notice these until now? Wait, this place...?

 

Nicholas looked around as if he just had come to his senses.

The interior of the mansion was stained red, and there were black liquids with sharp teeth all over the floor.

The unpleasant things were moving on their own, approaching Nicholas.

On his legs and knees, swallowing him whole...

Nicholas began to feel fear and panicked.

When he was finally swallowed whole, Nicholas looked back at his past as if in a dream.

 

The death of King Baboon, King of the Spider Kingdom. He and his sister, Angelina, were the two remaining heirs to the throne.

Her misunderstanding of their father's death.

Situations where things didn't go as well as they'd like them to.

In the end, the only thing left was the desire to kill everything.

 

Such an impotent sense of revenge, but one that fits right into this Hell of Sleepless Sins.

 

When Nicholas opened his eyes, he saw something he had never seen before.

But somehow it felt familiar, as if it was deep in his subconscious.

He felt as if he was watching a primeval horror.

And he realized that the enormity of this horror was actually putting his mind at ease.

Nicholas knew he had to trust it with his life.

 

 

 

Karon the Gatekeeper

Your Majesty.

The Blade.

 

The King of a Hundred Ghosts.

The Blade Forged in Hardship.

 

The souls you have sealed have filled the Netherworld.

I willingly descended into this world in response to your ghostly energy.

 

How can I not recognize you as king?

How can I say that you are unqualified?

 

But Your Majesty.

But Blade.

 

It's still not known if you will be the center of destiny.

This will make your karma even heavier.

 

Your journey will never be smooth.

Your death will not be a smooth one.

 

You, the King of a Hundred Ghosts.

You, the Blade Forged in Hardship.

 

I have kept my word and given you strength.

I will make thee king by the pledge of this day.

 

Now, take the hilt and prove that you're the master of the blade.

Now, take up the sword and prove yourself worthy of a king.

 

This will be the trial of Karon, the Gatekeeper.

 

 

 

Fount of Abyss

"Today, I'm meeting a lot of new friends."

 

Somewhere in Pandemonium, the old mage spoke to the thing that had brought him here.

 

"So, what shall I call you?"

 

In the form of a giant sphere of inky blackness, it exuded an ominous aura that seemed to have no end.

An evil energy unlike any he had ever encountered swirled around the old mage.

Soon, a collection of space-ripping bursts became a voice, echoing around him.

 

The Abyss, the infinite power. That's who I am.

 

"You're the cause of the energy emanating from the creatures around here."

 

Foolish one, you've hidden what you want, but not your empty self.

 

Black energy quickly flowed from the black sphere, swirling around the old mage at a rapid pace.

His surroundings turned into an infinite pitch-black space where the boundaries between earth and sky were indistinguishable.

The old mage smoothed the hem of his robe.

His wrinkled hand holding the front of his robe trembled.

His graying hair falling from his deep hood stood out against the blackness of his surroundings.

 

What do you want?

The sphere that asked the question shed the black shell that enveloped it and transformed into many forms.

 

It spoke in the form of a monster with a horribly torn mouth that distorted any possible expression it had on its face.

The tongue that can put a spell on anyone?

 

It whispered in the form of a man, his eyes empty where they should have been.

The eyes that can see what's hidden?

 

It shouted in the form of a boy with an abnormally fast beating heart.

Or power that never dries up?

 

Accept my power, and guide me.

Fill your empty vessel with my power.

 

The old mage shook off the evil energy that coiled around his body and looked at his opponent.

 

"Only a fool would believe in strength without a price, and..."

"What's empty is already filled with something else."

 

Refusing to take the easy way out? You're playing games.

If so, what filled you up?

 

"Faith in a blade that's small and dull for now."

 

Did you really sell yourself and obscure the truth for something so insignificant?

You fool, do you really think that small blade can match me or her?

 

"Well... For now, it may be a dull lump of iron, but as it's sharpened and honed, it'll become sharper and sharper."

"It'll encounter and clash with many things. It'll stand side by side with them or fight against them, and they'll be the anvil that will sharpen the blade."

"Yes, even our meeting now may one day reach the blade."

 

You will eventually regret this day. For not accepting my power.

 

"Maybe. But my choice will not be wrong."

 

The inky globe vanished, leaving the determined old mage behind.

A sharp intake of breath escaped him as the black energy that had pressed down on him dissipated.

 

"It let me go..."

 

Soon, the old mage also disappeared with a short flash of light.

Their conversation brought a momentary silence to the land, but soon screams from all directions filled the pitch-black landscape.

 

 

 

He Who Hid the Dew

In a space,

three men—one old, one young, and one younger—faced each other.

They were as different in appearance as they were in age, and yet they seemed to resemble each other in an odd way. 

There was silence for a while, and then the young man spoke up.

 

"Hah hah hah, this is a different experience, me face-to-face with my different selves."

 

At that, the old man nodded quietly and replied.

 

"I know. This is strange and mysterious, even for me, a conversation with myself embodied in memory."

"How come I did this, and I feel so awkward? Strange!"

 

At the younger man's bluntness, the older one shrugged and replied.

 

"Strange? Hmm... No. Awkward, more like. Because we'll never be in this situation again."

 

The younger man did not answer, but turned his head and gazed into the distance for a while.

The others followed his gaze and saw a jumble of spaces.

The edges of that unstable dimension were writhing, as if heralding the imminent arrival of someone or something.

 

"Sheesh, so what are we gonna do now?"

 

The younger one asked. The young one answered.

 

"We'll have to wait."

"For whom?"

"Them."

"Who's gonna do the waiting?"

 

The young man and the old man looked at each other and answered at the same time.

 

"You."

"You."

"..."

 

With a look of disbelief on his face, the younger one spoke up.

 

"What? You made me look like a child, and now you expect me to do the hardest thing?"

 

The young man replied as if it were no big deal.

 

"Of course. The old me and I have things to do elsewhere."

"Grr...!"

"So, in the end, you're the only one who can protect this place. Oh wait, it's weird to say you, because you're me."

"Shut up! I knew this was what I was supposed to do all along!"

"Hah hah, you're so like me. You already knew that."

 

The younger man was about to lunge at the young one when the old man raised his hand to stop them.

 

"Please stop. We don't have much time left."

"..."

"..."

"Yes, I know! We have to build a path and wait for them!"

"Yes. And it's probably not going to be easy."

 

The old man's words stirred up the younger man.

 

"'Not going to be easy?' Who are you talking to? Me?"

"You're me, so I'm talking to myself after all."

"What? Are you doubting yourself?"

"Maybe. This is all I can do. The rest is up to others."

 

The younger one levitated himself. The other two were not surprised by his magical float.

 

"Hmm... Are you saying I'm not ready?"

"No. I know you're ready. I'm not worried about you."

"But the old me looks worried."

 

The old man didn't respond to this immediately. After a while, he said.

 

"We know who we're up against, don't we?"

 

The other two replied at the same time.

 

"Yes."

"Yes."

 

A moment of silence.

Actually, they knew everything without speaking to each other.

Because they were all me.

 

My reason for saying this out loud was an excuse to go over the plan again,

but maybe it's a way to hide the fear of being small in the face of great power.

I spoke.

 

"The framework of the cogs... is finally complete."

"Now, it's just a matter of putting in those fateful cogs we're waiting for."

"What fate those cogs will turn to..."

 

Now, it's just a matter of waiting.

 

 

 

The Lady of Light

"He is the light of the beginning,

the true master of the universe,

the source of all things... the great will."

 

The woman thought back to the words she'd repeated countless times.

When the world became tainted with chaotic energy and lost its primeval glow,

even when the impure energy of unknown origin spread like ink,

she did not abandon her mission.

 

Finally, after a long search, she found the smallest clue to solve her longing.

 

"If I am to achieve my desire, I must go through him..."

 

She spread her great golden wings and slowly took flight.

A golden wave followed her, illuminating the whole heavens and earth.

 

She glanced down at the world, feeling the chill of the air.

She could see the peaks towering toward her, almost touching the sky. 

All around her, a fog enveloped her, obscuring her vision, but she could tell at a glance.

That the one she sought was there.

 

"There he is, the wisest mage in the land."

 

She moved lower than before. 

Through the white haze, she saw a figure standing upright.

The woman smiled faintly, knowing that her wish would finally be granted.