{Vaul POV}
The nameless sword… a blade that isn't a blade, something that has existed before even the concept of a sword… it is not meant to be a weapon, but a lesson… I feel the three wheels on the sword begin to spin, and as the blade sings to me, it stabs me, and in that moment, I feel it begin to burn…
The red lines that cut the blade begin to bleed from it and into me. It was an agony that I would never have experienced had it not been for grabbing this piece of history given form. I feel the crushing weight of the sky and the fiery blood of the Earth, as well as the flames of hell…
It's testing me… Seeing if I was worthy… I grasp the handle tightly, so tightly that red begins to coat the bottom of the blade. The wheels begin to turn fast, faster and faster, as the lines reach my face and enter my eyes. It burns… It hurts… It hurts… It hurts…
The blade continues to turn as fiery circles form in front of my eyes, and as it does so, I am forced to let go of the sword, but even then, more of those red lines appear and stab me through every part of my body, lifting me up into the air… I bite down on my lips and begin bleeding, yet even that pain is nothing… This is nothing…
I can feel my heart still beating… I can hear the blood flowing through my veins… I will not die like this… this is nothing…
The lines on the blade and the lines coming out of the portals turned golden, and in the next moment, the pain, the all-consuming pain, becomes something different. My translucent body begins to take shape. Translucent flesh becomes real. I begin to hear the buzzing and waves of sound emanating from the nameless sword. I truly begin to see into the portals in front of me…
An empty space and infinite void exactly like the one I had seen before… I feel power, even without knowing what it looks like. I begin to truly understand… I take it in again and again and again… I hear whispers in the back of my mind…
[Į̸̢̗̜͖̠̮̱̮͎̪͖̮̘͗ ̵̯̭̱͌̂̌̈̚s̴̢̻̻̭̜͍͖̬̰͗̐̄̈ͅ ̸͖̙̊̎̾̒͆̽̚͝õ̷̧͎͈̞̣̏̈̉̿͛̽͌͘͜͠ͅf̸̧̢̧̧͓͙͙͍͚̝͖̿̿͑̈́͗̾̈́́͑̇̕͘͝͝ ̴̧̧̡̨̡̮̻̮̪̥̻̻̘̬̏̑̿̎͌͐̂͒͘͜͝͝t̷̙̰̬͌́̏̽̈́͊̆̄̄̀͜͝h̵̠̓͌͑̏̾̈́̌͌͘̚̕͝ȩ̸̜͍͉̖̽̃̍͜ͅ ̷̢̢̞̘̼̗̣̞̯̜̭̗͎͂̉͛̀͠͝ͅb̶̮͙͒̿̕e̴͓̮̠͚͉͇̹̽̏̉̈́̓̒͂̏̑̊̀͘͝͝g̴̛̻̣̫̏͋͐͂̀̑͆̀̃́̒̓̓̕ỉ̸̧̯̙͓̹̖̘͙̰͕̣̽̂̓̂̌͑̏̃̕͝n̶̡̢̨̧̗̪̮̲͖̤͉̉͒ͅn̶̡̖͎̦̞̙̟͂̓̈́͗̊͘͘i̵̡͍̜̦̳̼̣̘͉̦͇͎̜̮̊̾̈̈̓̇͒͗̒̄͠͝ͅn̷̡̨͉̮͛g̷̡͇͐̽.̵̢̢͚͎͙͔̦͈̟̹̦̪̰̪̆͛͐͋̈́̀̃̅̃̉̍͘̕͜͠]
My eyes begin to bleed as I feel more and more. I begin to see everything… The world fades away and becomes nothing but bits of string, twisting around all of us… each of the strings are an infinite expanse of numbers and probabilities.
[Ḥ̴̞̝̪̞̗͍̳̮̱̮̰̐̉͐̚͜ ̷͚̳̞̔̄̀̌̈̈́̕a̷͚̦̥̤̤̳̳̿̈́̑̍̑̅͛͠͝v̵̢̘̫̹̯̬̇̅̽̊͜͝͠e̴̮̣͈͉͉͎͙̫̪͕͐̓́̌̐ň̸̡̮̮̻͎͕͓̖̼͊͝ ̷̢̨͚̳̞̞̺̙̳̻̙͈̖̔̄̀̌̈̈́̕a̷͚̦̥̤̤̳̳̿̈́̑̍̑̅͛͠͝n̵͉͙͔̱͔̜͖͋ͅḑ̶̬̤̣̱̳͎͍̹̖̫̫̾ ̷̫̗̤̅͗̒͛̑͗̀͊̈́̀̄͝É̴̤̦̜͉̝̯̣̟̜̐̈̏̂͌͛̉͊̈̚a̵̢̧͖͖̬̫̮͓̗͍̋̇̐̈͂̐̈́̈́ͅr̴̨̢̡͓̞̜͇̖͕͈̙̘͓̫̐̿̈́̅̋̇́͌t̶̡͖͉͔͙͇͕̠̹͇̟̠̄͐̄͗͜͝ẖ̷͉͎͎͉̤͈̹͓̿͒̒͗̒̋͐̌̈́͠ͅ ̵̢̛͚̠̻͉̖̗̻͂̌̽̒́̿̈͜s̸̛̹̥͖̻̜̻̠̟̋̍͂̉͑̓͑͐̈̽̚͝p̷̨̢̦̫̣̲̥͇͙̈́̍̃l̸̢̢͉̝̟͍͉̯̹̲̹̝͉̯͚̺͌̊͆́̔͆̿̾̿̔͘͘i̵̛̤̘̥͉̪̽̋̓̍̈̓̀͑̓̆͊̕͜͠͝ť̵̨̗͚͔̼͔̙̣̜͗̕,̵͈̬͉̰̻̜̒̏̾̒̏̀̔̈́́̚̕ ̴̢̨̨̲̪̗̳̟̤̺͚͈̉̆̏̐̓̒̀͂̕͘n̶̢̟̦̖̦̮̹̣͆͊͐͛͗͑̔͒̚͜͝͝ͅò̷̞͚̩̙͈͔̔͒̅̓̆̏̽̀̐͆t̸̖͍͉͎̓̋͌͋̐͑̅͋͊͐̾̀̓͆̓ḧ̶̖͔̘̩̯͎̲̻͆͒̚i̶̢̛̛͙͍͕̯̥͐͑̌̐͌̊̈́̕̚͝͝n̴͎͈̟̬̘̘̜̞̟̄g̵̢̢͎̲̫̪̏̄͐̿̆͊͗̌̊̾̀̕̕͘͜͠ṋ̵̡̢̘̜͍̺̻̪̱̬̈͗͒̇̐̽͂̚͜͝ͅẽ̴̡͖̙͈͎̮̚s̸̡̝̻̹̦̝̜͙̰͍̲̦͐̈́̂͜ŝ̸̡̺̥̳̻̥̔̐̌̚̚ ̸̧͈͓͉̯̩͔͚̺̙͚̆̀̐̄̓͗͑́͛͂͘ͅp̷̧̛͈̺͍͕͖̽͊͋͑͑̀̕r̵̢̨̠̳͚͗͒̉̑̎͆̏͑͝ȁ̵̡̡̛͈͉͋̆̌͌̎̇̃̊͋̕͜i̵̡̧͐̐̔͌͐͝s̸̤̓̈́͒̈́̈̍̿͆ẻ̴͇̦̱̗͓̙̪̲̰̝̩̱̜͇͑́̚͝ͅd̸̟̼̲̭͖̮̱̘̑̿̀͐͆̒̈͌ ̵̨̡͕̟̝̤̭̣̰̫͚͊̾̍̋͆̔͌̇̏̑́͝͝c̶̛͙̦̠̰̤͓̈́̀͋̋̓̏̍̈̕͠r̶̜̪̜̅̏̔͊̒͑͛̀̎̐͝ě̶̖̇̋̔̍̓̾̎̋͗̉͒̋͘̕ͅą̷̢̤͈̜̦̥͔̼̙̫͕̥͓̜̈́̌̚t̴̡̨̢̺̘͙̺̽͂̄͠i̵̞͆̈́͂̄͘̕̚ó̸̡̨̜͔̗̯̹͙̼̙̩̫n]
It keeps whispering in my ears, telling me it's all pointless, that I should stop… that I am not worthy… I feel the same… but I can't disappoint them… pain is an old friend… everything I am hinges on this moment. The surroundings fill with a cold and light as my body grows and contorts.
"I have to keep going… I have to keep going… I have—"
"You seem troubled, your majesty," a new voice appeared at my side. It was calm, level, but it held so much of something… something more, something almost warm.
I turned my head to look towards the voice, and I found a woman with brown hair and brown eyes, with darker skin. In the light, her brown eyes seemed to be almost gold…
"You… you shouldn't be here… it's not safe… I can't… it's too much… it's too much…" I screamed out in pain as another pulse echoed from the portals and the blade.
Yet the woman walked in front of me and, with an almost absurd amount of grace, seemingly lowered me back down to her level… as she got closer, I was almost afraid…
"Please don't—"
"You have nothing to fear, my king… I am here with you… why do you not let it go?" A simple question, but I couldn't answer her. Why?
She smiled as she placed her forehead against my own. "If you don't let it go, you will die, and all of this will be for nothing… you can't take it all in just yet… let me share your burden… I believe in you… be strong like I know you can be, my king…"
As I felt more and more power into my body and cracks began to appear alongside the rushing energy, they closed in a harsh golden light. Yet, in that moment, I stared into her eyes again, and my clenched fists loosened. My body loosened. I took a breath. And I said the words.
[m̵̧͇̯̫̰̰̩̫̦͚̓͗̏̈̓͆y̸̜͇̘͉͖͋͗̾̐̌̃̚̕ ̵̢̳͔͔̪̣̬̻̘̈́͒̇̓̂́͑͛͆͠ͅS̵̙̪̖͇͚̺͖͚̝̊̅̈͒̑̃̆͌͛̎͐̚͝w̶͚͍̭̥̺͈̣͕̳͒̀͝o̸͖̙̊̎̾̒͆̽̚͝ṙ̶͓̙̙̟̍̎̈́̿͆ḓ̷͙̺͋͊̽̋ ̸̺̥̜̭̺̜̤̯̹̖̖͒̉́̌õ̷̧͎͈̞̣̏̈̉̿͛̽͌͘͜͠ͅf̵̟̀̏ ̶̨͕̮̤͎̗̹̦̱̻̺̬̻̬̩̈͂́̈́̅͌͐͒̌Ŗ̷̡̞̳̗̲̲͚̰̦̟͍̞͑͆̓͠ų̸̞̮̮̞͈͓̰̟̞̦̘̽̄ͅp̸̡͉̯̺͇̣̆͑̈̓͒́̓̀͝t̵̜̮̰̳͑̌̅͗̊̒ụ̶̙̐̐͌ȓ̷̡̰̫͎̪̯̺͓̯̪̭̼͖͛͊̎̇̅́͌͠͝e̴̛̲̲̓̔͌̃̇̓ ̶̛͇̠̪͍͇̥̘͔̥̜̈̋́̔̍́̎̒ͅc̶̨̡̛̱͎̖̲̥͇͙̊͑̓͑͊̃̏̈́̂͠͝l̸͔̪̘̦͎̼͈̫͔̖̲̐̄̊̕ͅe̶̢̡̘̞̣̪̗̙̰̭̠͔͋a̶̺̅̔̃͠v̷̗̟̗͔͖͔̼̤̼̤̼͆̊̈́̐͆́̄e̴̖̗͔̲̥͔̰̾̌̂̽͘͝ḓ̵̡͔̼͔̰̯̗͓̺͛ͅ ̸̡̧̛̜̥͚̰̻͈̝̎͆̈́̓̾̽̄̄͝͠ͅ ṯ̵̨͍̤͈̹͋̀̓̄͝h̶̳̐͋̃̐̅̂͑̿̇̔̓̕͝e̸͖̦͈̹̱͌́̋̀̈ ̵̮́͂̐̌́͊̋̂͝ẘ̷͙͈̖͇͕̲̄̌͂̋̈́̋͛̔̈̽̕ǫ̶̠͕̻̲̻̳̞͔̻̗̥̞͕̜̒̐̀̂͑̍͑͊͘͝ṙ̵̢̧̡̡̛̤̬͉̣̳̽̐̃͆͛̂́̏͒̈́l̶̡̨͚͍̞͓̖̦̣͙̀̉͒͌͛̒d̷̡̛̩̩̦͖̽̆̊̏̿̎̓̽̈̉̇̓͐͠…̷̧̲̟͉̳͉͈̳͜͠ͅ…̸̢͎͈̼̣͉͇̹͎̬̺̣̗̳̾̈́̈̑̿͊̈̄̀̊͜͝…̵̳͇̜̹̟͓́̈̂̊̾͛̑́̚ ̵̡̡̲̳͕͙̜͕̼́Ȩ̵̤͔͙͈̠̟͚͙̺̜͒̏͜͝n̸̼͙̞̦͍̲̝̘̰̺͍͈͚̏͒̆̎ͅǘ̸̖̫̰̳̖͔͙̥͗m̶̏͂͜a̸̛͉̐̀̂̓ ̴̧̩̘̹̭̞͙̰̾͊͒͛͒͊͌̍̎̑̎͛̎̕E̵̢̤̞̜͙͖̟̜̍̀͂̃̈́̚͠͝͝ļ̶̮̟̣̪͉̎̈̾̈́͊͗̐̿̚͘̚i̸̳̝͈͕̍́̆s̴̡̯͉̟̖̮̼̖̿̈̌͒̋̃͐̉̔͜͠͠ḩ̷̠̩̖̙͔̀̈!̵̪̤̟̼̺̦̳̫͎̯͕̋͆͊̔́̀̍̈́̌͆ͅ]
"My Sword of Rupture cleaved the world… Enuma Elish!"
The name was sword, then took all of the power that I had taken in, and in a blinding flash of light, the surroundings changed for one final time… and as they did so, I found myself lying on my back, yet my head was on something soft…
I opened my eyes and found that same woman kneeling with my head in her lap… as I attempted to move, she placed her hands on my head, forcing me to look into her eyes, which was slightly distracting, yet I don't know why…
"I apologize for my impertinence, my king, but it is time for you to rest. You just went through quite the ordeal…." I was confused. What did I do?
She simply chuckled, and as she lifted up my head, I saw the result of that explosion of power… instead of an endless void, there was an expanse so large that it seemed to stretch on forever… the sky looked like one million shining lights danced along the sky.
And instead of the nothingness, there was solid ground, yet this ground was held aloft. I felt the wind on my face, and without realizing it, a smile formed on my face.
"I never did get your name… Seems a bit rude, given what you just did…." Again, the woman smiled so naturally that, for a few moments, I wondered if it was fake, but all of my instincts were telling me it wasn't.
"Apologies, my king, but you seemed to be going through quite the ordeal, so I felt that knowing my name was not necessary just yet, but now… well, with that look on your face, my king, I could not refuse…" She leaned down, placing her mouth next to my ear.
"I am your servant… I am the one that shall be with you till the end… I am Siduri, and you are my king…." I wondered how she decided that so easily.
"If you are wondering why I decided that this was the case, well, a woman needs her secrets after all… I wouldn't want to think that my king is a brute." She placed her hands against her cheeks and looked away in a form of fake fear.
I was almost tempted to start laughing, yet the pain still remained, even if only slightly… I felt tired, more tired than I had ever thought I could feel… It was so comfortable.
"Rest now, my king. Your labors are over for now. Sleep… and dream of better things." She placed one of her hands over my eyes, and as I closed them, I faded down into the deep.
{Siduri POV}
Truly, everything that "thing" said was true in every regard… it knew he would try to hold everything in, and that he would die trying to keep everything safe… in truth, the only reason I was still alive was because he shielded me, even though I can still feel the taste of iron in the back of my mouth after exposure just for a few seconds.
In mere moments, it would've torn me apart, yet he still protected me, even without knowing… everything that I read on this man painted a picture of a broken thing… yet when I looked into his eyes, I saw true conviction. It would've been easy for him to just let go, even just a slight bit later or earlier, and everything would've fallen to ruin.
But he didn't, and as I held him, I felt the connection begin to form. In that moment, I became one of his treasures. It was almost comforting in a way. Even if I should perish, I will always return to my new king's side.
I remember my home. I remember my world, everything crumbling around me. I remember his red eyes just watching, doing nothing… just watching as everything fell into the void… I turned my head and looked and found a beautiful golden city floating amongst the clouds.
The stars had never felt closer, but even they pale in comparison to the view I am currently witnessing. I looked down and saw him smiling, and I knew from that moment on that if I let anyone see this sight, they would immediately fall on their knees just to view it for a few seconds longer.
I knew my role. I was to be his caretaker, his friend, a guide… it was the deal I agreed to, knowing my people were safe, was enough. However, even now, I felt like this was going to be an interesting new existence.
I looked down again and saw the other decrepit state he was in. Now that the process had completed, his body, and so were repaired somewhat, but it will take time for him to truly be whole again.
Lifting him up into my arms, I slowly walked him over to his new throne so that the healing may begin, and finding him to be rather light, I realize I'm going to have to make a diet plan for him, as even in comparison to the average peasant, he was too thin.
Placing him upon the throne, it sparks to life as red and gold veins begin to pull out from the throne and all across the floating island, connecting him to it, bonding with him so that even if his physical body will perish, he will be able to reconstitute himself within this pocket universe.
It was a beautiful sight, and as I watched the process continue, I saw his breathing become more stable, his pulse becoming more real… it was almost something out of a fantasy, a boy becoming a demigod, coming to the rescue of a young maiden… yet this is only the beginning… I can already feel myself beginning to be pulled into a new world. Information flooded my mind on my new role…
It was so exciting, and I have him to thank for it…