Andrews: He wandered around inside the broken holy realm, kneeling to feel the quartz floor with symbols etched into it scattered everywhere. He looked over at the broken spiral tower of quartz and gold, walking towards it to feel its once towering walls. He turned towards Uriel, staring at him kneeling in front of the once grand golden gates and walls. "Are you doing okay, Uriel?"
Uriel: He did not respond, brushing off some dust from what looked like a spear of some kind. "This was...my sister Jophiel's spear. She ventured upon this battlefield, her heart full of confidence that victory would be theirs, as it ever hath been. She didst proclaim unto me, 'Worry not, dear brother Uriel, for we shall tarry not long. Yet I beseech thee, guard well the spiral for us, for it holdeth great importance to Heaven.'"
Andrews: He watched as Uriel brushed off the spear, holding it close to his chest. "What exactly happened here...I only heard so much about it from you and Radna, but it was extremely vague. If you do not want to discuss it, that is fine."
Uriel: He leaned the spear against the broken wall of gold, turning toward Andrews. "No, it is fine. I know of your interaction with The Black-Eyed Beast; it is only fair you know the full story of mine." He reached in his back pockets, pulling out a strange white stone. As he placed it on the ground, a beam of energy shot into both of their heads. Andrews could feel his mind traveling backward in time, back to when this all began.
﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋!Flashback!﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋
Long ago, there existed a place filled with strange energy contained within an enigmatic glass box, a box beyond all things, past the places yet to be. The glass emanated a peculiar white glow, perfectly framing it in a void of complete emptiness. Inside this glass box floated unusual gears, each shining brightly like colorful stars, each possessing a mysterious energy force within. These gears, named Corvex Gears, are perfectly crafted to turn or flow the qualities they represent and embody the truest form of themes within them.
However, in this vast array of glowing lights was another half that did not radiate light, but rather darkness. Amidst these darker gears sat one in particular, outlined in black with an aggressive dark blood-red power surging within it.
A strange black tendril of an unknown black fluid dragged itself against the gear, and upon contact, its energy erupted. Emanating a fearful power within it, spiraling out of control before a creature burst froth from its rageful power, a beast to represent the truest form of fear itself.
Lucium: He took a deep breath, dragging his claws against the ground before looking around. He stood upright, his body twitched and jolted a bit before settling down, his one large red eye opened up as words formed for the first time, "My body, my mind...fear, I feel it within, its influence is...pleasing." He inspected his own hands, chuckling to himself, grabbing his head as his laugh grew louder and his mouth ripped open. "Why do I feel a strange, overwhelming drive within me..."
He paused for a moment, looking at the different gears surrounding him, both negative and positive. He approached a nearby gear, which glowed with a bright white light and a calm blue energy swirling within it, emanating a force of kindness. Gently, he hovered his hands around it, "Fascinating...but something tells me you are not good enough." The gear began to spin rapidly out of an overwhelming fear before he violently crushed it between his hands. The fading light and pieces of the gear fell to the ground, and his smile grew wider.
He turned to face the other gears. "I must know more, I must understand more! Why...why was I awoken?! No...Chosen!" He ran at the other gears, absorbing some of the negative ones and destroying others that were positive: rage, death, happiness, mystery, darkness, spirit, justice, and light. One by one, they were either taken or broken. Lucium's ideals of negativity immediately began to flow within his mind, infecting him, causing horrorous ideas to form.
He clawed at his face, a headache pounding within the confines of his skull. He saw what was going to come of the world he was meant to help turn. With the qualities he absorbed, he was able to see things clearer than ever. He turned toward something, something he saw out of the corner of his eye, something that could not be seen truly but...spoke? "Free will?..." He roared out in agony, clawing at his chest as he saw the devastation awaiting what was to come. "This...It is all because of free will! But I understand it..."
"These things... oh, the beings trapped within, they flail about, unable to grasp their own chains! Their will, yes, their so-called free will, only leads them to chaos and failure. Only I can bend the gears to my command, manipulating their power with flawless precision. They think they wield it, but it slips through their fingers like sand! Madness swirls in their minds, and I stand alone, the master of it all!"
He turned back towards his gear of fear, staring at its stillness and blankness. He stared at it for a long while before grabbing ahold of it and absorbing it into his body. He felt a strange reconnection in his body, as if the power that manifested his body was no longer a part of the gear but was now him.
"Yes… I feel so disturbingly full, like I've burst out of the seams of reality! I am complete, not just some figment, but a true being, transcending this place of existence."
As he toremented the other gears, preventing them from being able to manage their qualities or form beings, all of the positivity gears began to turn rapidly in sync. "What is the meaning of this?!" He frantically looked between all of the grinding gears, then suddenly there was a strange burst of light, and a figure formed before Lucium.
Before he could even see again, he slashed at the blinding light, but a force knocked him away, gears shifting out of their path. A figure made of a golden constellation emerged from the light, with glowing blue robes of star dust wrapped around his body.
Xerion: "So this is what you decide to do the second you are born, murder your brothers and sisters before they can even have the same chance as you? You exist for not even a few moments, and you have already manifested a lie within yourself?"
Lucium: He dragged his claw against the floor, standing up slowly, staring Xerion down. "A lie?!" He laughed to himself, clawing at his own skin. "I was born with the sight of fear, and from those brief moments of existence, my mind has already seen what will happen from that fear and so many other factors. The people's ability to make choices will only cause destruction. Why must we sit around and refrain ourselves from fixing what is broken, when I was chosen to awake and be their guide!"
Xerion: He nodded his head in disappointment, "You were never chosen...you are corrupted. I have been created to banish you. I am sorry to do this to you, brother, but you leave me no choice." He raised his hand, a square shape pocket opened up beneath Lucium, a strong force pulling him down into it but he was able to grab onto the sides with his hands, pulling down some of the broken pieces of Corvex Gears in.
Lucium: "You were chosen to intervene with my grand gift! My greatness! TO TAKE IT! I will not allow you to do so, I will find you! Mark my words with positivity! I WILL KILL YOU!" He was pulled down into the pit of darkness, the square disappearing after he was pulled in.
Xerion: He snapped his fingers, restoring the broken gears, but the ones that were absorbed, he could not bring back. He looked up at seemingly nothingness. "Why must I be the one to do such things, father?"