I did not experience the moment in time in which my body touched the dowsing fountain. It wasn't there in my memory— it didn't happen at all. All the shards and pieces of vision and sense that I had between the waking world and the waters of the fountain had melded together, forming a slush of incomprehensible strings of words and whispers that haunted my mind. Yet I didn't know what they were saying!
With my hands flailing, I looked upwards.
Bubbles roped around me, cascading through the endless depths. There was no longer an ending nor a beginning to the fountain— it was as though I had entered a different dimension— one where there was no light, no sound, no breath; only memory remained. To me, the world felt weightless, and my heart felt like an anchor that tied me down to my humanity.
Slip.
As my eyes blinked open slightly, I felt a cold, slippery appendage wrap around my body. I tried to scream and trash around, but it didn't make a difference. Something coiled around me, wrapping me tight, gradually filling me with warmth as more and more pleasure seeped into my brain. Shadows danced around my body, fashioning themselves into everything from flame to fog.
Yet what remained, was the smell of ashen salt, wafting into my nose.
Suddenly, questions came flooding into my brain.
Questions that I hadn't given a thought to since before I was born.
T-they… they were my ghosts.
A haunting reminder that the me who existed before the current me was something that I had no idea about. I had no real chain, no real identity. Who was I? Was I both the past me and the present me? Or was I just the present me, with memories of a past that did not exist? I could think of hundreds of possibilities in my mind, but no…
I can't do that.
Not now. Far away, I heard my father's screams muffled through the water.
My father was here. Cuswoth was here. Aldeous was here. And I am the one who they have all placed expectations into— whether those expectations were full of malice or hope, I didn't know. But I sure as hell wasn't going to let down my father! Not in a thousand lifetimes.
Gritting my teeth, I tried to ease my mental state. I couldn't breathe in this suffocating water, but I did my best to try and relax, calming my head, and removing any superfluous thoughts. I closed my eyes, slowly reopening them with a fresh perspective.
And from there, I began to take it all in.
First, where was I? Was I in the fountain?
No, I wasn't in the fountain. Maybe my physical body was in the fountain, but either my mental self or my soul wasn't connected to that physical realm any longer. No, I was somewhere else.
That's that.
Second, how is something like this possible?
I tried to think of all the terms that had been thrown around in front of my face— like I wasn't listening to these fools (even my father) expose all sorts of information in front of my infant self! Although it seemed somewhat like common knowledge to these people…
Fuck, nevermind.
Parables. Archon. Sentinel. Chaos. Reincarnation. Apostle. Serynth. Bloom. Power. Fate. False Child. Time. Presence. Royal. Dowsing. Blood. There were so many things to be analyzed, but everything pointed towards one possible cause.
The "Parables".
This was where it all originated!
I was sure of it.
Smiling thinly, I sighed, exhaling warm air from my body. The air dissipated quickly as I felt the coils around me tighten. Instead of fighting the growing numbness and pain, I took it head on, refusing to struggle.
"Well then? Is that all you've got?" I struggled to speak, but I made sure not to show it on my face. Trying to give off a snarky look, I grinned widely, spurting bubbles of water from my mouth as my face turned red quickly. As soon as those words had left me, I felt something shift in the surrounding water.
Burble… SHOOM!
Water began swirling around me like a torrential storm, like the heads of a hydra closing in on its prey. Carrying my body and thrashing it wildly, I felt an inkling of color bloom inside my mind as bursts and flashes of color and light appeared everywhere, showering the desolate water with life and scenery.
Far in the distance, I saw something.
Involuntarily, shivers ran down my spine as my lip trembled.
Who… or what is that?
It was gone as quickly as it had come.
Hah… no matter.
Opening my mouth, I mustered up all my courage as confidence retook my body. Taking in a deep breath of waves and water, I screamed with all of my might.
"HERE I A-"
M… wait, what?
What just happened?
My voice was silenced, and even my thoughts… began… suppress… shit! Shaking my head, I felt whatever curse had been placed on my mind ease as my eyes adjusted. My mouth…
My mouth was agape with awe.
I felt the hands of the creature who was coiled around me retracting from my lips as I smiled. Although its grip on my lower body and chest hadn't ceased, I felt room to "breathe" again— or whatever kept me going, in this hellish place. And that thing that kept me going?
It was the light.
Those particles of energy which I had just glimpsed in the air during the main dowsing rituals were now in front of me, racing and flying around, swarming into huge clumps and making flights through the world on their own. Instead of being monochromatic this time, they were hundreds of colors— even colors that I had no idea could be real.
I almost let out a laugh without thinking.
Narrowing my gaze, I tried to steel myself.
Serynth's eyes are upon you.
A voice rang out in my mind, loud and clear, seemingly separated from all the listless thoughts I was having. It was pure and sounded like a mix between a holy bell and a charming woman. Although it seemed to slightly distort and blend together with other voices, creating an eerie atmosphere, it was alright.
But I wonder… What was that?
Serynth's eyes are upon me?
Is She looking at m-me?!
"So you really exist…" A hushed voice that could be considered the fusion between a child and a woman spoke layered and ethereal behind me. My head snapped backwards, but I didn't see anything— more like, I wasn't allowed to see.
"Shh…. don't speak, and don't look." The same voice reappeared in my ear.
Shit, I was scared now.
I felt porcelain hands wrap around my chin and neck with care, making sure to snake their way to my nose, lips and lower eyes. I was almost covered at this point by the other dark hands, which had captured all of my limbs and lower body.
"They prayed to me… prayed that your existence would be saved. A "god" prayed to me, one of equal stature as Them. Can you believe that? So, I felt like I should return the favor. During this "meeting", I shall act as your patron." The feminine voice giggled, whispering in my other ear. Trying to keep myself checked, I clicked my teeth, but I didn't do anything.
"I hope you enjoy the war, little one."
A laugh rang through the air, and then just as quickly as it came, it was no more— gone with the winds, lost to time.
Instantly, with my thoughts jumbled and my mind let in disarray, the same monotone voice began to pop up in my head randomly, causing it to throb and ache like someone had treated it with a heavy hammer.
"Ishkaris finds you interesting."
A hand of soft, cracked marble reached through the inky blackness, gently brushing my cheek— as I felt it stain my body, I was filled with guilt, melancholy, and a thousand other things. Tears ran fresh, spilling from my eyes like a flood.
"Aevira looks at you in disgust."
Pristine, pure chimes echoed in and out of my ears— and then the harmony cracked mid-note, like glass shattering in a silent temple. I felt my body fold as a horrifying screeching sound filled my mind— without a moment's notice, it stopped.
"Veythos feels something strange about you."
T-Tick. T-tock. I felt the sharp sound of a clock tick out of rhythm, as streams of sand dug into my body. Briefly, I saw a monstrous cracked hourglass— there was no sand. Molten gold flowed upward, setting the glass aflame.
"Orithos wishes to let you go."
Three rusted chains fell from the heavens, behemoths in terms of size. As they fell, a sharp humming filled my brain, making my eyes go wide as I watched the chains splitting into law-bound runes— they soon dissolved into ash.
"Serynth wraps you in Her embrace."
Silver threads spun from moonlight and regal vines that seemed to contain the world in their leaves looped around my tiny ribs— they were floral and pulsing, like a heartbeat in bloom. Without cause, a sudden warmth shook me.
" 'He' stares from afar."
A crown stared in shadow, unmoving, its eyes stitched shut by starry black threads. I heard wailing in the distance as I felt my head lower. Gasping, I realized I was kneeling— yet the crown was no longer there.
" 'They' watch the stars reflect in your eyes."
Thousands of faces stared at me with thousands of unblinking eyes, watching through the remains of broken stars. I watched as all the eyes exploded brutally, turning into a mess of flesh and blood. Then, another eye opened. It was larger than all the other eyes combined.
"Maelirith wishes upon you a good dream."
A trickle of laughter grew fast, turning into a haunting chorus of voices that echoed through the velvet, stained fog. I saw squirming, grotesque tentacles curl their way towards me— they stopped just inches from my face.
"Zhaeros' flames roar in approval for you."
The dark sea turned into a blinding battlefield wrought with flames. A burning spear, majestic and brilliant like a sun, pierced through the murky water around me, igniting bubbles into sparks of defiant light.
"The Veil… my voice welcomes you."
I felt a soft, gooey substance cover my face— a translucent mask. I looked back, and the world had blurred, and I was filled with an unmistakable feeling— the feeling that everything here was a lie.
"[???] is devouring your story hungrily."
Ink spilled from my chest, and I heard the flutter of pages turn without end. Teeth smiled behind every sentence, welcoming me— but I didn't fall for the provocations. Slowly, I heard the sounds again, but in reverse. And something began to flip the pages, once again.
The voices began repeating again and again, a mind numbing process by the end of which I was reduced to a mere shell of my former self. I saw the shadows in the distance vanish, replaced by pure void as a world began to construct itself around me. Looking at bodies in the distance, I was overjoyed.
Gods? Would I… be meeting gods?
This early? I'm only four months old! … Why did I feel so happy?
And who was devouring my story? Child, that must be you!
Just the thought made me feel warm and snuggly inside.
So what if the gods showed any interest in me?
It wasn't like I cared the same way for them.