The world around Heisen deafened in a whirl. He couldn't hear it anymore – the blazing fire, screams…the agonizing deaths. It was as if he was somewhere else altogether, as if in a different world. He felt completely numb to his surroundings; he now only wanted to end himself right there, right now – be free from the misery and his great losses. However, he hesitated; somewhere in the back of his mind he hoped for a miracle, a newfound hope that would somehow turn back time and fix everything.
Though he knew it was foolish to cling on to this chance of a miracle, he couldn't just forget and let go the massacre. Shifting quickly back to reality he was once again reminded of the smell of blood, dust and death.
Then suddenly the voice rang again…mystical and comforting.
[DO YOU WANT A SECOND CHANCE?]
Heisen's head pounded in pain as he let go of his sword and fell down-back on the ground. He started to weep bitter tears of self-pity.
Haha…I must be going insane, hearing voices is a new thing…Death truly does wonders to a person…its almost frightening how peaceful and at rest I suddenly feel, he mused.
Was destiny toying with him, even at his deathbed? He was extremely flummoxed at his disposition but still decided to respond to whatever the voice was in his head.
"Who are you? What did you do to me? Get out of my mind!" he ruminated out loud.
He received silence…something he frankly expected.
Seconds after the silence was broken and the ground rumbled. Heisen felt a chill down his spine and got goosebumps.
[I HAVE COME TO HELP YOU MY CHILD…TAKE MY HAND.]
Huh…Heisen was perplexed by the strange answer he received. This had to be a prank…what could anyone do now? How could anyone help him?
"What are you even talking about…don't say stupid things that you can't do. And first of all, who are you? How did you get into my mind?" demanded Heisen.
[HAHAHA! YOU SUMMONED ME HEISEN YOU DARE QUESTION ME?!]
"Summoned you? I didn't do anything…besides I can't use summoning magic. What are you even talking about?"
[HOW FOOLISH CAN YOU BE, CHILD? I WAS SUMMONED BECAUSE OF YOUR WILL TO LIVE AND TO CHANGE THE FATE…THE FATE OF THIS KINGDOM TO BE EXACT! I CAN HELP YOU WITH IT. AS FOR WHAT AM I? I AM A PRIMORDIAL BEING, ABOVE THE MORTAL REALM AND THE SEVEN HEAVENS…]
"Your words are grand… but so are the lies I've heard from men and gods alike.. You think that you sound believable? You think I'm supposed to believe that a random 'primordial deity' is going to save me on death's door? You have to be kidding!" Heisen scoffed.
[LOOKS LIKE YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME YET. DON'T YOU WANT TO SAVE HER? DON'T YOU WANT TO SEE HER SMILE AGAIN, HEISEN? SERENA RIGHT?]
Heisen reigned in shock, his eyes wide open. How did this so-called primordial being know all about him?
"What?! How?!" questioned Heisen incredulously. "How do you know that name… how do you even know what happened?! Where—argh – ugh…" He was overtaken by the urge to cough up blood which spilt all over the mud down his feet. He was losing blood quickly and could collapse at any moment.
[QUICKLY TAKE MY HAND HEISEN…ACCEPT ME…ACCEPT THIS REALITY AND MOVE ON. I CAN HELP YOU SAVE THIS WORLD. IF YOU STILL REJECT THEN DIE AND ROT AWAY IN REGRET.]
Closing his eyes, Heisen found himself adrift in a deafening void, swallowed by pitch black gloom. He suddenly fell down the said void, rapidly approaching what seemed like the gates to the afterlife.
Just as he thought it was all over… he spotted a bright, golden light, which seemed to rush towards him. The next moment he found a giant hand of pure energy advancing to him…and words echoed in his mind once again…those same mystical words with an enchanting tone.
[TAKE MY HAND, CHILD OF FLESH. CAST OFF YOUR MORTAL DECAY AND WALK THE THREADS OF FATE ANEW.]
Heisen was in a dilemma. What should he do? Should he take the hand that seems to promise him a different, better future or should he accept his fate and spend the rest of his afterlife, in eternal regret?
He hesitated. Afterall, there was no guarantee what the voice may up to once he had taken its hand. For all he knew, he could sign himself up in a sketchy contract to this primordial being. At least the pearly gates of the afterlife offered some freedom, even if the constant feeling of shame and guilt would eat him away. But still, a part of him couldn't resist the offer…
"Alright…I believe you. Please save me and help me reshape the future," he said.
Heisen touched the hand, submitting himself completely to the divine touch. Everything went blindingly white. It was like all the color had been absorbed and concentrated into a single concentration of energy which passed through his body. He felt rejuvenated. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. His bleeding stopped and his wounds sealed shut. All the aches and pains seemed to disappear in an instant. He felt like a new man.
And then he opened his eyes…
"Wh...what just happened?" Heisen asked. He was back in the desolated lands of the kingdom. "Huh! I am back here? Wasn't I – agh!" He grabbed his head again and was in agony. It was like several hundred needles were constantly piercing him in every part of his head.
[FRET NOT…YOU ARE UNDER MY CARE NOW HEISEN.]
Indeed Heisen was safe now. He found himself in the same place reeking of death and despair but the only difference this time was that he wasn't falling anymore at the death's door and that ominous feeling of demise was gone as well. He was now floating in the air. He had been saved.
"Is this…real…?" he pinched himself to make sure he truly was floating. And so he was.
"You really are a God. Thank you," he said gratefully. "But why did you only choose — or should I say why did you only answer my summon Mr. uhh…"
['THE VOICE'…JUST CALL ME 'THE VOICE'. AS FOR THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, WELL… YOU AREN'T THE FIRST ONE TO HAVE SUMMONED ME.]
"I am not the first, huh…" Heisen repeated slowly, as he descended onto the ground. "So…you have helped other people before me…?"
[HAHAHA! NO…NO…NO. I DID ANSWER THEIR SUMMONS BUT NO ONE DARED TO TAKE MY HAND. IN SOME CASES THEY COULD SUMMON ME FOR SOME TIME BUT FAIL TO CONTACT OR HEAR ME AS THEY LACKED THE WILL REQUIRED TO DO SO. YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS MANAGED TO COME THIS FAR. CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY.]
"Is that really the reason? Surely there is more to this than what you're telling me, isn't it?"
The voice sighed.
[YOU ARE AN INTELLIGENT ONE. WELL… I HAD MAINLY TWO REASONS TO CHOOSE YOU. FIRST IS THAT YOU ARE A BRAVE WARRIOR WHO WILL NEVER FAIL TO SUCCEED AND THAT YOU ARE A MAN OF GOOD SPIRIT. THE SECOND IS… WELL ENTERTAINMENT.]
"What?! Entertainment?!" Heisen said out loud, aghast. "You think whatever happened to the kingdom, to me, to Serena was entertainment? Are you out of your mind?!"
[I KNOW THAT THIS MIGHT BE HARSH TO HEAR BUT IT'S THE TRUTH. I AM NOT THE ONLY PRIMORDIAL. WE ALL WERE BORED FOR THE PAST 12,000 YEARS BUT THEN WE FOUND YOU OR SHOULD I SAY I SPECIFICALLY TOOK AN INTEREST IN YOU. WELL I GET ENTERTAINMENT AND YOU GET YOUR LIFE BACK. I UNDERSTAND YOUR ANGER BUT WITH THIS, THE SCALES WILL TIP FOR NEITHER SIDE, YET EACH WILL BE ENRICHED.]
Heisen was starting to regret this alliance a little. Yet he had no other choice, he was at the mercy of a God.
"Hah! I guess if you think about it like that…it makes sense but what shou—" Before he could finish his sentence, the whole void started to rumble. He saw the walls of the void start to crumble and tear up, to reveal broken fragments of ten mirrors in place of the walls.
"What the hell is this?! How did this place even end up like this?!" cried out Heisen – alarmed.
[DON'T BE AFRAID, THIS IS THE REALITY. YOUR JOB STARTS NOW! TAKE THIS MOMENT TO DRINK IN WHAT YOU SEE, FOR IT SHALL SHAPE THE PATH AHEAD.]
Each shard of the mirrors reflected towards a different world of a different environment. One of them had sleek glass buildings and curious vehicles flying in the sky. The other had large, exquisite castles, not unlike the ones in his own world, but still not quite the same. Another mirror showed red-clad, orientally decorated sharp, but short structures. Heisen was perplexed but also fascinated with what was in front of him. Then, he saw something positively shocking.
"Wait…is tha — no-no-no are those me?!" he asked, flabbergasted at the sight in front of him. He saw that was him – but somehow still not quite him, fighting with something he couldn't see. And not just in one mirror, all of ten them.
"Why am I so different in these…mirrors? Why am I fighting and what am I fighting for…? Also, how are there so many of me?!"
[BREATHE, HEISEN. I SHALL UNVEIL ALL TO YOU. STEEL YOUR EARS AND SHARPEN YOUR SENSES, FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO LEARN MAY OVERWHELM YOU.]
"Tell me, now!" he berated.
[BEFORE I REVEAL THE TRUTH, HEISEN, I SHALL FIRST LAY BARE THE FOUNDATIONS. WITHOUT THE BASICS, YOU CANNOT COMPREHEND WHAT IS TO COME.]
The voice cleared his throat before beginning.
[AS YOU KNOW, HEISEN—IN THIS WORLD, OR RATHER THESE WORLDS—MANKIND IS DIVIDED INTO TWO. THERE ARE THE COMMON, POSSESSING LITTLE OR NO WILL, WITH NEITHER STRENGTH NOR COMMAND OVER IT. YOU NAME THEM KINDREDS… BUT WE, THE GODS, CALL THEM PREY.
AND THEN, THERE ARE THE GIFTED. BORN WITH GREAT WILL, WITH A NATURAL COMMAND THAT SHAPES REALITY ITSELF. MORTALS NAME THEM SHAPERS… BUT WE CALL THEM HUNTERS.]
"Yes, I am awa—" Heisen began.
[SILENCE, MORTAL…NEVER INTERRUPT ME OR YOU SHALL PERISH AND BE REDUCED TO THOSE AROUND YOU.]
Heisen hearing the commanding and thundering voice froze up and quieted down immediately. With a heavy gulp he gestured with his hand in a gentle tone, requesting The Voice to continue.
[NOW, WHERE WAS I… AH, YES. THE SHAPERS. THEY ARE DIVIDED INTO SIX CLASSES, EACH DETERMINED BY THE MEASURE OF THEIR WILL — BOTH IN STRENGTH AND IN THE VESSELS THAT CONTAIN IT.]
Heisen smiled quietly and looked like he was pretty confident about his own strength and class. But he quickly covered it up, surmising that any more interference or any hint of disinterest or foolishness would really bring upon him divine wrath.
[AT THE LOWEST FLAME ARE THE EMBERS. FRAGILE, YET PROMISING. A SPARK OF WILL THAT MAY DIE WITH THE WIND… OR IGNITE INTO AN INFERNO.]
[ABOVE THEM STAND THE FORGERS. THEY STRIKE THEIR WILL AS ONE STRIKES IRON UPON AN ANVIL — CRUDE, UNREFINED, YET GROWING STRONGER WITH EVERY BLOW.]
[NEXT COME THE WARDENS. THEIR WILL IS STEADY, THEIR PRESENCE UNYIELDING. THEY GUARD, THEY ENDURE, AND THEY BIND THE CHAOS WITH ORDER.]
[ABOVE THEM ARE THE ARBITERS. JUDGES OF FATE, THEIR WILL ENFORCES BALANCE. WITH A WORD, THEY DECIDE WHO SHALL RISE… AND WHO SHALL BE CAST INTO DUST.]
[THEN COME THE DOMINIONS. THEIR WILL RULES LIKE A CROWN UPON THE WORLD. ALL WHO STAND BEFORE THEM ARE BENT, WHETHER BY REVERENCE… OR FEAR.]
[AND AT THE PINNACLE… THE ETERNALS. FEW EVER ASCEND SO HIGH. THEIR WILL RIVALS THE GODS, THEIR BREATH ALTERS REALITY, AND THEIR NAME ENDURES BEYOND TIME ITSELF.]
Sensing that the voice had paused to allow him to speak, Heisen said, "Yes, I think I am aware about this. I should be at the Dominion stage, shouldn't I?"
[WARDEN.]
"Huh – what — what do you mean by that?!"
[YOU STILL LINGER AT THE STAGE OF THE WARDEN. YOUR WILL, ALTHOUGH STRONG ENOUGH TO SUMMON ME, IS QUITE FRAIL IN REGARD TO THIS…YET WITHIN YOU LIES THE GLIMMER OF POTENTIAL.]
"But how?!" yelled Heisen. He was disappointed and shaken. "I am aware that I am not the strongest person, but I was a formidable one in my kingdom. There weren't many who could rival me—"
[AND YET I FOUND YOU IN A PATHETIC DISPOSTION, UNABLE TO SAVE YOUR OWN KINGDOM. SO MUCH FOR FORMIDABLE…]
Heisen clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth in anger, frustration and shock – all at once, his ego shattered.
[LISTEN NOW, HEISEN. YES, YOU ARE STRONG…STRONGER THAN ANY CANDIDATE I HAVE EVER MET. HOWEVER, IN ORDER FOR YOU TO CHANGE THE WORLD… I NEED YOUR STRENGTH TO REACH THE STARS…. YOU SHOW IMMENSE POTENTIAL AND WITH ME, YOU CAN ACHIEVE GREATNESS.]
Heisen didn't reply, just stood there, head down and dejected, sensing the bitter truth in his words. It was stupid of him to think he could have achieved his wish so easily. Has it ever happened in this God forsaken world to simply achieve what one wanted? He steeled himself to hear further what The Voice had to say.
[ENOUGH OF CLASSES, HEISEN. LET US SPEAK OF SOMETHING FAR MORE INTRIGUING — SKILLS. YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT THAT THERE ARE SIX TIERS, FROM AMATEUR TO CALAMITY. YET THIS IS BUT A LIE…A SHACKLE, FORGED TO HALT MORTALS AT THE EDGE OF THEIR POTENTIAL. THIS FALSEHOOD WAS SPUN AS A SAFEGUARD, TO KEEP THE BALANCE OF POWER FROM SHIFTING FROM GODS TO PEOPLE. BUT NOW, HEAR THE TRUTH. LISTEN WELL…FOR WHAT I REVEAL SHALL SHATTER THE FOUNDATIONS OF ALL YOU BELIEVED.]
[SKILLS ARE NOT AS SIMPLE AS THE GODS WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE. THEY ARE DIVIDED INTO EIGHT CLASSES — A LADDER OF POWER, EACH STEP RISING CLOSER TO THE DIVINE.]
[AT THE BASE STAND THE AMATEUR SKILLS. FRAGILE AND UNPOLISHED, THEIR SKILLS ARE NO MORE THAN A SPARK IN THE DARK. ENOUGH TO SURVIVE, BUT NEVER TO CONQUER.]
[NEXT COME THE INTERMEDIATES. THEIR SKILLS ARE SHAPED AND STEADIER, A FORGE WHERE RAW POWER IS HAMMERED INTO USABLE FORM.]
[ABOVE THEM STAND THE ADVANCED. HERE, SKILLS TAKE FORM AS SHARPENED BLADES — DISCIPLINED, DEADLY, AND WIELDED WITH PRECISION.]
[THEN COME THE CATASTROPHES. SKILLS THAT, WHEN UNLEASHED, BRING RUIN TO ARMIES AND CITIES. THESE ARE NO LONGER WEAPONS, BUT DISASTERS MADE FLESH.]
[ABOVE EVEN THAT ARE THE CALAMITIES. THESE SKILLS ARE LIVING TRAGEDIES, WOUNDS UPON THE EARTH ITSELF. WHEN A CALAMITY IS UNLEASHED, NATIONS TREMBLE.]
[THE SUPREME — SKILLS THAT LIFT THEIR BEARER ABOVE THE COMMON HOSTS OF MEN. THEIR POWER BORDERS ON THE DIVINE, COMMANDING FEAR AND REVERENCE ALIKE.]
[THE CATACLYSMS — RARE AND TERRIBLE. THESE SKILLS SHATTER LANDS, DROWN KINGDOMS, AND RIP OPEN THE FIRMAMENT OF HEAVEN ITSELF.]
[AND AT THE PINNACLE, OBLIVION. SKILLS THAT ERASE. NO FLAME, NO STONE, NO SOUL REMAINS WHEN OBLIVION IS CALLED. THEY ARE AN END BEYOND ENDING, A POWER EVEN THE GODS DREAD.]
Heisen's eyes widened in awe. "There was so much more to the skills… and I never knew about it... So that means you will teach me all of these skills?"
[YES, BUT HAVE PATIENCE , HEISEN. A NORMAL HUMAN CAN ONLY ACHIEVE SKILLS UPTO CATASTROPHES AND IN EXTREMELY RARE INSTANCES – CALAMITIES. NO MORTAL IS FOOLISH ENOUGH TO GO BEYOND THAT AS FORCES OF NATURE OR THE GOD OF TIME SIMPLY DOESN'T ALLOW SO.]
"Well… what now?! If I can't become stronger and learn these skills, then… what am I supposed to do?!"
[THAT IS WHERE I COME IN, HEISEN. NEVER DID I SAY YOU CANNOT GROW STRONGER. YOU CAN — BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE BLESSED WITH A PRIMORDIAL'S GRACE. ONLY WITH MY HAND UPON YOU MAY BREAK YOUR SHACKLES. AND YOU, HEISEN… ALREADY BEAR MY MARK.]
"So…" Heisen mused. "How I exactly grow stronger? Some kind of ritual or some weird sacrifice I have to make…?"
[YES, YOU ARE CORRECT FOR THE FIRST PART. I WILL PERFORM AN ANCIENT RITUAL ON YOU AND YOU WILL FINALLY ASCEND. HOWEVER, BEAR THAT IN MIND; YOU WILL NOT BECOME STRONGER. IT'S ONLY YOUR POTENTIAL THAT WILL TRANSCEND MORTAL BARRIERS. ARE YOU READY?]
Heisen goes silent for a while, weighing what was next to come. He again felt skeptical about this whole business. Was it seriously that easy to boost his potential by a mere ritual? What if it is some sort of trick to trap him?
But then again, he had no other choice. This path was already forged for him the moment he had taken the hand. Besides, he'd do anything to get his kingdom back. Anything to get Serena back.
"Yes, I am ready."
[EXCELLENT CHOICE MORTAL. VERY WELL I WILL NOW BEGIN.]
The ritual began. A vortex opened up below Heisen and he was shot straight up into the air. "What the—" he exclaimed. Then a sharp symbol appeared from the vortex, fluctuating with the pulsing energy. Then as if losing balance, Heisen seemed to fall down and plummet, but before he could make contact with the ground, the symbol opened up into luminescent golden chains and bound him to it.
Heisen's heart sank a little, what was going to happen now? He then saw a massive hand made of pure-divine Will approach him. Gripping the chains, it breaks them, freeing Heisen from his mortal bounds and truly transcending his potential beyond any understandings.
[HEAR ME, HEISEN. BY THE THREADS OF FATE AND THE FIRES THAT BIRTHED CREATION, I MARK YOU AS CHOSEN.
FROM THIS MOMENT, YOUR WILL SHALL NO LONGER BE BOUND BY THE CHAINS OF MORTAL LIMIT.
I POUR INTO YOU THE GRACE OF A PRIMORDIAL — POWER UNFETTERED, POWER FORBIDDEN.
RISE WITH MY BLESSING, AND LET THE WORLD ITSELF BEAR WITNESS.
YOU ARE NO LONGER MERELY MAN… YOU ARE MY VESSEL.]
Heisen immediately fell on his knees… not due to being indebted but because of the intolerable pain he was feeling in his chest.
"Argh – this pain — it won't go away!" he yelled.
[DO NOT FEAR, HEISEN. THIS AGONY IS BUT THE PRICE OF THE RITUAL. A MORTAL VESSEL IS NOT MADE TO BEAR GODLY WILL — YET YOU SHALL ENDURE, FOR I KNOW YOUR STRENGTH. STEEL YOURSELF… FALL TO YOUR KNEES, AND TOGETHER WE SHALL SHAPE A WORLD ANEW.]
It hurts…it hurts so much, Heisen thought to himself. He staggered to stand up, stumbled as he walked. But the reminder of his goal fueled him, and he could feel his gaunt returning back to him.
[I CAN ALREADY SEE THE PATH YOU WILL FORGE HEISEN AND IT WILL BE A GREAT ONE.]
"I…understand. But you still haven't answered several questions of mine," Heisen replied. "What are these reflections of myself? And what purpose do these mirrors serve?"
[YES, YOU ARE RIGHT. THOSE ARE YOU BUT AT THE SAME TIME DIFFERENT FROM YOU. THOSE ALL ARE THE DIFFERENT VARIANTS OF YOU FROM DIFFERENT UNIVERSES, HEISEN.]
"My different variants – universes? What?! I… I don't understand what you're trying to convey…" Yes, Heisen had been taught the basic knowledge of cosmic sciences of planets and the universe – elementary knowledge that every child was once taught. But different universes was a foreign topic that he had never heard about. He was confused.
[FRET NOT, THIS SOUNDS STRANGE BUT HEAR ME CAREFULLY AS THE THINGS I WILL TELL YOU WILL NOT ONLY AFFECT YOU BUT ALL OF THEM AS WELL.]
"All of them?! Who all?"
[THAT IS NOT OF IMPORTANCE RIGHT NOW…]
[ALL THESE VARIANTS OF YOU DWELL IN DIFFERENT REALMS… PARALLEL WORLDS, EACH GOVERNED BY OTHER GODS. YOUR TASK IS TO TRAVEL THROUGH THESE SHARDS AND HUNT THEM.]
[BUT TAKE HEED, HEISEN — WHEN YOU CROSS BETWEEN WORLDS, YOU MUST CIRCULATE YOUR WILL WITHOUT CEASE. FAIL TO DO SO, AND THE PASSAGE WILL REND YOU TO PIECES… AND EVEN I SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE YOU.]
[ONCE WITHIN, SEEK YOUR VARIANT. CONFRONT IT. DEFEAT IT. THEN BIND ITS ESSENCE INTO YOUR OWN , INTEGRATING — GROWING STRONGER WITH EACH VARIANT YOU CONSUME.]
[WHEN THE DEED IS DONE, THE WORLD WILL BEGIN TO COLLAPSE. I SHALL GUIDE YOU TO THE EXIT BEFORE IT CRUMBLES TO NOTHING.
DO YOU COMPREHEND, HEISEN?]
"This sounds…extremely strenuous. However, I don't quite understand the integrating part…"
[DO NOT FEAR, HEISEN. ALL SHALL BE REVEALED WITH EACH STEP YOU TAKE — EVERY STEP DRAWING YOU CLOSER TO YOUR DESIRES. DO NOT RESIST; YIELD TO THIS CALLING, AND YOUR TOIL SHALL RIPEN INTO POWER.]
[I KNOW WELL THIS TASK IS SELFISH, BUILT UPON SACRIFICE AND UNENDING STRUGGLE. YET YOU, WHO HAVE BEEN TEMPERED BY PAIN, SHALL NOT WAIL NOR FALTER.]
[THE PATH BEFORE YOU IS DARK AND LONELY BUT REMEMBER THIS — NO MATTER WHAT SHADOWS CONSUME YOU, YOU MUST NOT YIELD.]
Heisen nodded, The Voice's words filling him with a newfound determination. "Yes… you can count on me… I will not disappoint you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity and I will make the best use of it."
[HAHAHA! YOU ARE AN AMUSING ONE , HEISEN. NEVER HAVE I SEEN A MAN THIS TEMPERED. NOW GO ON AND SHOW THE WORLD WHAT YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU CAN DO!]
Heisen stood before a shard…it resonated with him…its energy approving Heisen's presence.
"Let's see what happens…" he murmurs to himself contemplatively.
Heisen extends his arm with a heavy breath and his arm phases through… it felt like a thousand needles ran through his arm.
Ugh!
[CIRCULATE YOUR WILL… DON'T FAIL NOW… YOU HAVE REACHED WHERE OTHERS COULD NEVER.]
He now glowed golden and extended his arm once again. The pain… it was gone and his hand flowed inside…he could feel it.
[GOOD… READY TO ENTER AND TAKE A STEP?]
Heisen nodded and jumped straight in.