(Before the crumbling of my sanity, in the past, my mind possessed a beautiful empire. One so great that nothing could have distracted me from forging and expanding upon it.
Each sector of my mind was overruled by confidence, bravery, determination, and wit.
But despite that, there was one thing… one person that stopped the progression of my empire. Sometimes, expansion isn't a good thing; but fixing it's completely different.)
Years before the incident, a young man with long, dark hair, a healthy build, and cold, amethyst eyes approached a small, cozy town nestled between a forest of rusted gears scattered across the hills of icy powder.
Because he felt nervous, Young Duron looked over and checked to see if his ship was safely docked near the town. A relieved grin came to his face.
"Thank goodness. That was one troublesome path."
Then, he looked heavenward through the field of white-stained grass, seeing a warm yellow luminance shine between streetlights. As his boots left tracks on the snowy pathway, Young Duron ordered his crew behind him.
"Settlers, follow me. I do not want any of the Looselings to attack you and bathe in your blood. Our goal is to secure this town and protect one another, remember that."
They advanced further shortly after, following the icy trail.
(This was the time when my body was at its prime state. I was always a leader. It was what I received from the genes of my father.)
"Understood, Captain Duron!" Replied five as they followed the man into the tavern.
Throughout my life, I was always told to strive for success and never give up. Which, in return, led me to order an entire nation to follow my exact footsteps. Success is a fantastic feeling, but the trade-off that comes with it equals out in its proportions.)
"Please… let me go…" A voice cried on the other side of the door.
It was a trade-off so strong that it nearly drove me to insanity. Sometimes the echoes of my past triumphs filled the emptiness around me, a constant reminder of the price I paid.
The laughter of old friends, once a harmony of success and camaraderie, had slowly faded into a haunting silence.
The grandeur of my accomplishments felt hollow, like walking through a magnificent empire devoid of its people.
This burden of loneliness —a shadow that clung to my achievements —wrapped itself around my heart, isolating me from the very things I once cherished. The driving factor behind success was loneliness.
Duron breached inside, angry and restless.
"Stay out of this!"
(When I was born, I was bestowed two gifts. One was my brave and ambitious personality, which I inherited from my father, and the other was my irresistible beauty, which I inherited from my mother. These gifts were what made my life so simple and the factor that made me so likable to the world.)
Men all around the tavern backed away as their eyes were focused on Duron's hands gripping a powerful black, yet strangely-shaped pistol in his pockets. With a gruff tone, he stepped forward to the bandits, held them at gunpoint, and warned as the chilling air poured inside.
"Thieves, stay down at once before I resort to my weapon!"
A snarky snarl came about from the thief's face.
"Yeah, and so what? Is that some toy your mother gave you?!"
The preposterous attitude had resonated so strongly within Duron that even his fingers began to crack with irritation and annoyance. The more he watched, the more he found the thieves' childish attitudes annoying. But despite their strength, the young woman just had enough energy to warn Duron.
"Run… leave…"
(I knew I couldn't ignore that voice. It was too precious to ignore. Why would anyone ever tell me to run, when I should be the one telling them?)
As the young man stepped forward, he quickly pushed the four down to the floor with his legs and stomped them with his shoes, pointing his weapon at their eyes. His vision then promptly became entangled in a tale of beauty in peril.
"Run..."
A sudden, sickening feeling struck the young man as he watched the woman's long, dark hair cascade like an enchanted waterfall to her hips.
Her eyes, deep and mysterious, shimmered like darkened amethysts hidden within a mystical cave, while her skin glowed with the ethereal softness of moonlight dancing on tranquil waters.
Her presence was a symphony of grace and strength, unmatched by any earthly creation.
He knew just from the trembling feeling of his wobbly knees that this would be the person he would be attached to the most.
"Hey!"
(Pew)
Suddenly, a loud blast echoed behind his back. His ears heard screaming, pointing to the laser darting from the room.
"Behind--
But just as the laser had even hit or skimmed his skin, Young Duron pulled out a rock-solid metal chest plate from his attire and threw it in front of him like a shield.
Immediately, the laser deflected off it, bouncing from wall to wall before backfiring and slicing one of the man's arms. He writhed in pain as the other men raced out of the tavern-- into the wall of icy fog and snow.
"Agh… help…. Help."
Duron's followers jolted across the floors while the other men froze still at the sight of Duron and the woman staring at each other with a fixated look.
Duron whispered as he unknotted the ropes of the woman and pulled her up.
"Don't worry. You will be alright. Men, escort this lady to my ship at once."
All five of his followers, fearing Duron's wrath or perhaps the consequences of defiance, dared not to resist and quickly grabbed the girl from Duron's grip, shielding her from the frozen winds.
Duron facepalmed and grasped his chest, feeling the first trickles of his heartbeat pulsate more than he had intended, uncertain whether it was from anger or regret.
It was clear that the moment he saw that woman's face, he knew that love had softly warmed his rather cold heart.
His adoration for her was sparked not just by her beauty, but by the story he imagined behind the beautiful, shimmering necklace wrapped around her neck. This story made him feel unexpectedly connected to her.
. . .
Duron's fingers caressed the necklace.
"Despite all those years of being in that faction, I still never forgot about the problem lingering in the soul of my daughter. My motivation has always been love and a sense of duty to fix what was broken. Now, I can finally fix it."
He closed his fists and shut his eyes, looking over to the roofless top above his head and commenting. "Oh, Drimi, you had such a perfect childhood." His thoughts were flooded with the memories of Drimi's younger appearance.
"I watched her cute little self grow into someone I would never believe she could be."
He took a deep breath and looked over to the descending train.
"It's like seeing and viewing the culmination of all your hard work, the vivid presentation of your success, getting poured into the living presence which you created.
If it weren't for me, she would never have the life she has now. "*sigh* I still can't believe that she has transformed into such a spectacular young woman, and I wasn't even there to see it. Why has it been that things have come this way?"
A long pause came from Duron's hopeful words as the barrier around him closed up.
"H… Huh?"
Phthonus' eyes trembled in shock, falling into disbelief at the story Duron had shared. It felt to him as if the memory had altered entirely his perspective on Duron, seeing him not as a ruthless murderer-- but as a desperate and lonely father.
He closed his eyes and dropped the book to the ground, bowing down and apologizing as the wind from above tore through the open carriage.
"I have my sincere apologies for striking a conflict with you, sir. If I had known sooner that you captured my friend's soul out of love, then maybe I wouldn't have treated you so harshly. You have my deepest respect."
Aletha scratched the back of her head and stepped away, undoubtedly puzzled about Duron's innocence.
She never understood the concept of heaven and The Perfect Darkness, let alone the corruption of Drimi.
Yet despite her confusion, she completely understood Duron's reasoning and wished him good luck in extracting the anomaly from Drimi.
"I wish you the best of luck in saving your daughter."
Just before Duron stepped out the door, a grueling and grating voice sounded out behind them.
"Seriously?! Duron, you were supposed to CAPTURE the girl, NOT talk to her! Just how much of a failure do you have to be?"
A dark blobby creature with slender arms, legs, and even torso stepped out from a pile of debris, holding what looked like a rope gun in its crusty hand. The overall aura was the complete opposite of the lenient, calm atmosphere Duron provided.
This one was marked by chaos and greed, with no care for anyone outside of his own objective.
It had five purple eyes and twelve sets of sharp and yellow teeth, where the tips could easily slice a tree if it could.
Duron backed away with the necklace in his hand and answered as Aletha and Phthonus cowered in front.
"I am NOT a failure! See, look what I have!?" Wait a minute, how did you come here?"
The dark creature gave a quiet smirk and threw it off the man's hands, grabbing onto his neck and growling.
"Grrr, THAT stupid necklace you have is NOT related to our goal. Wow, just how STUPID do you have to be?! It's the GIRL The Queen wants!"
Aletha squinted her eyes and snarled, shouting angrily as her face turned red.
"Hey, I have a name, you know?!"
"Ugh, Silence!"
The humanoid blob creature stomped his feet repeatedly on the ground and screeched as he approached Aletha.
"I was stalking you on the sidelines before you left because I KNEW you wouldn't focus on it. All you're focused on is your stupid, weak daughter; you keep crying on about her for eternity. Just get over her, k?! You can make all the babies you want--
Phthonus backed away in disgust.
"Goodness, you are one SICK individual. What makes you think you have the right and authority to take Aletha away?"
"I knew this girl would be inside, so… that's why I'm here. Now, girl! *snap* *snap* Yeah, YOU with the white hair… Come with me."
Aletha sassily turned away and touched her hips, posting and replying to the monster sarcastically as her finger was pointed in the air.
"You know, I WOULD listen to you if you called me by my name, but… you're not. What makes you think I would choose to go with you anyway?!"
The monster growled.
Oh, a feisty one, eh? I never knew this girl could be such a nuisance. Why in all names holy does my powerful queen want a measly white-haired girl like her!? And why did she COMMAND the entire army to search for her?!
She's not even worth it. Or perhaps... could it be that the prophecy of Alaunus about the girl with the luminous hair holds some truth?
That she possesses powers capable of tipping the scales of destiny? I wonder what threat she truly poses."