[Third person POV]
Inside a bustling city, a singular temple stood tall amidst the endless houses. It is called The Holy Temple of Life, capital of humanity. The immaculate white marble that had once worked as the pillars of faith is now weakly holding this paragon of history.
Old leather books rusted by the never-ending wheel of time cemented the past into something tangible. An emblem, which read IHS laid wrapped in gold– a detail that appeared in some pillars.
The people walking around had white robes, as immaculate as the temple, which shone with protective orange runes. Their faces had long aged into a withered state.
Aeternia is not the same anymore. Scholars around the world have been trying to manipulate it, trying to use their spells again. It's corrupted, too physical for illusions and too viscous for manipulation.
Inside the grandest room of the temple, an intricate ceiling accompanied by ornaments of faith painted the picture of something resembling a traditional church, with a rose window that reflected a now crimson light.
- "God left me to rot."
A heavy voice resounded through the room, carrying the weight of the world. His hands trembled, carrying a red plague that threatened to consume him whole.
- "Don't say that. He will always protect us, this is all a plan of the almighty."
The counterpart– The greatest cardinal, held his head up with a vestige of hope. He clung onto his ideals, although the crimson marks on his body were the most prominent out of the bunch.
- "God left you too. Your body is tainted by the spore, and your eyes are weaker than ever before. "
The pause was short lived, as the mighty cardinal looked at himself. He was the closest to God, yet his body was the fleeting testament of the furthest one can be from him.
- "One of our own tried to perform an exorcism the other day. I guess her daughter was abandoned by God. She'll face the world without a father."
- "Blasphemy" He cut off, his words spat from his mouth with anger "You are in the wrong, and I am right. All my life, God has been by my side. Why would it change now?"
His body trembled, as a chunk of his flesh shook. A weak illusion of strength adorned his visage, fueled by years of unrelenting trust.
- "Another piece of the cosmos, thrown to the abyss. Without his holiness, we've been left with naught. It creeps from below us, nothing will last much longer. Only those who remain to let go will survive. "
~
Far away from the temple, a crimson light was cast from the moon, bathing an astral night sky. The whole scenery was majestical— although now corrupted by the shadow of darkness.
A forest nearby, enchanted by its gloomy radiance, shone with a mystical blue light. The forest of Valis, circling the outer walls of the country's capital, was an ultimately common place for gated communities.
Amidst the forest of Valis, there was a Japanese themed manor, with a closed garden. An old man sat from the manor's deck deeply entranced within his book and pen.
Far from the deck, a black haired youth was practicing his sword arts with utmost mastery, wearing traditional clothes. His name is Arden.
The air was ceremoniously peaceful– although the serenity was broken when the youth began irradiating a mesmerizing white fire from his blade.
He started slashing again, every move of his accompanied by utmost silence and perfect use of body anatomy. Sometimes, he aimed up to the sky and unleashed a brutal slash that could expand for dozens of meters, leaving a fiery haze behind.
The culmination of beauty, precision and lethality. The strength of wind and the king of fires merged into a common style. As around an hour passed, the young adult stopped, not tired in the slightest.
His eyes were a mesmerizing green— locked in, intense beyond measure. His skin was the fairest of whites. His robes trailed down his perfect figure, one designed for perfect symmetry and war efficiency.
It all perfectly adorned his face, which was of unparalleled beauty. All in all, it was probably the most enchanting man in history, the pinnacle of humanity.
- "Arden, come over here."
An old man exclaimed, leaving his book on the table. His eyes trailed up to the youth's face, taking a long pause before continuing.
- "Arden, I hope you know it's inevitable for you to marry Julia."
Those words were echoed by a toneless, calculative tone. His words always betray his way of being. Calm, centered in family affairs.
- "You are escaping it. You know you can't do anything about it. You may be one in a thousand years, unreachable in strength by many, yet she is a lycanfolk."
- "She can take your soul, Arden. Just think about how terrifying that is."
- "Father, she is a threat." The youth said, his body calm, yet his gaze drifted away from his fathers. "She started acting forcefully not long after that one incident. I could've bear it before, but now it's dangerous."
- "Son, it's not that bad. Julia has never crossed a line she shouldn't cross. You have to understand that you are engaged to her." His fingers trailed off back to his book, in a dismissive fashion. "Stop running from her."
- "It's not about running, Father. Everything inside this realm guides you towards the final destiny– the cleansing of the soul and the end of memories. I am risking something far greater than what a mortal is allowed to risk."
- "How can a mortal like me, so intertwined by the shadow of carnal limits, be exposed to such a being that can grant permanence and force you into eternal servitude? She can control souls, father."
- "You have no other way, Arden. She has no growth limitations, and with the absence of God you won't be able to escape, even in death."
[~]
Looking at my father, I remembered those glimmering pink eyes, adorned by a face of complete beauty, yet deformed to that of a demon by a needy, sinister and lustful expression.
Her hands, covered by the blood of my kin, reached up to me and grabbed me forcefully, tainting my white attire with darkness, as if she had corrupted me.
She pulled herself closer to my face, with an expression full of delight and longing, as if she had finally found what she has been looking for ages.
My silent pride, my strength. It was all taken away from me, in a single kiss. I was never before so conscious of my limits.
- "She is too much to handle." My voice drifted, knowing I wasn't going to be heard by my father.
Sometimes, I wonder if something could've been different. If she was a human being, between my scope. Something I could control, something that couldn't just turn around and kill me.
- "So, what are you going to do?"
His voice pushed me away from my thoughts in a matter of seconds. I responded seamlessly, with an assertive undertone.
- "I'm going to drag it out for a few months, and try to figure out possible solutions."
- "It is not going to work, Arden. I'll give you these months, though, as for not much can go wrong."
- "Thank you, father. I'll take my leave now."
[~]
The young man stepped off, wandering towards his room. His shoulders were slumped down, carrying a burden.
Making his way, he trailed alongside the main hallways of his family's manor. Expensive furniture mixed with immaculate portraits of previous family members gave off an impression of immense generational wealth.
The portraits were crafted by the finest of hands, encompassed by expensive frames. They all presented blonde people with red eyes— eyes so captivating that could peel a human from his inhibitions and directly speak to the soul.
- "Brother?" A voice spoke, distant, a clear mirror of the father of the family.
Jane, the oldest sister and the next heir of the family stopped Arden dead in his tracks. He squinted ever so little, looking at her with slight waryness.
- "Yes?"
- "Marry her".
Arden immediately turned around, walking away from her.
- With his back turned, he spoke, his stroll as steady as ever. "Sister, whoever made you believe you could speak to me was in the wrong."
- She started moving towards Arden, following him behind his tracks "You know, Gramps is going to make a ton of money out of that marriage. You got to take a hit for the family."
Her voice was icy, her eyes locked into the neck of the youth. She made you feel like a pawn, trapped between her games.
- "You seem to really like grandpa. Why don't you marry him, so you can wallow between his arms all you want. Leave me alone for once."
As she tried to gather herself to answer, I just kept on walking, opening the door of my room and shutting it close.