"Caged bird, who wishes to fly high, are you awake?"
My eyes opened to an endless escape of light, and a single being stood within the sea of purity. A feminine-looking figure, her form concealed behind many blinding lights, the only visible part of her body being the wicked grin burning through the light.
"Ugh… Where," I mumbled, the words violently being pulled from my throat, searing pain rippling throughout my veins.
"Don't scream, little bird. You have no need for a voice now I'm here."
The feminine light grew closer, encroaching on my position, the pain increasing with each delayed step of the being. The light emanated from the being burning my flesh, but no matter how much I screamed, trying to keep my sanity intact, the being didn't dim her light, only increasing its effect.
"Stop that, it'll be over in a moment."
She slowly caressed my face, the pain dimming with each laboured breath until my body was silent.
"I've been watching you for years now, waiting until you accidentally stepped in front of a moving car. Ever since I expanded my gaze, I've been fixated on you, and you alone."
"You caused that accident?"
"No, no. That was merely fate working its magic. But I'll admit I may have broken a rule of fate. Stealing your soul is a great crime, but if you don't tell, I won't."
Danger was the only word circling around my mind; the being of light caused an overwhelming terror to creep into every pore on my body. Even if my body wasn't chained from head to toe, I wouldn't be able to move anyway.
"Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm not going to hurt you; I'll do much more than merely hurt you. I'm going to enhance you into a perfect son, you are no longer human but a being of light."
"Leave me alone! Who even are you!?"
"You shouldn't speak like that to the one who saved you from a boring existence. You caught MY gaze, meaning you are special, stop the pointless rambles and embrace your new destiny."
Her request wasn't a request at all, but a slow growl disguised as a loving request. If I didn't comply, it would have a much worse fate than whatever she had in store.
"I'm sorry, please forgive me."
"Ah, it's okay, I was being insensitive. Just looking at your face has dispelled all my anger. Since you are being so good, I'll tell you everything."
"I am the Primordial Light, or the Supreme Deity of Purity. I plucked your little soul from the train to the Vale and brought you to my holy land. How lucky are you!"
"Why?"
"What do you mean by why? Because I've been your silent observer ever since my eye caught yours, why wouldn't I jump at the opportunity to add you to my world?"
"I've never seen you before. How could I have caught your eye?"
"I… You are the perfect person, the light in my darkness. My life has been so dull. Do you know the pains of being immortal? You are mine, and nothing can change that."
"If I am everything, why do you chain me?"
"They aren't chains, silly. They are extensions of my body that will become your body, not some little chains. I suppose you could say they are your lifeblood."
"What!?"
I relentlessly tried to pull the chains from my body, but to no avail. In response, the chains began to slowly pierce my body, travelling inwards to my heart, carving a bloody path.
"It hurts! Stop! Stop!"
My pleading didn't reach the light's ears, just watching on at my misery, ecstasy burning bright within her eyes. Her pleasure was blatant to see, only heightening my own pain, knowing nothing is saving me from the agony ripping through my body.
"It'll be okay. What do they say on that Earth? Ah.. yes! No pain, no gain! Ha, such a good saying."
The pain lasted for a mind-numbing amount of time, the deity carefully watching the process of becoming one with her body with interest. The wicked grin plastered on her face only grew stronger with each scream or twist.
"Ah, ha! It seems the process is complete; you are now one with me, holding a fraction of my ultimate power. How do you feel?!"
"Terrible."
The last slivers of chains holding me to the cross of light eventually faded away, causing me to free-fall into the light's arms, holding me softly and placing me down on the ground.
"Why subject me to such pain?"
My voice was supposed to be loud and authoritative, expressing my burning rage to the woman, but only a low whisper came out, riddled with weakness.
Humans are normally weak; they become semi-powerful when their brains unleash their strength, but they just end up breaking every bone in their bodies. That can't do for my beloved, so I forcefully implanted my divine light into your heart, changing your human body into one more suited for my land."
"I'm no longer human? What about my family! If I can't make money for my family, then I'm nothing, nothing but a leech!" I shouted, suddenly remembering everything in my past life; it was coming back like a flood, overwhelming my mind. "Send me back! Send me back! I have to save them from loan sharks. If I don't, they'll take everything!"
"You're already dead once, and if it is forcefully ripped from one realm, it cannot enter another. It would be better if you just forgot about them. I'm your family now."
The light's sweet words were followed by her warm embrace, pushing my face into her chest, trying to calm my worries, but it had no effect; the embrace of my tormentor wouldn't dampen my fears.
I recklessly pushed against the light, prying myself from her grip, briefly succeeding before her grip increased, crushing my body slightly, forcefully pulling me back into her grasp.
"This won't do. No, not at all. I am your one and only family; no one else is close to being your family. It's only me. Me, alone," said the light softly, her voice carrying a familiar sense of malice and hostility, ordering me to submit, but I wouldn't, never.
"I didn't want to see this route actualized, but I suppose it's necessary to our happiness. How unfortunate, stay still."
The light concealing the deity soon faded, revealing a beautiful woman carefully nestling my head, her snow-white hair draping down, obscuring my vision for a split second. Golden eyes shone bright even in the everlasting expanse of light; they locked within my own, analyzing and inspecting my face.
I was briefly stunned by her beauty, staring at her, dumbfounded by how such a perfect woman could ever exist, until an uncomfortable feeling crept in, as if someone was digging through my mind.
Turning my gaze toward the source of my discomfort, I saw a slender arm painted scarlet, pierced straight through my skull. Despite the injury, I felt no pain, only the encroaching presence of loss.
Each twist of the woman's arm invited another unknown into my memory, slowly clouding the line between lost and new.
"What are you doing? Get out of my mind!" I growled, trying to prevent the loss of any more of my precious memories, but I couldn't move in the face of the deity's overwhelming power, rooting me to the floor, not allowing an inch of movement.
"Stop moving, this is a delicate surgery. But don't worry, I'm only deleting the unnecessary, such as that false family you cherish so much. You were an orphan in the old world with no recollection of a family, weren't you?"
The light withdrew her arm from my mind, the grievous wound quickly closing and mending itself thanks to my newfound divine body. I stared into the light's golden eyes, gathering every brain cell in search of something I couldn't describe. It was as if something that was just there was now missing, something important.
Something was gone, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was missing, only managing to recall a void.
"I never had a family, I'm an orphan with nothing close to a family."
For some reason unknown to me, my words felt hollow, as if they weren't my own.
"You are no longer an orphan; I am your family. Nothing can change that."
"Family? Is that what you are to me?"
"Of course, don't worry yourself anymore, I'll always be here for my beloved."
"Why love me? I'm an orphan with no one in my corner. Why would you love a nobody like me?"
The Primordial Light's wicked grin downturned for a moment, turning somber, doubt and regret dwelling deep within her gaze before returning to their normal, exhilarated selves.
"Because ever since I saw you, I've felt this profound love and respect for you. You are my beloved, and nothing will change that. I'll love you even if you don't believe me."
Ignoring her, I slowly picked myself up from the floor. I looked around, seeing nothing but blinding lights, blinding my vision of anything beyond. There was nothing but light.
"Where are we?"
"It doesn't really have a name, but it could be called my throne room. Where I mainly stay when nothing is going on, I only leave when someone or something catches my eye."
"I am something more than human, now? By forcefully implanting your body into mine, you've done something to my physiology. I feel stronger, like a touch could shatter a building."
"You are a new species of being, something unknown to all the realms. Because you are made from my flesh, you have limitless potential. I suppose the only species close to you now would be angels or devils, but they aren't exactly the same."
"Angels and devils are real? So are you their god or creator?"
"Angels and devils live in the Isles of Elpis, fighting an endless war to see who is superior and which race has the right to rule the Isles. But as of right now, no progress has been made despite their war being since the creation of the universe."
"Sounds boring. How could they have made no progress?"
"It is rather dull, hence why I set my gaze upon other worlds; the continued observation of the war would only sap my remaining sanity. As for why, it's due to their creator, the Primordial Darkness's refusal to play my game and Devil's superiority over my angels."
"Why don't you provoke the darkness into playing your game? If you personally destroyed her devils, then you would be forced to fight you at full strength."
"Mhm, I've thought about it, but to be honest, I like watching full skirmishes between armies, not one-on-one battles. While they are fun to watch, I don't want to personally fight the darkness. I'd rather someone else kill her while I watch."
"So is that what I'm here to do?"
"What? No, I don't care much about the darkness anymore, but I suppose slaying the darkness would be something that could gauge your overall strength. This war is rather lonesome now, I suppose it is long overdue to end, so maybe."
"If you hate your creations so much, then why not just restart? If you are an all-powerful deity, then just purge your creations and create them anew."
"Rather cruel, don't you think? I don't see any benefit in starting again; it would just be another boring chore that I've already done before."
"You don't think of yourself as cruel after what you did to me?"
"Hm, my implantation of divinity was a gift. It may have been painful, but it wasn't out of malice but love."
My memories of the past shone brightly within my mind, but important details were missing; the basic concept of a name that every human has was missing. According to my memory, I had never had a name, family, or any sort of favourable relationship with others.
My earlier anger returned in full slumber, briefly under the pressure of my new mind.
"What did you do to me!? I don't have any memories of a name or family! It can't be true, I'm not alone, I've never been alone! I've always had something… Something."
The Primordial Light snapped her head to me in the face of my accusations, looking worried and slightly annoyed at my shouts.
"Don't! I don't trust you, you're nothing resembling light. Stay away from me!"
The distance between us wasn't small, but she closed the gap in a split second, appearing in front of me and once again embracing me sweetly, just tight enough to prevent any escape.
The soft pressure of her lips pressing against my own dispelled all the anger and suspicion within my mind, reducing my thoughts to a harmonic melody of love and tranquility.
"I know your past is scary, and it isn't pleasant, but it is the truth. But now there is no need to think back on such things when you have me. We can start a new life together and become absolute shining lights in the darkness. While you may not have had a name before, you have one now. I grant you the name, Evernight."
"Evernight?"
"Yes, while it means everlasting darkness and is my exact opposite, I still can't help but love the name. It's truly beautiful. With a beautiful soul like yours, I thought it to be the perfect name."
"I.. Don't know. But you have yet to tell me your own name? What is a family without names?"
"I've already told you, the Primordial Light or the Supreme Deity of Light."
"No, that isn't a name, it's a title. What is your actual name?"
"Name…? I don't have one past my titles."
"Then I, too, grant you a name, Seraphina."
Seraphina let her new name roll off her tongue for a moment, her expression wavering between sorrow and unbridled ecstasy, before a pure, innocent smile appeared on her face, a few tears welling in her eyes. She went to jump into my arms, accepting my proposal in full.
Bracing for the impact, I briefly closed my eyes, waiting a few seconds for her arms to wrap around my own, but her embrace never came. Opening my eyes, I saw Seraphina imprisoned within an endless midnight chain wrapping around every inch of her body.
Multiple beams of light shot off from her body, blasting the chain to pieces, freeing her from its clutches, but her freedom was short-lived, and she was immediately imprisoned again.
"Eldros! Why do you interfere in my personal matters? Release me, or I'll swallow the Vale in a sea of light!"
"You've broken the cardinal law, interfering with death. Due to your meddling, I can't take the boy to the Vale anymore; his soul isn't compatible with the Vale being a mixture of light and human. So I'll take your own soul as penance. You'll be imprisoned on your own throne until I deem you punished."
"Unhand me! You can't imprison me forever, I'm a deity! I'll eventually escape your little chains of death."
"According to my calculations, it would take you at least two years to fully break through my prison. I don't underestimate you, hence why I've taken measures such as this one," declared Eldros, authority and overwhelming power oozed from his voice.
The light from under me disappeared, revealing a network of floating islands, all developed to the max, using every inch of space to add to the plethora of buildings.
"No, Evernight!" shouted Seraphina, releasing a controlled blast of light, annihilating the chains of death. She ran to me, trying to catch my hand, but to no avail, being ensnared by the chains again, pulling her hand from my reach.
"Seraphina!"
"This is one of the many consequences of your actions, Primordial Light. You'll observe your creation helplessly unable to prevent his death in the most dangerous realm, your realm. Whether he survives or not is not yet clear, but if he dies it'll be your fault for designing such a cruel and perilous realm."
"Bastard! Release me!"
"You are no longer the Primordial Light but a helpless spectator. Didn't you know there are consequences to breaking the cardinal laws?"
"I'm a deity! Consequences aren't a thing for us!"
"You are still young; look down at the consequences of your actions. Evernight's final night."
"He's not that weak! He'll survive; he's been implanted with a portion of my power. No one can rival him down there!"
"What? You've made a pseudo deity?! How can you be so foolish!"