The Magus Echoes of the forgotten

Sacrifice

It's dark. So dark.

Darkness enveloped all, preventing me from seeing any shape or figure.

Where am I?

I feel warm. But there is no light!

My eyes... they won't open? I can't see anything!

My hands... My feet... I can't feel them!

My body... It don't hurt anywhere!

I feel weightless, as if I were drifting through the air.

I see, I'm dead aren't I?

Sigh... So it ended like this? So close, just within grasp. And then, puff, it vanished into thin air.

Where did it all go wrong?

Jeffrey! That bastard Jeffrey!

Myra?! Myraaaa!!!

I cursed their names over and over again. But with each venting, the anger and hatred inside of me grew stronger.

That warm feeling... it dimmed, suffocated by my rage. It was dying, unable to produce any more warmth. Yet, there was something strange about it, something familiar. It was desperate, struggling.

I was being consumed, consumed not only by anger towards Jeffrey or Myra. No! There was something else, something that infuriated me even more.

I didn't know whom or what that rage was directed at, but it felt as though I were a mere observer, watching myself rage from a distance.

It was a chaotic mess, a complete and utter mess.

And then... a presence. I felt it, so close to me, so intimate. It seemed to resemble me, or perhaps it was me. Was I feeling my own presence? Could that even be possible?

It didn't take me long to find it. It was like me, but not quite me. There was a warmth and purity about it, a purity that surpassed anything I had ever known. In contrast, I felt like a chaotic mess. It didn't sit well with me.

I prodded at the presence, unable to resist. At first, it didn't respond, but then... it began to... grasp me?

Desperation emanated from it. Somehow, I could feel it. Its desperation was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was pure and raw.

And yet, amidst its desperation, there was warmth and tranquility. Even my unbridled anger and rage seemed to be enveloped and... and... I don't know how to put it into words, but it felt as though I was being... separated... detached from them.

The peace and warmth I felt couldn't be described by simple words, it was simply divine!

Enveloped in that serene state, an unwelcome thought slithered into my mind.

I had countless questions. While the warm presence suppressed my rage and hatred, it couldn't stifle my thoughts.

I pondered the odds of my survival.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on me. Even if I were to survive, the prospect of being incapacitated and unable to carry on filled me with dread.

I didn't want to exist in a vegetative state, immobile and trapped in a nightmarish existence.

Instead of being trapped in a coma, I preferred death!

Panic! It seemed like the right time to panic, but I didn't feel the need.

Worry! That I felt. It appears that even the dead worry.

Light... Light?! My gaze settled upon...

... What's that? A tunnel!

The idea of a light at the end of the tunnel had always seemed like a cliché, but now it felt like a tangible possibility.

I don't know how much time had passed, or if the concept of time even held any significance in this place, but I couldn't help but recollect the past as I was drawn towards the tunnel.

Though my life may not have appeared that way, I used to be a believer. Every Sunday, I would attend a nearby church and pray, hoping that Jeffrey and Myra would somehow depart from our lives... but as my prayers remained unanswered, my faith gradually waned.

Now, reflecting upon it, perhaps my prayers were indeed answered, weren't they? It's just that I too became a collateral.

Does that mean I am in hell now? After all, I didn't even have the opportunity to repent before my death.

... It actually never crossed my mind.

Oh well, who cares? We have arrived at the tunnel.

The tunnel was so small that it could only accommodate one of us.

And I had this feeling, an instinct, that it would not wait for the later.

It was a matter of either me or it, with no room for a second. First come, first served.

The warm presence, I could sense its fervent attempt to reach the tunnel. I could feel its smaller size pressing against my larger form.

Whatever the case, as long as I didn't have to see them, I found contentment.

Who am I kidding? I am dissatisfied.

No! I refuse to accept this!

Huh? It dissolved?

Its essence is permeating throughout my being...

***

The world was in chaos as calamity after calamity hit the lands. Strange storms raged across skies, unleashing torrents that shattered dams and drowned villages.

Earthquakes tore fissures through fields and settlements alike, swallowing homes and lives. Volcanic eruptions darkened days with ash fallout, choking crops and people.

Scholars were baffled, priests called for penitence, but none could explain the global upheaval.

Nature seemed to lash out in a frenzied fury the likes of which had never been seen before. As destruction mounted, all waited with dread for the next impossible disaster to strike.

From the moment of their entry into the world, an incredible change came over the lands.

The raging storms grew quiet.

The longest night banished.

The skies cleared, welcoming the sun. Its scorching heat rushed in, expelling winter in haste.

Snow melted, yielding floods that quenched the thirsty Earth.

Quakes stilled, cracks in the ground sealing shut. Volcanic fire banked, lava flows hardening. Nature's wrath subsided as if a fever had broken.

Though scholars could discern no cause, the true Authorities scattered across the world knew it was no mere coincidence.

"Volcanoes! Volcanoes that had been dormat for ages suddenly erupted!"

"A storm is coming! It's raising giant waves in the sea!"

"It's a convulsion of nature! What could be happening?"

"It's a sign! The arrival of the great one! Quick, let us pray for salvation!"

Some saw it as a sign from the divine, while others perceived it as an ill omen. Nevertheless, all were aware that a shift in the cosmic order of some kind had taken place on the day the very world ushered new life.

Numerous lives were sacrificed to extend a welcome to the one who couldn't leave it all behind.