Fantasy

The war between the Ancient Ones and The Creators had been going on for eons, and even after the Elemental joined the fray, the balance of power still remained tipped in favor of The Creators. When the Elementals had first challenged The Creators, it was a battle like any other. They were almost evenly matched, but the Creators had their armies. One Elemental was killed by a Creator, who barely managed to get away with his life. The death of one of their own had shaken the Elementals, and so they had so far avoided direct conflict. It had been so long since the first battle between the Elementals and the Creators that the Creators no longer feared their counterparts.

I was told all this as Orkan guided me through the Golden Hall; it was a great tower at the very edge of the universe. The Golden Hall was the home of The Prophecy, the oldest being in the universe. “No one knows how old The Prophecy is, but legends say that it was here at the Golden Hall before the birth of the First Creator and long before the creation of his seven sons,” Orkan told me as he guided me to the Chamber of Echoes.

 “When we first found the Prophecy, we didn’t even know what we were laying our eyes upon. It was the source of alternate creation. The Prophecy gave us a place to stay, a place to heal, and we’ve been there since. But even The Prophecy can’t defeat the remaining Creators, not on its own. It cannot interfere with the workings of the universe. It’s trapped here, in his hall, it has all of the power that can be imagined, but it can only stay here and wait for others to find it. It can grant any wish, any request, and when we, the Ancient ones, found it, it granted out a request for safety. And now, now it will grant you a request. You will be the one to help it save the universe from chaos.”

“Me?” I had no idea what part I was supposed to play in war, but it seemed important. I would soon learn that there were things far beyond my comprehension at play. I would learn about the creation of the First Creator and his children and what that meant for the existence of the universe.

“Yes, you, Kaimy, The Prophecy sent us to your world to find a being that is incorruptible, and we found you. You’re the only one who can help us find The First Creator and use his power to end the dark reign of his children, one and for all.”

“But…why me?” I was a simple Astrobeast, a servant. How could I save the universe? How could I be what they were looking for? Through my encounter with the Prophecy, all questions would be answered. And others knew that truth as well.

“That,” I heard a powerful voice say, “Only the prophecy can tell you.”

As I turned around, the Elemental who had saved me and my brothers floated behind us. “You must face the Prophecy alone and learn of your fate.” It told me as it pointed to the door to the Chamber of Echoes. “There lies the answer to all your questions. Go, and learn of your destiny.”

And so it was that I, Kaimy, a simple Astrobeast, came face to face with the oldest being in creation, The Prophecy. As I entered the Chamber, alone and oblivious of what awaited me, I was met by a light unlike any I had ever witnessed, going around in a spiral, burning with colors that I didn’t know existed. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever laid my eyes on, and from within that spiral came a voice.

“Who are you, and why have you arrived at the Golden Hall?” It was a voice that carried unprecedented power and commanded an answer. “I…I am Kaimy, of the planet Astra-6. I was brought here by Orkan and an Elemental. They say you wish to see me.” Even in the face of something so powerful and old, I could still speak, which amazed me.

“It is true, I wished to see you, you who shall complete the cycle, who shall bring my agenda to fruition, but there is more. More is needed.” The voice declared.

“More…? What does that mean?”

“Hmmm, they brought me only half,” the voice said.

“Half…half of what?”

“Listen, child, all that has any power in this universe exists in a binary. There is an equal to every energy. When the First Creator was born, I created him for the sake of a companion, an equal who would help me in my vision and who would aid me build. I made him in the image of perfection, flawless in every way.” The voice of the Prophecy went on as I listened. “But as I said, there is always a binary, a balance that must be met, and thus a price was paid for his creation, the origin of all existence was trapped here, at the edge of creation, forever doomed to watch and only grain wished to those who seek me.”

I did not know why the Prophecy was telling me all of this, but I hung on to every word. It was the story of all life in the universe; after all, I realized it demanded some respect.

And so the Prophecy went on, “Every being that holds comic power must have a rival, an equal; that is how the universe is balanced. I became the rival of The First Creator; I am his equal. And thus not long after, when he came to he, to request that which was beyond his own power, the creation of his own seven children, their creation too, came with a price, one that had twofold implications, I cannot reveal it to you, but there was the price. Do you understand, young one

?”

I could barely keep up with the story, but all that existed, all that had cosmic power, had a counterpart, I knew as. Much so, I nodded, and the Prophecy continued with its story of the creation of all things.

“There have never been any exceptions to that rule, even when the seven sones came to me to seek an army, a race that would help them overthrow their own father, and I granted them that with the creation of the Ancient ones, an equal price was played with the birth of the Elementals, beings who were the personification of elemental power, capable to destroying worlds at will, it was with their creation that I learned the truth. Everything I create, every wish I grant, has consequences. But that is an important lesson for you to learn. It is why you are only half. You are missing your rival, your opposite.”

“Oh great, Prophecy, I still do not understand. How does that make me half? What do you wish to say?” At the time, I could not see what was meant, but I would learn, and I would learn very soon.

“You are a cosmic creation. You must have an equal, too, one created after you. That equal is what we need; it is that equal who is incorruptible, created as a counterpart to you. We need your equal.” The Prophecy explained.

“Who is your equal? Tell me, child, who has the power.” It asked me.

I had no clue what to say, the only equal I had ever had, were my brothers, but none of us had any cosmic power.

Once I thought of that, it was as if the Prophecy had read my mind.

“It is the younger, the one who came after you. He is the one we must seek.” It said, “Wait…Isaiah, my younger brother. I left him in my homeworld when I was brought here.”

“He is no longer there; he has moved on, he seeks you, and you must seek him. I will tell you more. Let me tell you what you are a part of. Eons ago, when the ancient ones were young, the seven sons found where the Elementals were and tried to wipe them out, but one among them gave up his own life to help his brothers flee. That was the death of the first cosmic being in the universe, but with it died a Creator, and so only Six Sons remained” The Prophecy unleashed upon me the secrets of the creation of my race.

            “The Six wanted to wipe out everything that they could not control, but in time, The Ancient Ones because tired of the killing and rebelled against their masters, you know as much as you have been told. But what came after, you do not know. After the Ancient Ones turned on them and killed another of their number, the Fiver remaining sons came together and created a new army, one that they would purify, one that would never rebel against them because they would filter from this new race, only the most loyal of soldiers. This was your race. They created the Astro beasts and started killing any who showed weakness. But as always, that creation, too, came at a price. It gave birth to two brothers, one with the power to save the universe, and the other, with the ability to free me from my prison. Those brothers are you, and Isaiah, I do not know which is which, but you must seek you brother, and on your way, you will have to face the Second Son.”

“The Second Son? What is that?”

“The Second Son is an obstacle that you will face, child. When the Ancient Ones killed a Creator all those eons ago, its power went to one of its siblings, called the Second Son. He wanted no part in the war and feared that his remaining siblings would kill him for the power he had, so he vanished. You must look for your brother, and on the way, you will face many obstacles, you will learn from them, and you will grow because of them. You will learn of your infinite power, and I foresee that you will return to me with much knowledge.”

I had learned so much from the Prophecy, about the creation of The First Creator, about the Ancient Ones, the Elementals and about my own race, the Astro beasts. But as I would go out into the universe, I would realize that there was more to learn than my small and limited mind could even fathom.

Just as I was about to leave the Chamber, the Prophecy called out to me one last time.

“Remember, child. Where there is darkness, you can find light, but where there is light, darkness cannot exist.” It said as its divine light touched my forehead. “I bestow upon you this key. Use its power to keep your brother alive, for only his power can save us all.”

I did not know what those last words of the Prophecy meant nor what power it had given me. But I carried them with me, and in time, I would come to learn their meaning. Soon after, Orkan and I traveled back to my homeworld. What I found there was unnerving. I found my older brother, Kai, and discovered that he had become the leader of what remained of our people. He was much older than when I had left. At the edge of the universe, time was many, many times slower than it was anywhere else, and thus the few short days I had spent there had been close to a decade for my brothers. Kai was an old man with children of his own, and he had thought me dead for years now.

It was then that Kai told me about what he and Isaiah had been up to. They had waited for me for over a year among the ruins of our village, but when I did not return, they left Astra-6 to find answers. They have found many others like us, other Astro beasts, and they had brought them back to Astra-6. Kai and Use have single-handedly started a rebellion, a new war against them. Creators. For years they had fought, freeing as many worlds from the control of the Creators as they could. Eventually, Kai returned to be a leader of our people while Isaiah still fought.

Kai also told me that over their adventures, they had found five brothers with power unlike any other, each unbeatable in their own right and that these brothers wished to fight the Creators as well. At the mention of these brothers, Orkan stood up. It was as if the mere mention of these brothers had sent a shiver down his spine.

“Orkan, are you alright!” There aren’t many things that can scare an ancient one, so I was a little worried.”

“I know of these brothers. I have heard of them. They were the first of the Astro beasts, possessing unbearable power, even stronger than ancient ones. They’re like a myth. If they’re real, this changes a lot of things.” Orkan said.

“They’re real alright, I’ve met them, or at least they were. They had allied themselves with Isaiah, but last I heard, they were captured, so god knows if they’re alive or not.” Koi added and then asked, “Why were they so important?”

“When they were born, The Elementals sensed in them the essence of their Fallen brother, who died keeping them safe from the Creators. These five can help us in our war. We have to find them.” Orkan was convinced that these brothers could help us. I, on the other hand, had other things on my mind.

“Well, like Kai said, they allied with Isaiah, right, it seems to me that finding my brother is our best bet for finding these guys, so Isaiah is our priority.”

We stayed on Astra-6 for a few short days and then continued our search for Isaiah. Orkan and I searched dozens of words, all touched by the new war my brother had started. We found armies he had led, we found people he had saved, and everywhere we went, we found marks of Isaiah’s victories. He had become a legend. No one knew where he was. They only knew where he had been, I was always two steps behind him, and he’d always get away. Along the way, I, too, learned how to fight, the blessing of the Prophecy had made me stronger, faster, and smarter than I had been, and with Orkan, an ancient one, by my side, I was practically unstoppable. But that drew attention, the attention we did not want.

Isaiah was always smart. He stayed hidden. I, on the other hand, had been foolish. In search of my brother, I made a lot of noise, and eventually, that noise was heard. And so, on one fine day, over a year after my search for Isaiah had begun. I, Orkan and our ragtag army of ancient ones and Astro beasts that we had gathered along the way were on a Planet called Zeto-B. We had just librated Zeto from the rule of the Creator and were about to move on when the sky above us turned black, and all light was cut off. We feared one of the Sons had finally come for us, but what descended from above was something far worse than a mere Son.

He looked like an ordinary man and wore no great armor, simply old robes. He landed on the ground and walked up to us, right to the middle of our camp. He looked at me.

“You must be Kamiy. It’s good to finally see you, child.” He said, and his voice was the most calming sound I had ever heard. It sank into my great and reminded me of The Prophecy. But it seemed to have an opposite effect on Orkan and the rest, who all drew their weapons.

“Oh, come now, you know those are useless against me. I’m The Creator.”

I was thrown aback, “A Creator…you?

“Oh, not a Creator, I’m the Creator, the First Creator, and I hear to see what all the fuss is about. I also wish to enlighten you with some things. For example, do you know what the Prophecy wants and what its agenda is? Let me tell you. Is it odd that it never told you to want price was paid for the creation of my Sons…” The Creator went on, and I listened. “The price was another universe, a copy of this reality came into being, only there, the Prophecy was a darker being, one that wished to wipe all life and start over, and now, our dear Prophecy is being taken over by the same entity, everything it’s doing, is to stop itself from becoming a darker Prophecy. It seven sent one of my children, the Second Son, to the other reality. If he told him he could kill all of these brothers, there’s and kill the dark Prophecy with their power that he could rule in that universe. That’s how desperate the Prophecy has become.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” I yelled.

“Because I want to see what makes you special, I’ll help you. You’re looking for your brother, right? Well, he’s heading for the Hall of Echos to see the Prophecy as we speak. But by the time he gets there, the Dark Prophecy will be in control, and it will kill him. If you want to save him, go now. But first, I want to test you.” He lifted his hand, and everyone around us fell to their knees…then he came at me.

I don’t know what happened next, my body moved on its own, and I fought him. I stopped his attacks, and I attacked back, blow for blow, toe to toe, with the most powerful being in the universe. For a while, I was holding my own, but he just kept coming. I knew I was going to lose. Until Orkan stepped in, him a dozen other Ancient Ones held the Creator

“Go!” He yelled.

And I do. I left them there, all of them. I left them behind as I used every ounce of my power to make my way to the edge of the universe. I had to steal the Prophecy from becoming evil. I had to save my brother. I knew the truth now. But my quest was far from over.