and we stumble

I closed my eyes that night, ready and willing for it to be an uneventful restful sleep. Of course, I was wrong. Upon closing my eyes they flickered open, and I was suddenly standing on the deck of a ship made of white wood and steel, water as clear as glass below the boat and while the world around me was bright with daylight, the sky was a beautiful starscape of glittering light and swirling nebula.

“Alright, I heard from the Dark, from something in between, now I am assuming this is going to be the Light. Who is here to talk to me? Hm?” I say glancing around, flexing my wings out slightly and calling my sword, Taken Edge, to me.

“I’m not here to fight, this dream doesn’t even let me see where you are. Just wanted to talk, the gods of Light gave me this one chance.” Said a kind yet powerfully confident feminine voice. I turned to see her, standing a deck above me on a balcony, looking down.

Long blonde hair, brilliantly blue eyes, adorned in a brilliant white and red dress so heavily enchanted that it glittered as beautifully as the stars above. Tomoko Sakurai, the Hero from Earth.

“Huh, I didn't expect to meet you so soon, makes sense the Light told you about me though, seems I am everyone’s problem.”

She nods with a bit of a laugh, “You really are, they are scared of you. No one has done what you did, they aren’t even sure how it happened. The original gods of Light and Dark got their power from the Over-Deity, Provenance. Have you spoken to them?”

“I feel like answering that with a yes or no would be a poor choice. Being mysterious is a powerful thing in war.”

She nodded a bit, “That is true, Cody.” She said with a clever look in her eyes and a bit of a smirk, there was deviousness to this Hero.

I pointed my sword up to her, my eyes an inferno of green fire. “How do you know that name?”

“I’m from Earth too, maybe I know things. Question for a Question, did you talk to Provenance?” She said with no fear, she knew just as well as I did even in my rage, I was no match for her yet.

“I think so, a voice made of thousands of others. They thought I was interesting enough to give me this start. Now,” I fly up in front of her, I knew intimidating her was useless but I was furious. She knew my old name, she said it like she knew me. Who was this bitch? “How do you know my name?”

She puts a hand on my cheek and leans close with that same smirk, and suddenly I started to recognize it. I felt chills up and down my back. “Because, Cody…” She started to whisper in my ear as she spoke, “I was the only person who would ever want you around, who else would? So creative and smart but just so…awkward and introverted, stuttery and weird. Weak, and out of shape. If you just stuck with me, I could have helped you…but you left me when I needed you.”

I plummeted to the ground and dragged myself back along the deck away from her. “Serina!? How…you…”

“We can catch up another time, Cody. For now, I’m going to advise the Light that we create a magical barrier around that continent and seal you in, you’re too great a threat especially since we are still fighting the Champions of the Dark…and one of them is there with you. Maybe you’ll kill each other.” She giggled a bit at her own plan, this bitch, she was always so manipulative and conniving, but she used to be so…sweet about it. Now it’s just at the surface, how is she the HERO!?

Before I could say anything she just winked at me, and I was cast out of the dream, spending the rest of the night in a dreamless sleep. When wakefulness finally came to me, I startled awake and slammed my fist into the wall beside me, cratering the wall as I stormed out of my room and to my throne. I was up before the others and paced the room before sitting on my throne and leaning forward, covering my face with my hands.

How, how the FUCK did she manage to do this!? She managed to even convince fucking Gods she was the good one? The victim? The goody-two-shoes who was taking the sad, broken, fuck up under her wing? Loving him and nursing his wounded self-image?

She defeated the Demon King a few years back, I need to know exactly when she appeared. Maybe this is just a trick, Carnachias and Melan…whatever the fuck her name is, gave out the psychological weaknesses of the good guys, maybe some gods gave her mine? If so she's one hell of an actor.

“Seems the others aren’t up yet- Master!?” A concerned voice called from behind me, as Lena ran up and put her hands on my knees, kneeling before me. “My lord, Caelum, are you alright? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m just thinking about-”

“Caelum, don’t lie to me, you’re crying. What’s wrong?” She asked with genuine concern in her eyes, god my spell did a number on her loyalties, fuck, tamp down that regret don’t be WEAK Cod- NO, I am not that anymore! Wait, was I actually crying?

I look at my hands and see they are in fact dappled with tears, my face was wet with them. “I suppose I should trust my courtiers if no one else. A dream, a vision…from the Hero herself.” I spat out the word ‘Hero’ with venom and hate, she was no hero if it really was her.

“Oh no…what happened?” Lena asked, a bit of confusion in her voice now.

“Exactly how long ago did she appear? I know she beat the Demon King a few years ago, but exactly when did ‘Tomoko’ appear?” I ask, gently grabbing her hands and looking into her eyes. I needed to know this, and hopefully, this would prove it was a lie.

“She beat the Demon King five years ago, and was here for…6 years before that I think, so 11 years ago, Caelum.” She said with a small smile, happy to be of assistance…but it quickly was replaced by concern as I started to breathe heavily and shake slightly. “My lord!?”

“It’s her, it’s her…11 years ago she ki-” I stuttered for a second, no, I am not this. “11 years ago someone in my world killed herself. Selina Murai-”

“Your world?” Lena asked confused again, “Are you from the same world the Hero was sent from?”

Fuck, I wasn’t ever really planning on revealing that, but this…

“Yes, I was. I was like her, mortal, when I died I was able to come here and…show this world the truth.” That seemed to placate Lena as she nodded and continued listening, “ Selina Murai knew me in school, convinced me everything about me was worthless except for what she liked. That everyone else hated me, and would always hate me. She’d hit me, yell at me, make me feel like dirt…and then she would say she loved me like no one else could…when I finally came to my senses I cut her out entirely, she threatened to kill herself if I left her all alone and I-” I paused and shook my head,

Lena leaned up close and gently cupped her hands on my face, the feeling her hands on my cheeks gave was entirely different to the chills that whore’s hands elicited. “It’s ok, tell me, it could help.” She glanced behind her for a moment and nodded, I knew she wasn’t the only person who heard this explanation now, but that’s…fucking fine I guess.

“I told her to go ahead and do it. The next time I saw her was her picture on the news, she had done it. Her suicide note made it sound like I was abusive, that I had driven her to it. Her last act was ruining what little I had left. My family believed her over me…I was left alone for years until I ended up here.”

“You were strong in the end. You left. Your family was weak for believing those lies.” Ardema speaks as she puts a hand on my shoulder. “We are not so weak, Lord Navigator.”

Terr’yis leans on my other shoulder with a sigh, “I always thought something was wrong with her, I just never thought it was so terrible. She will be nothing compared to you, she is a Hero, a servant. You are the King of Shaping. You don’t need her.”

Lukar simply knelt in a knightly bow next to his sister before me, as his sister sat up onto my lap. He nodded and said, “With your order, I will grow in strength, and hunt her down for her transgression, Show her the strength of YOUR All-Edged Truth.”

“Lord Navigator, King of Shaping, King of the Osmium Throne, all of your titles are very showy.” Lena says with a smile, “For intimidation and it makes sense. One matters most, Subjugant to None. Which includes your past, and her. We’ll handle her when the time comes, we’ll handle all of them when the time comes.”

I nod and take in a deep breath, as I slowly stand, my hand around Lena’s waist to help make sure she can easily slide off and stand next to me. “Thank you, my courtiers…my new family. I think it’s time we get down to the business of showing this world how great it can truly be.”