Light

The hair that drops beneath the world tree all eventually reaches the soil where the metamorphosis of life occurs. All made under the Rune of All Creation, the people of clay and mud were left with only their individual thoughts…and their individual lights. Throughout the paradise that they were provided with, some formed communities, some traveled on their own throughout the realms of the paradise, and some wanted to break free. One child of Heaven and light was chosen to end the choices of the people of clay and mud, to restrict their decisions, to provide undeniable purpose into their wings, and to become a restrictor. The child would be the gate and bridge that connected the Monarchs to their creation of mud and clay. His figure would be made out of the same outline as those of mud and clay but his light would be replaced with the Rune of All Creation. He would be unknowingly placed and raised in paradise as one of the mud and clay's kin, but he would also feel eternally devoid of emotional connection to those around him; the Monarchs wanted him to be the catalyst to prevent those who wished to adventure outside of paradise using any means possible without the flawful chains of personal attachment.

The second child grew up within the prairie tribe, his people were known to be manta tamers, those who would utilize the flight of mantas despite already having the ability to freely float. The second child was often directed to the three shrines right below the temple of the prairie, each of which was dedicated to the Monarchs of Heaven. He would then perform a routine ritual that involved using his own light to set ablaze the candles under the shrines as an offering; in reality, however, this was done to strengthen his connection with the Rune of All Creation embedded within him. One day, the second child grew up. His wardrobe of tan and sand was replaced with the decorated sleeves of a priest, his mask was replaced with a marked one that dictated apprenticeship, and his wings were covered with the drape of a red cape. He was then sent towards the Realm of Isle where he would complete his apprenticeship under the teachings of a master.

The only things that occupied the Realm of Isle were the rocks and sand. Though the kingdom in the sky, which was embraced by Heaven’s clouds and angel bells, towered prominently over the second child, he wasn’t to enter until his apprenticeship was completed and acknowledged by the Monarchs. Until then, he would spend the rest of his days of studies within the cave of prophecies, located directly under the kingdom. And though he was responsible for the maturation of the second child who bears the Rune of All Creation, the master was an identity who was rather unknown to most of Heaven. After passing through a gate, the second child was given permission to cross the narrow passageway that led to the cave. The dust of the mountain crevice gave the second child thought of respect for his master as he is sure to have the greatest elderly wisdom out of all those of mud and clay. The cave itself was an artifact in itself: a wide-open area that leaked its light from a single orifice in the ceiling where a small pond and island sit directly under. The second child’s master also seemed to be of mud and clay, sitting so patiently still in the middle of the island, waiting for the second child’s presence to approach him. As requested, the second child began to take off the garment that made him unique, stripping his cape and sleeves until he was bare naked with the recognition of the manta tamers. Then, as directed, the second child began to bathe himself inside the pond, letting the crystal fragrance of purified water fall off aimlessly from his arms and torso back into the pond. However, despite the second child’s ritual being uncompleted, the master stood up. The second child stopped bathing and looked at the master who now bored his eyes into the second child’s; for a moment, the second child edged on producing a doubtful thought about his master. The master broke off his gaze but stood standing, rubbing his long-nosed mask as the vertical golden halo behind it flickered like a neon street sign. Once the second child got finished bathing and got onto the island, the master ordered him to lay flat where the Rune of All Creation would face the beam of light. The second child obeyed and did as requested as his master allowed himself to touch the Rune of All Creation. The master then asked the second child to get up as the former snapped his fingers to reveal a pillar of four stacked stones, each one bearing a symbol of their own. The master stood over the second child with his arms crossed behind his back, he asked the second child which path he would take, gesturing over to the four symbols, and whichever one he chose, it would be the path where the master would see him to the very end…

As the second child waved his hands to the symbols engraved on the stacked stones, the layers of the cave’s walls began to crumble down, revealing four separate systems that led to four different doors. The second child looked up towards his master who took his hand and guided it onto each of the four symbols. The master told the second child that these were the possible paths the latter could descend towards in his role as the overseer of his people, the people of mud and clay. The master then explained how each path the second child may choose will always require a selection trial, to witness whether or not the host of the Rune of All Creation harboured a strong enough resolve to embark and embrace their universal purpose provided by the Monarchs. The second child reached out and touched a small, gaping hole that lingered within his master. The master nodded, snapping his fingers again, crumbling every sense of oldness in his appearance as long white strands of hair flowed from the back of his beak mask to his now rejuvenated halo. A staff, with the hollow shape of a diamond at the end, manifested and fell into the master’s hand. With the tip of the staff directly facing the Rune of All Creation, the master explained how he too once was the bearer for the Rune of All Creation. Pointing towards the stone that was closest to the ground, then towards the west-most path of the cave, the master then described how he chose the path of tranquility as it was the easiest to prove his resolve. However, with a sparkle in his glance, the master turned toward the second child, telling him something the second child had never heard during his time in paradise.

As if the master was suddenly possessed by a spirit who embodied a polar personality of the former, he began to light up to the second child about all the fantasies of the possibility of ‘another option’ that he kept mostly hidden during his duties when he was the possessor of the Rune of All Creation. He spoke to the second child with such enthusiasm about the ‘what ifs’: What if he had chosen a harder trial? What if, as the restrictor of mud and clay, he found a way to exploit the Rune of All Creation for the sake of his single dream which was swiftly denied and banished by the Monarchs. What if he had chosen another path that defiled his role and purpose? What if he wanted to see what lay beyond the realms of paradise? The master tightly clenched his staff, looking so deeply into the second child’s eyes to the point where the former’s beak almost touched the second child’s own mask, wanting to see if he too understands his ambitions…but the second child did not respond. Instead, the second child, who had such a strong connection to the Monarchs through the Rune of All Creation, took it upon himself to back away from his master’s minacious ideals. The master sighed, he had little hope for some sort of agreement between his apprentice and his ideals. After all, the master understood that, more than anything, the one futile rebellion he had caused during his days as the bearer of the Rune of All Creation had forced the Monarchs to take extensive measures to make sure that no other restrictors would end up like him, his role as the master was one of these measures. But to the master, his new role as the guider of future restrictors was more of a punishment to the master himself, rather than it is beneficial for his apprentices. After all, the Monarchs couldn’t risk him implanting his ideals onto an apprentice, so they made sure to condition the future generation of restrictors to unconsciously tremble in absolute terror if his ideas were ever proposed.

Furthermore, the master knew that he would forever be 'the master', in other words, the first and only child to face an eternity of humiliation as the singular failure of a restrictor to an endless number of apprentices. That is all, however, what the Monarchs believed would happen; the Monarchs did possess the Rune of All Creation, but the master was the first to bear it, and after an everlasting amount of time had passed, the master finally understood something, not even the Monarchs had known about: The Rune of All Creation has a will of its own.

Looking upon the frightful eyes of his first apprentice, the master comfortably got on his knees and took off his mask. The second child slowly stopped trembling, the master's face was nothing but the hollow shape of a head filled with the emptiness of voidful darkness. Upon closer inspection, the face also had a variety of hairline cracks, giving it a fragility comparable to how a single punch could blow out an entire chunk of the face. The second child stumbled onto his stomach, feeling the Rune of All Creation gnawing up his chest as its roots of white light stretched outwards, causing an unpleasant sensation the second child had never thought possible. The master apologized as he applied his mask back to cover his face, but he meant no sincerity. The second child demanded what his master had done to him as the roots and the sensation began to retreat back into the Rune of All Creation.

"That...was pain." The master answered as he began to inscribe unfamiliar symbols in the sand with his staff, "A pain only you and I can experience in paradise."

"I... don't like it." The second child shuddered, the Rune of All Creation began to faintly glow along with the master's halo, "Why does it exist...?"

The master stabbed his staff into the middle of his inscription, "Those who we call our kin can only manage their individual lights, anything more will crumble their body of mud and clay."

"C...crumble?"

The master knelt back down and pressed his hand onto the second child's chest, "What do you think would happen to us? We who bear the light of everything to ever exist in this...fragile form."

The second child touched his mask as if he was checking for any hairline cracks, "E...even so. If that is what the Monarchs wish for, then it is my duty as their creation to fulfill it."

"But you aren't their creation." The master countered, pointing to the Rune of All Creation, "It is this that created you...and with it, your purpose."

The second child stared at the Rune of All Creation, "B...but this is just a rock-"

"If it was just a rock, I guess all life known to the omnipresent eye of everything would be deemed utterly invaluable to motion and the Theory of Circular Rotation." The master gazed at the inscription which now had a faint light blue glow surrounding its outer curves, "The fact that you can speak with such awareness, negativity, and curiosity further proves this."

The second child remained speechless but the master could still sense the former's denial.

"What don't you get?" The master stood up and gripped the staff, "The Rune of All Creation is you, and I know for a fact that what you want are not restrictors, no. You want more than that, you want the antithesis of an oppressor, you want adventurers, you want inventors, you want philosophers, you want offenders and...dreamers."

The master stared at the second child pitifully, "You want cowards like yourself, not the Monarch's paradise."

"How are you so sure of...all this?" The second child wavered, "How have you-"

"I know," The master silenced his apprentice, pulling the latter's hand towards his hollow core, "Because I was once you as well."

Though the second child refused to gain logical composure of the situation, he could not resist a part of himself that was slowly starting to digest his master's beliefs, as if they were once his in a past creation.

"This is the measure and the punishment the Monarchs nailed me with." The master explained, pointing at his vertical halo, "It is the only remnant left by the Rune of All Creation that has been sustaining this form of mine..."

The inscription's fainted glow became increasingly visible until the light that was produced seemingly transformed into a soluble liquid. The liquid then made its way into the center of the inscription, crawling up the staff before condensing itself into a single droplet, suspended in the middle of the hollow triangle.

"...but I believe that I can leave you with the rest." The master gently smiled at his apprentice, carefully attaching the droplet to his finger before using it to wipe off the mark on the second child's mask which dictated apprenticeship.

The second child's eyes dulled for a second before bursting forth with a light that can rival the sun. Wiping off the dust and dirt that had jumped onto his garments, the second child stood above the master who now clutched onto his staff with a feeling of closure that he was able to bring forth the destroyer of all his past regrets. The Rune of All Creation began to aggressively hum as its roots started to spread out everywhere within the second child's body, however, he took the pain with acceptance. He wouldn't deny anything anymore, he wouldn't deny the Rune of All Creation, he wouldn't deny himself. The second child flapped his winged cape, steadily ascending his way up until he could feel the top of the stacked stones with his own hands.

The master's halo glimmered at the sight of the second child who bathed solemnly underneath the cave's light, his cape fluttering under the collected wind of the four systems, "Everything within creation, the untouched and unseen, let them be your teacher... until they have nothing else to teach...go forth, my Light! Let our dream be the bane to the Monarchs, they who restrict our desires, they who tarnish our will!"

With one glance behind him, the second Light only responded with a simple indecipherable expression before flying straight through the orifice in the cave's ceiling.

The master collapsed onto the island ground, losing his core as a piece of his halo began to crack. Letting his body roll into the shallow waters below, the master allowed his staff to disintegrate into dust while his hair retreated back into the nothingness of his mask. He faced upwards to the ray of light as he took off his mask and placed it into the waters next to him. The master returned to his place of thought, sanctioning himself to rest, permitting himself to blend and succumb to the water's cradle and cohesion until the forest begins to rain.