Everthing I Wished For

I aimlessly wandered the halls alone now, occasionally calling out to Magdeline, hoping she would just be right there. My strained voice echoed through the empty halls along with my rhythmic footsteps against the worn marble floor. Dust filled the air from the vast amount of rubble that has piled up from cracking off the walls and ceiling. Now that I was alone with my thoughts, this palace felt much emptier, its vastness overwhelming my sights. I was in unfamiliar territory now, far from where Magdeline and I first entered this royal palace now forgotten by time. I stared down the archways of paths that branched off the main corridor thinking of the possibilities of what could be down them, but perhaps those thoughts are better left unknown.

Wandering these empty halls, something would occasionally break that emptiness: the corpses of those whose stories remain untold. In my lonely exploration, I have seen a couple of corpses long decayed, some laying about, some encased within the pale dragon's black, solidified breath, and even the large corpses of petrified dragons who blocked nearly the entire width of the corridors, their scales missing and wings torn. I even saw new things, like several dead birds scattered about, larger than humans, with leather saddles on their backs. Perhaps these were the mounts of the royals of this palace, but what does a story like that matter now. At this point none of it interested me anymore. After all I have been through and seen, I just wanted out of here, away from all the rot and death.

As I continued to aimlessly wander, my hunger caved in slowly. Magdeline had taken the last of the food and I had no means of finding more. "Maybe there's a kitchen here somewhere with food that miraculously hasn't spoiled?" I thought to myself, hoping that my aimless wandering would somehow take me there. Instead I stumbled upon something more mystical. As I reached the end one of the long corridors, I found myself in a large chamber yet again. The torch light barely lit the room, but I could make out the shapes of branches across the walls. A ball of light had already spawned, even before I set foot in the room, its hue a much warmer yellowish orange tone. Its light and gentle heat filled the room, granting me the sight of a multitude of colors I have nearly forgotten. Shades of green, red, purple, yellow, pink, and much more filled my sights from a variety of plants that filled the center and edges of the room. Lush trees with vines that draped down its branches cast abstract shadows on the marble floor as light shown through its leaves. The fragrance of various flowers filled the air, like the scent of an open field in a forest. It was the most beautiful garden I have ever seen.

"Oh, and how has another stumbled upon this place?" An unfamiliar man's voice came my way.

At the edge of the chamber, a man in a decently clean white cloak sat in an old wooden chair. His hair was a short dirty blonde. His face was frail and mildly disfigured and his skin was partially gray. As I walked closer, I saw that one of his eyes had been scratched out, scars going down his face. His other eye was pale, its original color hard to see. I wondered why he was sitting in the dark before I arrived, but maybe it was just due to blindness.

The man looked up at the trees. "I assume thee has felled Fesha and her dragon, yes? There's no other way thee could've gotten here. If only thine father could've seen his once weak little boy best his sister in battle." He said in a cold and distant tone.

I stayed silent, partly because I knew Fesha was beaten by Magdeline, not me, and partly because I had no idea what to say. The man's eyes widened, and somehow he understood my circumstance instantly.

"Ah, so the twin soul is in control. What a strange phenomena." He said.

I grabbed the man by his skeletal shoulders through his cloak and he flinched. "What do you know?" I asked.

"I can tell thee all thou wishest, but on one condition. I'd like to hear about thy home world." He said.

I quickly agreed, anything for more answers. Answers were all I had left. I told the mysterious man about my world, some of its history, technologies, and how the world he lives in is considered fantasy in ours. His face should much fascination as I watched his undivided attention. Once I finished my rundown, he spoke.

"What a fascinating place. Perhaps I can visit one day." He laughed. "Now then, I assume thou wishest to know more of Caelum correct?"

I nodded.

He began in a more somber tone. "I'm sure being in such a different world from thine own has taken a toll, but fear not, I shall tell thee what I know. Now how much does thee already know?"

I told him everything I had discovered.

"I'm impressed, thou seemeth to know much more than I thought. Allow me to finally fill in the gaps for thee. By the time the motherland waged war over the trade halts, the king was far too old, hoping to pass his leadership onto his only son to lead his army. However, the prince grew to be somewhat of a sickly yet gentle child, unfit for the title of heir to the throne, so the king sent him off to scavenge the world on his own and told him to come back when he was finally a man. Cruel father, he was, his boy wouldn't even hurt a fly. In the end, the boy came back a man and a traitor, realizing that he'd rather ride the backs of those dreaded dragons. In the king's madness over his failed son, he turned to experiments of immortality for himself, and thus the twin soul experiments began, the king's own son as a test subject. Thou art the outcome of such an experiment." He said.

"The twin soul leads to immortality?" I asked calmly.

"Does thee feelest immortal?" The man asked.

I looked at where my fingers were cut off, the scars still red but healed over. "No." I said simply.

"Well, it was all theory in the end. No one was even certain it would work. It was only a means to call the souls of the condemned from other realities, so in that regard, I guess it succeeded. I wonder what thy sin is in a world as peaceful sounding as thine?" He said.

I ignored him. "So Magdeline and I spent all that time defeating Fesha, and for what?" I questioned myself, realizing that even though I got more answers, I still was not satisfied.

As I was turning away, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the frail man smirk. When I turned to look at him, his expression went back to its somber tone.