Their journey

The only thing that remained in his mind was fear. The maddening fear of death was what drove him forward. The war, still in full swing, is completely forgotten. He advanced in search of freedom from this fear. And so he arrived at the most childish yet also simplest of solutions: Kill the source of death. And so he embarked on this foolish journey towards the gates of hell, the war still raging around him yet offering nothing more than background noise to him. And so he arrived at the pathway between the realm of the living and the dead. He marched on and lost to the dead roaming the gateway. His battered, dying body lay on the floor, and a shadow blocked his vision before he lost his concussion. The next time he opened his eyes, he was still alive, much to his surprise. Looking around, he found a single girl sitting on a rock in front of what appeared to be the actual gate to the underworld. She just sat there, not really moving or reacting to his presence, but he was sure it was she that saved him. But why? Who was she? What was she doing here? Question after question flooded his broken mind, and for the first time in a long time, he was not feeling fear. And so he began to observe her. Day after day, conversation after conversation, in his mind, clouded by the madness, the fear of death was replaced by this obsession over her. But he soon came to the realization that she was something that lived way longer than him, so their time together was limited. And once again, he found the most childish of solutions: He just needs to not die, ever. And so he once again embarked on a journey to overcome death, still obsessed, but for a completely different reason.

She had always been there, since her birth. Guarding that gate is her purpose, and she did not mind that. She did not know what was outside, but she also did not care, as all she ever knew was around here. The rocks, the moss, the fungi, the dead. But one day, it all changed. She was taking a walk around the cave, which was housing the gateway, and she found something that should not be there. It was alive. It looked similar to her but different. And so she remembered that it was a him. And it was dying. So she treated his wounds and brought him back to the gate. At first, she didn’t know how to interact with him, and so she just watched him. Then, when they began to converse, he told her about things. Things she has never known or experienced before, as they are all things outside of her closed world. And so she became obsessed with him. His stories and presence provided something she never had: entertainment and companionship. And now that she has experienced these two things, she can never go back to being without them. But he left, promising to return and never leave again. She hated it but decided to endure, for what was promised was an eternity together.

And so he ventured fort. The war, nearing its climax, is raging around you. How does he become immortal? Kill someone who has it and takes it. Who is sure to possess such a characteristic? A god. And so, forth he went, searching for a god to defeat. The god of chaos is a simple creature. It cares not for anything around it but for its own amusement. And watching mortals flail, trying to get it to grant their wish, is absolutely elating. When he arrived to challenge the god, it laughed. For the wish was as selfish as the god itself was. And so he accepted the challenge and posed him trials, which he overcame again and again until the god admitted its defeat. The god, impressed, not only granted him immortality but half of his power as well. But without training, the power will kill him. He decided that it was something that would be helpful later on, and he remained with God to train. They bonded as he trained, until the assassins arrived. They came to kill the god, who cared not for the world, and succeeded, it is missing half of its power. The dying god, content with its existence, granted the remaining half of its power to the mortal he came to consider his son. He, losing the father he just gained, began his journey back to the gates of hell, back to her. The war, which seemed to go on forever, has finally ended, the good triumphing over the bad and bringing peace to the land.

The pathway to the underworld is unchanged from its usual appearance. But something was different. On the rock, where she used to sit, was a disemboweled body. The good triumphed over evil. The symbol drawn with her blood was the proof.

He did not know how much time had passed. But the symbol is no more. There is no country, no race, and no single being left who remembers it. He made sure of it. And so he returned to the gate that she guarded and went through—to the land of the dead, to reunite with her. But the gate repelled him. And something appeared before him. He knew who it was, as he saw him during their time together: the ruler of the underworld and her father. The father resented him for what he was and declared: As long as you want to die, you will live, and as long as you live, she will remain dead.

In his grief and rage, he stuck the ruler down.

As time passed, he tried many things to reunite with her. But he is immortal now and cannot die. He does not want to live in a world without her, so he can not leave for the underworld. And so, he wanders. Forever and ever, losing everything that was him, only leaving a singular feeling, a singular need. Her.