Cosmic Divine Crystalline: Before the Awakening
"You have a destiny..."
Ardyn woke up and sat up from where he was sleeping under a large oak tree. The wind blew against the golden grass around him as it seemed to be Fall. Leaves come down around him and he just sighed rubbing his face seeing that morning was near anyways.
Ardyn looked the same, yet longer hair.
He walked over to pick up a bag of his stuff going into it and pulling out a biscuit of sorts and eating it and once he finished he picked up the bag carrying it with him and walking off from the tree.
Later on, it is morning at a market somewhere in the desert. At the market was many people walking around and some selling or buying things.
When Ardyn came in, everyone stopped what they were doing and clapped and cheered that he was there.
Ardyn just smiled at them and waved and went on with his business going up to a stall and purchasing some fruit.
"Excuse me." An old woman asked him approaching him.
"Ah, yes young lady, what can I do for you?" He asked smiling and giving her quite a compliment.
"Oh come now." She chuckled. "My son is not well and I fear the star scourge has got to him." She said now a bit worried.
The star scourge was a deadly curse, known as that but also known as black blood. Demon blood. It was an infection back in those days of the time that could plague the entire world of men and women. Ardyn was the only known man with the gift to heal and save people from this terrible curse.
"Where does he live." He asked her.
She led him to one of the homes there and there was a man whose body was being taken over by a black veiny substance in his body and his teeth on one side was turning sharp. He was beginning to transform.
"Oh no!" The old woman said in fear.
Ardyn simply smiled patting the woman's shoulder and approached the man. Ardyn touched the man's head and closed his eyes and eased the man's pain with his incredible healing powers and then the man's body began to turn to normal. Ardyn sucked the darkness away.
"You look like a brand new man." Ardyn said patting his shoulder as the man was astonished.
Both the old woman and the man hugged one another and Ardyn handed them the basket of fruit he bought and walked out without a word. The two offered him all they had, but he simply walked off not wanting anything of what they wanted.
People cheered for him as he walked away and yet he went on with his business going back to the stall and paying for the same fruit for himself.
He was the Chosen One back in those days.
The prophecy says that someone will end the Star Scourge and darkness but it spoke of one thing to do this, The Cosmic Divine Crystalline. Something that was unknown of what it meant, and there wasn't much readable after that.
He sat nearby the village eating his fruit and then smiled noticing a woman approach him.
This woman looked almost like Serenity in fact but with golden hair and her hair was very long as Serenity's only reached to neck length. It was shocking to the resemblance of her to look identical to Serenity. Yet this was back such a long time ago.
"Hello, Gratia!" Ardyn said standing up and both of them hugged placing their foreheads upon one another.
Both were lovers and planned marriage in December at some time near what would later be Christmas.
"I heard about yesterday with those ten men and women nearly transformed. Yet I heard at night you can see them waiting to grab someone and either mark them or eat them." Gratia said worriedly.
"It's why everyone has to keep flame torches around the villages and homes and their camps. No one must go out alone." Ardyn said rubbing her shoulders.
"Why do you go off on your own then?" She asked him.
"Because if I draw them to me I can destroy them. I love playing bait, you know this." He chuckled.
They both relaxed together as he offered her the remaining fruit and looked on at the town nearby.
Then his gaze looked toward the desert kingdom in the distance.
"Your brother is sending more soldiers to kill more of the demons when they appear at night. And he has soldiers kill people in the day that might potentially turn into a demon." Gratia said with a sigh and rubbing the temple of her head.
"He won't listen to me." Ardyn said.
"It's worth a try to suggest an action of looking into the Cosmic Divine Crystalline." Gratia said.
"He would say it's a fool's search to ever find such a prophecy." Ardyn said standing up and helping her up.
"Please go and talk to him?" She asked him.
Both held one another and he nodded.
"I will go. Stay safe okay?" He asked and both shared a kiss before he walked off toward the desert kingdom miles away.
It took him a days walk to reach it and once it was morning he put the torches he had out and walked toward the Kingdom that ruled the entire region.
Ardyn was escorted by the soldiers and entered the throne room where his brother, the king sat.
"What do you want Ardyn, I'm a busy man." His brother said.
"Somnus, I have a solution to the star scourge. We should just focus on the demons themselves to the source." Ardyn said.
"No. We will lose soldiers and resources that way. We should just keep protecting our villages and kill anyone who becomes infected." Somnus said.
"Those are innocent lives Somnus! I can cure them!" Ardyn shouted.
"Yes you have but you suck the demons inside of you and not get rid of them." Somnus said frowning.
"Because brother, my gift from God is to cure, not to destroy. You know this." He said to Somnus.
"This is why father never granted you to rule the kingdom even though you are the oldest. You don't use your mind as I do." Somnus said to him with a smirk.
Ardyn backhanded his brother and the soldiers moved in only for Somnus to raise his hand to told them not to intervene.
"You had soldiers kill a little girl and her mother when I was going to save them. I was going to save them! I got there only a minute after what your men did!" Ardyn yelled.
"That is on you brother." Somnus said going back to his throne.
"God granted me to become king, did he not? He gives me the blessings of what I do." Somnus said to Ardyn.
"Blasphemy." Ardyn shouted.
"Carry on with what you do Ardyn. But I will do what I do as I rule. You are the peoples' prophet so why don't you go heal people and get out of my sight please." Somnus said looking to his soldiers.
Ardyn got the point and said nothing just walking out on his own.
Ardyn walked away from the kingdom and once he got far enough he fell to his knee's punching the ground in tears crying.
"That little girl had a purpose!" He yelled gritting his teeth.
He felt the darkness inside of him try to take him over but he quickly fought it and stood up and let out a sigh looking at the sky and smiled to himself.
"May you be at peace young lady." He said and walked back.
The star scourge was residing in him as he had to save people, it was his gift. Yet it did make him wonder if it would be up to him to destroy this threat on his own and he knew he had to try.
