Twilight of the Dimensions
Prologue
Haywire
A tall, thin man dressed in black robes trimmed with red and gold sat, cross-legged, on a mat in a sparsely decorated room. It had white walls, the only decorations being various melee weapons on the walls. The man himself appeared to be young, though his boyish features seemed aged and wise somehow. His hands rested in his lap, and his hood was down, letting his long white hair flow freely down his back and over his shoulders. His lithe frame made no move at all, sitting perfectly still. His eyes were closed in deep meditation, though on what, no one could tell.
The man, seemingly much younger without looking any different, danced swiftly with a beautiful girl, dark hair splaying about her head in every direction. She was beautiful, lithe like him but painfully beautiful, almost angelic in her radiance. Her crystal blue eyes contrasted with her hair loudly, but it was somehow a charming feature on her. Her dancing was lively, and it seemed she was teaching the white haired man, due to his stumbles and occasional embarrassed looks. Both laughed, obviously enjoying themselves.
The man and the woman holding each other, the woman looking calm, while the man looked panicked, tears streaming down his face. She was stroking his face and wiping away as many of the tears as she could, cooing softly that it would be all right, even as a bloodstain began making its way down her beautiful, green dress.
The white haired man and dark haired woman lying next to each other in bed, the covers pulled up to their shoulders. The white haired man was holding the dark haired woman close to him, while she sleepily nuzzled into his chest. "I love you," she yawned, smiling before her eyes fluttered closed. The white haired man smiled and let his own eyes flutter closed, his voice whispering out, "I love you too," just before sleep set in.
The white haired man was dressed in his black robes, but a look of unbridled fury was painted on his face, and a gleaming sword was gripped tightly in his right hand. He faced off against a man who bore some resemblance, though he looked older physically, and had brown hair and a trimmed brown beard. Somehow, his entire being radiated an amused cruelty, and he held his own sword, though this one was gripped casually, as if he knew the white haired man would not strike. The white haired man charged, but fell to his knees before he could make it to the brown haired man.
The white haired man was on his knees, clutching the body of the dark haired woman to him, the front of her dress stained crimson with blood. The white haired man was shaking, though with grief or rage couldn't be told. "Sir?" There was no response from the white haired man. "Sir?" Still no response came, and the voice began to sound more concerned. "Sir?" Finally, the white haired man lifted his reddened, tear-streaked face, full of rage and primal ferocity.
"Sir?" The white haired man shook his head, returning to the present, his meditation interrupted. "I know you requested that no one disturb you…."
"Don't worry about it, Jensen," the white haired man sighed, turning and looking at one of his apprentices, Jensen. The man was barely more than a boy, eighteen years of age and still showing signs of a youth four years his younger. The look on Jensen's face swallowed up any peace the white haired man thought about grasping that day, and he asked, "What is it?"
"We…we have noticed a problem." The white haired man pushed himself up onto his feet hastily, straightening his robes as he walked.
"How bad is it, Jensen?"
"On a scale of one to ten?"
"Yes, I don't see why not."
"Ah. Well then, ah…two hundred and eighty three." The white haired man strode purposefully down the hall, apprentices milling about, some in confusion, several in varying states of panic.
"I am glad you've managed to retain some form of calm, Jensen," the white haired man stated, pulling his robes closed around him.
"Only on the outside, Sir," Jensen replied. "Here we are." Jensen pushed open the door and strode in, holding it open for his master, who moved in swiftly with a nod of thanks. "These two." He pointed at two maps, though they were odd, almost like pictures of space. The white haired man waved his hand, and the holographic maps projected up into the air. "The activity started earlier, but we weren't sure whether to disturb you until just now." As the white haired man watched, the two holograms began to move closer and closer together, until suddenly they collided, and, as each was an ever-growing, ever-expanding universe, that was a bad thing. They both attempted to continue growing, but could not, and instead began collapsing in on themselves. Planets began to explode, crumble, or merely fade away as the universes began to collapse and merge. The white haired man, not prone to showing too much emotion, was now staring and gaping openly, his eyes wide with shock and jaw dropped hopelessly. He came back to himself quickly, though, and his eyes narrowed in determination.
"Can the reaction be reversed?"
"Yes, Sir," Jensen replied. He pointed to one planet, green and blue from far away, and the hologram zoomed in. There were two images of the same planet, and they just slightly overlapped at the edges. "This planet here…Earth, I believe it's called…it is the last possible hope of reversing the reaction. If the reaction goes any farther than this…."
"I know, Jensen. I know," the white haired man replied, his voice grim. "Do we know what caused this to happen?"
"No, Sir," Jensen sighed, shaking his head. The white haired man turned to leave, and Jensen quickly piped up, "But we have a theory!" The white haired man stopped, though he didn't turn around. He had a theory as well, and he planned to follow it up.
"Go ahead, Jensen," the white haired man stated, half-sigh and half-consent.
"Meaning no offense, Sir…we think it has something to do with that spell you attempted."
"Yes…yes, I think it has everything to do with it," the white haired man replied, to the questioning gaze of his apprentice. "I will go to Earth and do what I can to stop the reaction planet side. If you find out anything, or in the slim chance that the reaction reverses itself, contact me."
"Yes, Sir," Jensen replied, but the white haired man was already pushing through the door.
"…Brother…."