The Stories of Elysion [side:E] - Chapter I
El no Shouzou
The cold, wintery wind blew fiercely, and crystals of snow and ice rained down from the sky. Icicles decorated the branches of the white, snow-covered trees in the forest. The snow had not stopped falling here for the longest time... It seemed as though the winter would never end here. Though Spring, no matter how unbelievable it seemed, was closer than anyone had thought. Soon this forest would be the beginning of life once again... Soon it would return to its original, lively state. But until the day of Spring's arrival, the forest would remain a desolate, empty, frozen landscape...
The temperature seemed to keep dropping as the boy trudged through the deep snow, trying his hardest to keep himself warm against the subzero temperature. He shivered, wondering if he was anywhere near the kingdom he had heard about. "Surely, I must have taken a wrong turn," he thought, "Surely, I am going to die here." But determined to keep his life, if nothing else, he pressed onward. After a while, the black-eyed boy had to stop to take a rest. He found a nice place in the forest where he would be able to stay sheltered and warm, under the massive branches of one of the large trees. He looked around for a moment, taking in the sight of the forest, trying to identify exactly where in the world he was. "Looks like I have a ways to go..." he mumbled to himself, smiling wearily. The cold air gnawed at his face, and he moved the blanket up further so that it covered his nose. He stood up, forming a tight wrap around his body with the blanket, and pressed onward. By this time, his feet were still exhausted... so numb and raw that he could hardly lift them. The boy grew dizzy and would often stumble... "Should I fall once more," he'd always think, "I feel that I shall take in my last breath of this deadly, utterly cold air." The boy fell often... As a matter of fact, he was often very clumsy and he tended to fall quite a bit. Yet something kept him from dying... Something always made him stand up once more... What was that force? Why was it that he kept trying to continue on his hopeless journey? ...Why, it was the call of destiny... His life... He... he would live on to seek many things... He would live on to seek...
...Elysion...
At last, through the thick sheet of snow and ice did the boy see a single flicker of light, as though it were coming from a house. He was filled with joy... He had survived this cruel and painful journey that he had set out on! But to his dismay, all that met his eye was a single house. Yet for it being out in the middle of the forest, he was quite fortunate to have run across a place that would provide him even the slightest bit of hospitality. Unable to run, he dragged his feet along the cold, rugged ground until he had reached the door. His nearly blackened, frost-bitten knuckles stung as he pounded on the door with them, eager to get inside to the warmth. He waited... There was no answer. His heart racing, he pounded again, only this time harder... and yet again he received no answer. Suddenly, removing the blanket from over his mouth, he began to cough... and with his cough came a spurt of blood which stained the pure white snow. He fell to his knees, trying to catch his bearings... wiping some of the blood from his chin using the blanket. His body couldn't take much more of this, so he staggered to his feet and turned the door knob... and to his surprise, the door opened smoothly. As quick as his frozen legs could carry him, he rushed into the house, immediately shutting the door behind him to trap the heat inside that was coming from the fire in the fireplace. He wheeled around, assuming that he would find at least one person staring strangely at him... but there was no one in this small, one-roomed house. In fact, there was nothing in this house at all except the fireplace, the small fire, and a portrait. The black-eyed boy felt like fainting... he was too weak from traveling. But just before he gave in to his fatigue, he noticed the portrait above the fireplace. He walked up to it to examine it... and it was a picture of a young girl.
The little girl had eyes as red as a wine, and her hair was as white as the snow itself. She was clad in a white, very lovely little gown, and she wore a small, delicate smile on her face. Her skin was so pale and so soft that it looked too fragile for one to touch. The boy stared at the girl for a long while. He though for a moment... he thought about her. Who was she? Who was this beautiful young maiden who stared back at him from this picture? More importantly... where was she? The boy dropped his blanket, revealing a body dressed in thickly layered robes... but purple, frost-bitten hands that matched the color of his lips. He gently touched the portrait and smiled. Whoever this girl was... she captivated him. His eyes remained fixed on her face... but he couldn't help but notice the distorted, child-like writing that was placed in the corner of the portrait. He whispered the text to himself. "To my dearest daughter, Elys, on her eighth birthday." The beautiful young girl's name was Elys. The boy removed his hand from the portrait, but kept smiling... He felt warm inside, despite his deteriorating condition. "Elys," he repeated. "Her name is Elys!" he finally yelled, putting everything he had into the shouting of her name. Then the black-eyed boy fell to his knees, and began to cough up more blood. Yet he was never able to stop smiling, no matter how much pain and suffering he was going through at the present moment. He fell on his back, gazing up at the portrait of Elys. He kept smiling, and alas, he began to exhale his final breath...
...He was in love with Elys.
This love would sustain the test of time... setting the base of life for all those who would follow the boy and Elys... Abyss and El... Through their story, the lost Elysion would evolve. Paradise would be unlocked, and as long daughters grew into mothers and gave birth to daughters, that Paradise would be lost, but then unlocked again, lost, then unlocked. This cycle will continue eternally... Nothing can stop the flow of time, not even in Elysion itself, just as nothing can stop the calling that comes from the portrait of love and hate. Because of this... before long, man would eventually seek his ideal... he would seek for woman. Before long... the black-eyed boy would find his keyhole... and he would unlock the door to Elysion. Before long... man would seek for his Elysion... the paradise that had been long lost. Before long... the black-eyed boy would find his girl... Elys. Abyss and El are drawn to each other... just as Adam and Eve will continiue to search for each other. From the Elysion they find... just how many illusions are sparked from that beautiful, barren world...?
And so... How many times will the door to paradise open...?
End Chapter I
