Shadows had shrouded all his senses for what had felt like an eternity, darkness invading every part of his mind. For years he had floated in the emptiness praying for release, to taste freedom one last time. Instead all he got was pain and sorrow, and like a terrible joke he would occasionally feel or hear things. Sensations that would run through limbs once his own, now controlled by the disgusting creature that called itself Sekto.
At first he had struggled, fought his control physically and mentally nonstop. But he had been old when he was first captured and he had only gotten older since, the fight had left him and hope with it. Now all he could do was sit in this darkness and wait for it to consume him fully.
Until one day a flicker of hope appeared, his captor had begun to move more than usual. His actions becoming desperate and anxious, sounds of fighting and war could be heard, and a familiar roar that made his heart soar with hope. His captor fought hard and fought dirty, but nothing could stand against a steef's rage. Suddenly agonizing pain, the most feeling he had encountered in years, shot through his mind and everything went completely blank.
Sensation began to return slowly, first smell. The glorious smell of the Mungo River, it's fresh waters and abundant plant life that had once been home to him and his family. Could the water have finally been released, had his prayers finally been answered? Next came sound, the harsh powerful sound of flowing water; And voices, voices familiar enough that he thought he might have heard them before. Then suddenly his senses all came rushing back at once. He gasped and coughed. Sight filtering partially through his blinded eyes, and all at once his savior came into view.
A young male steef, proud strong and wearing his old armour, crouched before him.
His cracked lips part and the first words to leave his lips in many a year are the same ones he had hoped to ask one day.
"Is the water...free?"
The young steef looks off to the side; the same direction the old steef can hear the water. When he looks back he is smiling slightly.
"Yeah, all free"
His heart soars one last time, happiness spreading through him.
"It's free…"
Everything begins to fade, shadows once again begin to invade his vision. But this time he welcomes them, welcomes the freedom and comfort they bring.
"Free…"
As the last of his vision fades the younger steef is still there, and a final thought surfaces before he lets himself slip away into eternity.
'Thank you young one, we are both now free'
And with his final breath he answers his prayers.
"Free."