As he nurtured the flame something inside him stirred, why did this tiny thing pull at his mind so? Then as he pondered this and what it could possibly mean the darkness that had consumed him began to fade then in a brilliant flash it was gone, replaced by an embracing light that surrounded him in ways the darkness could not.
He looked around as if he didn't remember what the light looked like, truly he might not have after being seeped in dark for so long. It went of forever but for some reason it didn't feel empty, no instead it felt almost alive, as if it were calling to him then he saw it. It was dark and writhing in pain, some sort of demon that mad his heart beat fast and it was quickly approaching.
The creature of darkness ran at him in a wild charge that froze him in fear leaving him to watch in wide eyed horror as it rampaged toward him. He shut his eyes tight waiting for the end but it did not come, after a moment he allowed his eyes to creak open slightly. The creature was inches away from him but it could not reach him despite its most valiant attempts for it was trapped behind some sort of invisible wall.
As it silently raged lashing out violently but futilely against the force keeping them apart he couldn't help but feel both pity and some sort of kinship with the angry beast. He sat down watching it strike again and again only to have some invisible force cause it to recoil each time, it was determined but its actions were in vain.
"such a lamentable creature" he said aloud as he continued to watch the beast try to get to him.
"my thoughts exactly" said a voice from behind him.
He jumped to his feet and turned to look towards the noise to find only an old man, he had silver hair and a sharp face that made him look powerful but not in a menacing way "who are you" Danny questioned.
The old man walked forward and past him towards the monster and simply stared at it "such a sad thing isn't it" the man asked.
Danny looked past him at the beast "yes it is, what is it"
The man looked back at him over his shoulder "this is Daniel, I'm sorry if he frightened you but you see he's not quite himself right now"
"What's wrong with him" Danny asked sadly curious about the pitiful thing behind the barrier
The man looked back at the beast "he's young, I know that's no excuse for his behavior but for someone so young he's experienced so much pain, my heart aches for him" he said sadly
"Oh" said Danny in acknowledgement "is there any way to help him"
"Not really" said the man "we can only be there for him, the rest is up to him"
"What's gonna happen" Danny asked
"Not sure" replied the man "but it will be one of two things"
"What are those things" Danny questioned
"Well first thing that might happen is he might become even more gone than he is now, if that happens he will only know more pain" said the man with finality
Danny gulped silently "and the other thing?" He asked afraid of what the answer might be
The man turned to face him properly "the other thing that might happen is that he decides to forgo the darkness and decide instead to carry the light" the man said
"Are those the only two options?" he asked curiously "how can it just go to two extremes like that?"
The man quirked an eyebrow and smiled "because I know Daniel, whenever he makes up his mind on something there can be no half measures, he does everything all the way or not at all. He's always been like that as long as I've known him, he once told me that compromise is the concession to the worst of both sides and he always followed that that to extremes, I just hope that he can make the right choice and find balance within his heart"
The man turned and began to walk away "where are you going" Danny asked
The man turned to look at him and said "I've done what I can, the rest is up to him, and whether he shapes his pain to help people or allows it to shape him is up to him now"
"But you didn't do anything" Danny shouts frustratedly
The man smiles at him "sometimes being there is enough"
Danny looks at the man incredulously and begs "who are you, you seem so familiar but I just can't remember, please tell me?"
The man raises his eyebrow and smirks at him "when the time is right you'll make the right choice" the man said before disappearing into the light.
Danny let out an exasperated sigh and turned back to the one he called Daniel and sat down just staring at him, just as lost if not more so than when the man had arrived.