The Human and The Shadow 24: Death's Door
Lumen
...Darkness... a forever darkness, it seems to consume us in the ever reaches of our hearts and it claws at our minds. The darkness is like a void... a demon... a monster... it draws us in and tears us apart devouring the happiness and joy we strive to attain.
Lumen Dusk, otherwise known as Ivel Mertens, had been falling through the darkness for months now. He had fallen into the seemly bottomless pit and while he continues to fall the world around him flies by. Occasionally he would see what he came to call 'light glimpses'. In these glimpses he could see whole worlds from start to finish live out. It began with darkness and then ended with darkness. The darkness seemed every lasting but the lights they barely began to shine when they were extinguished by the spreading darkness.
"...How long have I been falling?... When was the last time I saw the light?..."
"Did I not make it after all.. well... it's not like I deserve to live anyway... I already don't belong in this world... and my twin... my sister... Dawn was it?... She wants to kill me... I wonder where I failed her... maybe she can be happy now..."
Lumen eyes suddenly struggled to see as a red light invaded his vision.
"Well... It's not like I was getting any younger." The light surrounded Lumen and he felt all his fear, all his pain and all his worries fade away.
6 Months Earlier - Finn, Lily, Bubba and Death
"Daddy... Uncle Bubby"
"Yes dear"
"There's a weird skeleton guy in the corner"
"Death" Was all Finn said.
Finn, Lily and Bubba all stared at Death who realising that they had stopped talking and had noticed his presence decided to take off his hat and take a bow.
"I, Death, would like to apologise for intruding in your home unannounced however I come bearing important news that needs to meet your attention". Finn looked at the other two who didn't look like they knew what to say so he decided to take the initiative and spoke to the 'weird skeleton'.
"Ermm... Yo Death whats with the weird linguo and what news? You never come to the surface without being made to?". Death looked at Finn with his hollow eyes and then smiled at the human. As much as Death tried to deny it to himself he enjoyed the interactions in the past he'd had with this life form and although his work load seemed to increase he found it pleasant to 'interview' the villains and bad guys that Finn sent to the depths of the dead worlds.
"Finn you may not have noted but I am a being of a higher order so the way I address you is exactly as it should be. It is like the sun being compared to a candle you do not compare but in our presence we have a fine example of your use, a beautiful princess of the flame and the descendant of a dear friend of mine so I will speak when greeting her in a tone that reflects her status... unlike you... mortal".
Seeing that Finn looked like he was about to rise to Death's challenge Bubba decided to try to defuse the situation before Death decided Finn's life wasn't worth as much as it should do.
"Lord Death, I beg your pardon, but could you please tell us of this news of which you speak."
"Gum brat of another world I expect your pardon but you are worth less than the mortal brat in my eyes so do not speak to me again". Bubba was dumbfounded, he had always had a friendly relationship with Lady Death of his world and judging by the look on Finn's face Bubba could tell that Death's rudeness was something even he hadn't experienced.
"...Ermm Mr Bones...". Everyone looked down as Lily was attempting to muster up her courage to speak to Death.
"Yes my dear how may I be of service"
"Well Mr Bones... Please could you not be so mean to Daddy and Uncle Bubby... I know that things are not very good at the moment but Daddy will fix it I promise Daddy always fixes it so please don't be angry at them...". Death stared at the little girl and then smiled.
"Well it seems whatever the future you did Finn he did a good job raising this little Lady, for her wish I shall tolerate your existence and answer your questions."
"Well then D-man what the junk, why are you being so Ice King level grump all of a sudden"
"Well it greatly bothered me that a member of the Fire Kingdom royalty is currently residing in my castle, the Princess of the Candy Kingdom is not answering my summons and that the Prince of shadows and light lay on a bed with no soul. These three figures are vital to surviving the darkness yet you seem to be worrying more about trivial matters than those that change the fate of the universe." Finn and Bubba stared at Death in silence, the way he had dropped the 'news' as he called it held nothing back.
"Death... what do you mean... fire kingdom royalty... and Lumen has no soul..."
"It's as simple as I said a member of the royal family of the fire kingdom, a Prince Phoenix I believe, is currently recovering from his wounds in my castle. I would like to know why and how the Prince died since he is currently unable to move, speak or retain consciousness."
"...Uncle Nix is.. dead" Lily began to sob. "Nix can't be dead... he was okay in our future... he was playing fireball with me and Light just last week... Daddy... Mr Bones is lying... Nix isn't dead... Uncle Nix... he can't be... dead". The little girl with the flaming hair began to cry, her tears were unlike either of her parents as a gold drop ran down her cheek. Finn whisked his daughter into his arms and began to rock her in his arms.
"Calm down Lily, it'll be okay... trust Daddy okay remember Daddy fixes everything... just please don't cry dear, Daddy's here". While carrying Lily in his arms he walked over to his bag and grabbed a handful of the sleeping powder he had in there and sprinkled it over his daughter. He then took her to her room and tucked her in before heading back to the room where Death and Prince Gumball stood waiting.
"Finn... I'm sorry... if I had known she would have reacted that way I would have-"
"Don't worry about it Death, I'll wake her when Phoebes gets back from the Fire Kingdom and we'll try to explain it to her but I need to know Death is Phoenix really dead... is there nothing that can be done for him..."
"I'm afraid that yes he is dead, from the looks of it... it seems he pushed himself to the limit of his strength and unlike the Flame Princess he still had an unstable core which destroyed itself within him. I've never seen a body arrive so destroyed... His very soul is broken but his last memory seemed to be looking at Princess Bubblegum from afar and that's it however if his core did implode the Princess should have died along with him but I have not seen her come to the dead worlds which is why I want an explanation where she is, if I can talk to her I can find out what happened and with that I could help revive the Prince."
"You really mean it Death... there's a chance he can be revived?"
"I estimate it is possible but to piece a soul back together I would either need to know what happened or at the very least the forbidden power of Lumen which can revive the dead. Since Lumen is currently indisposed I ask again where is Bonnibel Bubblegum?". Bubba and Finn exchanged a quick glance at one another and both let out a sigh.
"Lord Death", Bubba began, "Bonnie is currently in the Candy Kingdom under the watch of Dr Princess, since she came back from her trial alone she has been unconscious and no level of science or magic seem to awaken her. It's like she is refusing to face reality... and from what you've said it seems to be that the reality is watching Phoenix die..."
"Then I wish her a speedy recovery, because with Lumen in the state he is in... without her we stand no chance of saving the Flame Prince or surviving the darkness." The room fell silent and stayed that way till Finn finally thought about Death's words.
"Death... what do you mean Lumen has no Soul..."
"Oh... the body in the other room is like a shell, its his body alright but as far as I can tell his soul isn't in there anymore."
"What do you mean its not in there? Where the junk is it then Death and how do we get it back?"
"Get it back? its not like we get pop to the lost and found section Finn his soul will return on its own sooner or later but what I'm worried about it where it is at the moment. Lumen or Ivel is an individual from a different time and space, his body is no longer the one he was born in and his body itself holds two individually thinking powers with their own awareness. If need be they can act in his place to keep his body alive and healthy but in the end it's just like a puppet with no life."
"His soul... where could it be"
Lumen - Present Day?
The Shade Prince opened his eyes and found that he was lying on a cold solid floor, around him was a room full of doors and a roof decorated with stars. He tried to take it all in but the room around him seemed to majestic he felt wrong for even being inside it. He stood up and suddenly felt like he was floating, the stars he saw on the roof were also on the floor and the walls, in fact to him it felt like he was floating in space and the only things out of place were himself and the doors. He could have spent eternity gazing around the room but his incredible moment was interrupted by an unknown voice. It was soft yet full of a powerful aura, calming yet giving off a feeling of being unreachable.
"Lumen Prince of Shadows, Ivel bearer of Light You are the first hope of existence and life and you have been given a mission to do before you are ready to return to the realm of your being". Lumen looked around to find the source of the voice but it seemed to be coming from inside his head.
"The mission you have been given is neither easy nor fair, you are to prepare the future for the darkness and create a world for yourself where you have allies that will fight alongside you. The decision you will have to make... may cost you your light and make you fear your darkness but the evil you will commit by completing these missions is both necessary and required. If you understand your role then step forth to the closest door and I will give you your first step to salvation".
Lumen stood quietly taking in all that he was told... "I must commit evil to build a future for my friends... but the evil may be one I cannot forgive for myself...".
Lumen took a step towards the door and decided to answer the voice.
"Whatever evil you ask of me, whatever task if it saves my friends and the world I love I shall do it... now what is it you ask of me?"
"Prince of Shadows, the friends you know are actually the way they are because of an individual's influence on the past... The insane king of ice, the unstable daughter of fire, the lonely queen of the night, the last human, the mysterious dog and the unfeeling princess of sweet things. These friends you see would have lived blessed lives being happy and experiencing no hardships till the darkness arrived and destroyed your world however you must venture into the past and create the dark parts of their lives in which they grow stronger and become able to fight the darkness"
"Wait... you mean... all the horrible things that happened to them... you want me to be the cause?"
"No."
"Then what do you mean then?"
"You ARE the cause, I am giving you a chance to improve their situation and your own, regardless of what happens you must be the one to bring darkness to their lives so one day you can be their light. That is your destiny because the darkness exists it must be done. However I would like you to go into these hardships with an open mind, you must create their paths but it is also possible for you to create new paths also... consider my words Lumen. Now go. The first path is the path of Simon Petrikov and his fall into despair." Lumen took a second to take it all in then accepted it, the voice had a point, all the horrible things that have happen to his friends have already happened to shape them into the heroes and people he knew them to be... if he did nothing and stayed there... they'd have happier lives but in the end would die with no chance to beat the darkness however if he went in there like the voice said he could try to do more... what the more was he didn't know but regardless Lumen walked to the door Labeled 'Simon' and entered.
In the apparently now empty room the voice spoke again.
"Prince of Shades... please forgive me... the hardships you will face are nothing compare to what is to come... please... forgive... me...".
Sorry it's been so long since i last updated but i wont bore you with excuses. The story is still going and I'm hoping to write more often and get back to longer chapters.
Character Summary:
Bonnie - Unconscious in the Candy Kingdom after her Trial.
Lumen - His Soul isn't in his body and is being given a mission from the Original Light.
Phoenix - Dead and currently in Death's Castle
Family of Ice - Training in the Ice Kingdom
Simon - As of the 'present day' his location is Unknown.
Phoebe and Light - Fire Kingdom
Marcy and Faith - Candy Kingdom w/Bonnie
Lily, Finn, Bubba and Death - Tree house
Fionna and Marshall - Marcy's Cave
Jake and Cake - At Jake's House
BMO - Heading to the Treehouse