Prologue|A Sonnet of Life and Death
The light of gods will purge the world of sin.
Where life and death become words of the past.
The war is one that neither side shall win.
The fight of good and bad will breathe its last.
But five descend and grace the world with hope.
Through hardships many they shall persevere.
And save a world hung by a twisted rope.
Severing the threads of fate that hold me here.
The sun who guides and wears a thorny crown.
The moon defies a life that won't conform.
The sword knows not who they have once cut down.
The shield that could not stop the ancient storm.
A requiem that echoes through the land
And endeavors will halt time's flowing sand.
"I applaud your creativity," laughed the voice in the deep corner of the cavernous room. "Even you do not deny the inevitability of my return?"
"I have all the time in the world to craft whatever words I want," laughed the dark being in the center of the room. Their voice held a weight to it, the sound reverberating thickly throughout the cavern. "We were not meant to dwell in the mortal realm. But it's not like I can stop you."
There, bound by spirals of ethereal chains was the shadowy figure of a large, avian creature. There seemed to be harsh red fissures across their majestic body as if it were divided into shards: wings, tail, talons, and head split yet still functioning together. The spirit of Yveltal was tethered to this place of in-between. Their blue pupils made eye contact with something that skirted in the shadows. "I have no form in the physical realm."
From the shadows, the source of the voice stirred, strutting confidently as if dancing around Yveltal's bound form. "Unlike you, my followers are close to reviving me," it declared with a hint of malevolence.
Yveltal's beak moved ever so slightly beneath the spectral chains as they retorted, "I anticipate the day I watch you fall from your heavenly perch. What you are doing... is madness. It is unnatural."
"Says the Lord of Death," sneered the figure, leaning in close over Yveltal's serene face. "Is it not any being's greatest desire to... live?"
Undeterred, Yveltal proclaimed, "Nothing lasts forever, sibling. Life without death... what a sad existence. Can one even call that living?"
In response, the voice playfully remarked, "I didn't know you were a philosopher."
A dry chuckle resonated from Yveltal, filling the cavern with an aura of ancient wisdom. "As beings of life and death, it's in our nature," they replied.
"I'm just messing with you, sibling," the unseen figure in the shadows taunted. "You're awfully smug for someone locked away in Giritina's domain."
"I need not worry. Your exploits will be thwarted," Yveltal asserted confidently, the ethereal chains pulsating faintly. "This war... violent as it is, will soon be over. My Sentinels will delay your return long enough for them to arrive."
"You're out of touch, my sibling," said the voice, as Yveltal began to shake against his bonds. "There is much more out there, beyond our simple game of life and death. What I'm doing... is making sure that nothing will hurt the world that our Master has created."
"You sound like Necrozoma," chuckled Yveltal with a jab of hostility. "The mortal realm will simply be an extension of you. An unthinking machine."
"All life is already an extension of me," retorted the voice. With an almost malevolent glee, savoring the growing concern on Yveltal's face, they responded, "Your influence over the land of the living will soon fade."
"That is not possible," Yveltal declared, refusing to yield to their sibling's taunts. "There is no life without death. You know this."
The figure in the shadows then stepped away, their glittering footsteps fading into the darkness. A burst of light engulfed the chamber, revealing the illuminated figure of a large deer with sprawling antlers.
"That… we shall see."
With a final statement, the figure vanished from the realm in a shower of sparkling motes of light, leaving Yveltal bound in the in-between alone and with their thoughts once more.
"Indeed. That... we shall see, Xerneas," Yveltal whispered.
Hey, y'all! I've been extremely nervous about posting a story that I've been just personally writing in my free time for a few of years now, but I'm finally ready to give it a go and put it out there! I've got a pretty sizable number of chapters done that I'll probably post somewhat regularly. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy.
From here, you can see that there are two chapter 1's. There are two parts in this prologue of sorts. Although I recommend starting in order, these two stories are completely independent from each other for now. Feel free to start at what is labled as Chapter 11 on the dropdown menu, but it's Chapter 1: The Lonely Watchtower.
