Chương 23: Book 1; Chapter 22; Creation of the world (1)

The King was returning from the Valley of the Mountains. He was deep in his thoughts about the outcome of the meeting. No one could say that the result of this meeting took him off guard or by surprise, but nevertheless it wasn't what he was hoping for. He left home more than two years ago to come to the Valley of Communications.

He spent most of the time raising his spiritual power and awareness at this remote, secluded island of mountains, one of the last places where the clean, unstained energy of connection was so abundant. And he succeeded – the leaders of the old have heard him and came to his call. He had raised an issue of conflict in humans and asked for help, the same help as he provided so many times for them in the past. But after long debates, the agreement that was made wasn't in his favour.

Only a few agreed to aid him or even to consider aiding. It had not surprised him, as this situation was much different than any before. All Earth already was left to his kind – every other kind retreated one by one or in groups, not being able to cope with the uprising human power and its never-ending greed. It was an unheard request to create a new world for the very same kind of people who already have complete control of this old and beautiful place.

A world that everyone used to call home a long time ago, in a distant history. Wouldn't a new place end up being exactly as this one if the same creatures would have control over it? Wouldn't it just multiply the problem? Well, he doesn't know the answer. He didn't know then and doesn't know now.

But even after his proposal was rejected and the request denied, the idea about a new world for people who don't want to fight, who just want a simple, casual, peaceful life, didn't wither, didn't go away, but just kept growing. He stayed on the island for a few more months to recover and to think. This pure energy surrounding him was so reviving for clear thinking.

Many times he asked The One for advice, but the answer was, as expected, never changing – for a self-sustained new world to be created, all eighteen Gifted must be present and willing to incorporate the powers given to them. If any part is missing, then the new world cannot sustain itself, and to compensate, it would have to be constantly maintained by somebody's powers and effort. A task not possible for any living being, at least not for a long time.

The majority of the population living in that world would be able to do so without struggle. But the will to maintain what was created would have to be constant and unchanging, otherwise the conditions of the world would change according to the population's will. But people's hearts are constantly changing – how would it be possible to maintain the entire population free of feelings and desires that would break the boundaries of the new world? Human heart…

Sometimes it feels as powerful and united as anything can be. But it needs so little to change its course. Would it be possible to educate and enlighten everyone? Definitely no. He lived very long, long enough to abandon even a shred of hope of such a possibility. There will always be someone who is not content with what they have, who seeks a different life without considering how it will affect others, or even those who think that they know better what is good for others and will use force to prove and achieve.

Once new ideas are seeded, they spread among people – sometimes growing the world into a better place to live, but unfortunately, most of the time they destroy all that was built with such effort and bring society down to its knees. He has seen it happening over and over again. His best friend, Armanin, the leader of the magic world, offered his help in any possible way, and that was a big relief and support. But even with such a powerful ally, it was not enough to persuade others. The King blamed no one.

How could he? For so many centuries he tried to prove that humanity has more to itself than greed, and so many times he succeeded in doing so… But just for a short time… So many times he tried to lead and rule his own people, he tried to educate and enlighten, he tried to step aside and let others decide the course of history. To no avail… Things could go well for a short while and then drift back to chaos.

The greed would always pop out and grow somewhere if not in one place then in another, if not for one reason then for another. Like a never-ending plague. So why would someone believe that something would change in a new world? The same people are going to live there, and the same problems will arise. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Why would he himself think that it can end up differently? But he still did.

He still believed that in the right place, under the right circumstances, all of his kind can live together in peace without getting on each other's throats. All he has to do is create the right place and right circumstances. To make the impossible possible… Why not? One person is enough to create anything as long as desire is strong and based on love and doesn't cause harm to anyone. His desire was strong and growing with every day, and it was out of love.

The only thing was how to make it possible so everyone would be able to retain their free will to change if that change could destroy the whole world. Once his mind was set and the task clear, thoughts and visions started to come. One crazier than the other… Armanin came to see him again, and he shared some ideas with him. His friend surprised him once more. He didn't scold the idea but instead, after long thinking, offered his help again and even suggested some new ideas.

With his help, ideas started to take shape, and the impossible started to become possible. So many gaps yet and so many unknowns, but he was sure now that he would succeed, no matter how long it would take. Especially now, when his own life had changed so drastically. After millennia of loneliness, he wasn't alone anymore. People couldn't understand the feeling that he called loneliness – no matter how many people were around, no matter how many relations he had, he always felt alone.

Now his heart was filled as never before – he didn't know such a state was even possible. The thought of losing it seemed not acceptable, and for the first time in many, many years, a shadow of fear of his own actions, if his personal happiness was threatened, crept out. He didn't fight that fear, nor did he feed it to grow bigger, but just the fact that it was here, that he felt it, was so unfamiliar and gave him more thought about his own state and his own humanity.

He thought for years that he and the other seventeen Gifted lost humanity upon accepting the Gift from The One, but now he finally understood it was never the case, he was just… let's say more advanced than others, that's all. He asked The One why he felt so different after he had met his wife and why his inner state had shifted, or at least opened the gates to something that he never even suspected was possible for him anymore.

The answer from The One was that an encounter and reunion with the second half of your soul always opens unknown parts of yourself. Second half of the soul… soulmate… Didn't sound bad. But now only The One would know how he would behave if someone were to threaten that soulmate of his – would he stay true to himself, or would he struggle as any regular mortal? Even though about it was alien and a spark of excitement was in his chest, excitement for the unknown – unknown even for him…

All these thoughts were spinning in his heart and mind for days while he was travelling back home. But in the last few hours, the feeling of unease started to overtake him, and he was urging his horse to go faster and faster. Through the years, he learned to trust his instincts, and now he knew that something was wrong, that danger was coming. And he was still so many miles away from home.

He gathered energy from the surroundings and poured it right into the horse he was riding – into his heart, into his lungs, into his legs and muscles. With every blast of energy, the speed of the horse increased drastically. In no time, the horse was flying more than running. Faster and faster, like lightning. Anyone who witnessed them flying by couldn't understand what it was, this shadow-like gust of wind passing by.

An hour had passed, and two and three, the evening started to approach, but neither rider nor horse were slowing down as if they didn't feel any tiredness, as if they were out of this world altogether. And here it was in the distance, a shade of light that was not supposed to be at this late hour of night. A light of fire followed by distant screams. And the stench of burning to follow.

He reached an opening on the top of the hill, and there it was – far in the distance, a city at the top of a large hill was engulfed in flames. Such a familiar scene… He had witnessed it so many times… Too many, way too many. But never had he recalled feeling such horror as he was feeling now. The King lifted his right arm to the sky and pulled firmly down like pulling down the sky itself, and the sky obeyed. The clouds from all four directions poured towards the burning town, raising roaring winds.

He spun his arm, and the wind obeyed it, curling into endless small twisters, lifting on its way all possible sand from the ground, bringing it to the burning city. Hardly any time had passed, and rain began, and clouds were coming and coming from all directions, squeezing and squashing above the city, turning this rain into a deluge of sandy water falling from the sky and putting out the flames. He could hear people screaming and shouting. People were running for their lives. People were fighting back.

And also there were people who chased and killed, who robbed and raped. Always people… No other enemy, just people slaughtering people… Always the same – one brother craving what the other had and willing to do anything to rob, to take away, to claim as his own what never belonged to him. Because it's never enough, never enough. It's like a curse placed on humans. But this time, he didn't dash towards the city, he didn't try to step into the middle of the fight to save one person from another.

Instead, he turned to the side and raced to the place that for the last several years he had been calling home. A (Little) house on top of a small hill covered with beautiful trees and facing a deep valley with a view of the once beautiful and lively city that was now smoking from rain, fire, and fight. The house was not on fire, and a glimpse of hope returned to him, but it was brutally brushed away when he saw a woman's body lying in a yard.

He had lived so many years, he had been violently injured so many times, his heart was pierced through by a sword or knife or arrow countless times, but never before had he experienced such pain. If the peak of the biggest mountain pierced through his heart and exploded into thousands of shreds, it would be nothing compared to the pain that struck him now. He jumped off the horse, ran to his wife, and fell on his knees next to her body, lying face down on the ground.

He gently turned her over, lifting her into his arms. He prayed non-stop to The One, not even knowing what he was praying about, and not listening to the reply. The wounds in her back and in her stomach were hideous, but her heart was still beating against all odds as if powered by some unknown, unnatural force. Gently, gently, he started to pour his energy into her, gradually increasing her strength. A couple of minutes later, she opened her eyes.

Her gaze landed straight on his face as if she had expected to see him. She lifted her hand and gently touched his face.

"You returned," she smiled into a whisper.

"I am so glad." The rain started here too, falling on the King's face, disguising the tears rolling down his cheeks. He stood up with his wife in his arms and sat himself under the tree with his back resting against its ancient trunk while laying his wife on his lap with her head on his chest. He kissed her head, breathed into her hair, feeling like he could just sit like this, with the love of his life, forever, until moss starts to grow on him, just as on that old tree behind him.

As if in alliance with his wishes, the leaves of the tree rotated slightly, forming a perfect natural umbrella above them that was shielding them from heavier and heavier rain.

"I was waiting for you," she said in a quiet voice.

"I didn't want to go before seeing you again." The pain in his chest was crushing; it started to spread from his heart to the rest of his body. He didn't fight it, secretly hoping that it would grow so big that he would not be able to cope with it anymore and would simply die like normal people do.

"You are in such pain only because of fear of loss, fear of separation. But there is no such thing as separation for those who truly love. The body you hold will go, but I will remain and will always be with you. What difference does it make?"

"The only difference is that I will not be able to follow you…" he answered softly.

"Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. I am bound to this world without a chance to leave, without a possibility to leave. Without a chance to meet anyone who leaves from here ever again."