Prolouge

As he reached the top of the mountain he saw it. It was one of the most beautiful places he had seen. As far as he could see on this mountaintop, the land was green and flourished. Harmless animals roamed, seemingly serenading him to stay, just for a night. I mean, what harm could it do? He was tired after a long day’s travel, and he could really use a good nights sleep in this wonderful land. He longed for the ability to quit, to not go the whole way, to live here forever and alone. Alone. That's what he would be. He knew he couldn’t stay here, so he kept on.

         He could see the sun fading in the evening sky, he had always seen this as a bright sign, a signal that his journey was almost over. There was something peculiar about this sunset, it was different from what it had always been. He looked again at the blood red sky and shuddered. He knew what this meant. He didn’t want to, but he knew. He started to look a little stressed, he sped up as beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face, tearing up the beautiful growth under his feet. His pulse was racing.

         The altar, the end was in sight, he knew he was almost there. He could see it, he would save every one. It was his redemption. But alas, as he looked up at the sky, he knew he wouldn’t make it. It was right there, in the middle of the grass, where his knees collapsed on the ground, and he begged up at the blood red sky. The twilight seemed to be growing brighter, this would be surprising to any normal person viewing this, but it was common for him.

         Then it happened. As the sun hit the horizon, the altar started to glow, and he knew it was over. In almost an instant, the altar started shooting out rays of pure sunlight. If you have ever been a ray of sunlight, it feels slightly warmer. Now, try it being 100 yards from the sun. As you can see, it set everything instantly ablaze. Including the fine cloak that he was wearing. But no. Not, he, nor his cloak was not consumed. He ran to the cave, the only place he thought might be a safe haven. He watched in horror as the once beautiful land was now burnt and desolate.

         Before he could realize it, the cave started to close. This was odd because he hadn’t noticed an entrance. He turned back and jumped towards the entrance, he knew what was happening, it was too late. He knew it was over. He scolded himself for it as he stared at the glowing idol in his hand. If only, he could have made it to the altar in time. If only, he hadn’t been persuaded to try in the beginning. If only, if only.

         Now, as he stared at the fading glow of it, he felt himself start to disappear. He couldn’t describe it, he just felt it. Now, as he saw the idol go out, he realized that he wasn’t there anymore, he didn’t know where he was, but not in the cold, dark, cave. In fact, he doesn’t even know if there was a cave at all. He felt nothing. He doesn’t know if the idol exists, or even ever existed. All that he knows now is that all that existed was nothing, and nothing that existed was everything.





                                       Hundreds of years later...



         As Christopher climbed the mountain, he felt the spirits and souls of the ones who passed before him. As he approached the land, he was overflown with excitement while remembering all the tales of how great and beautiful the land was. He was in utter shock when he saw it. The land was still desolate. The wonderful creatures that had once walked the land were now horrible Monstars. Not just little monsters either, I’m talking about Monstars. Creatures that have passed through the altar. Christopher looks in the distance. He can partially make out the bright figure in the distance. As the day started to fade, and twilight approached, he looked at the idol in his hand. He knew what he must do.

         He wearily walked towards the altar, watching each step, and crushing the dark ground beneath his boots. The Monstars surrounding him were watching in absolute terror and hatred. As if he was about to bring an end to their existence on this plane. The altar grew closer. Though he was still nervous, he was sure he could make it.

         Then, suddenly, out of the crowd of Monstars, one springs in attack onto Christopher. His sharp teeth bearing, his size astounding. Christopher, like any other person in this situation, looked like a goner. Christopher though, remained calm. As he keeps walking, and the Monstar gets closer, he raises his right hand slowly. When the Monstar sees the faded brown cloak, and the hand within it, he slows. The other Monstars stare in awe as the one that had once been one of them is being beaten to the ground by an invisible force. Instantly, the massive groups of Monstars that had been there flee, leaving only the one who had attempted to attack Christopher. He cannot move. He is no longer alive.

         The wind starts to pick up. Christopher thinks nothing of it and keeps walking. The wind  is even faster now, blowing some of the slower Monstars to the ground. These kinds of breezes are common for mountain tops, but not this one. This one is always calm. The wind is even faster now, blowing Christopher’s hood off his head, and making him stumble. Christopher needs a refugee from this horrible, accelerating wind. He looks off to the side, and notices a cave. He knows he should be going to the altar, that's what his job is. The darkness of the cave didn’t, at this point, mean that it was scary and unexplored. It seemed like more of a dark blanket, protecting him from the danger outside of it. He makes a run for the cave.

         While he was running though, he started to feel the ground shake. He thought this may have been from his running, maybe he had slipped on a couple of rocks. But no. The ground kept shaking, and he stopped running, and dropped to the ground. Rocks were flying left and right, somehow, none of them managed to hit him. Though he was lucky, he wasn’t calm anymore. He knew that others had failed before him, and that  he needed to finish it. Now. He ran after the altar, he wasn’t as sure as he was before about it now. Right then, the sun hit the horizon. He was now in the shadow of the altar.

         He knows what comes next. The fires. He dropped to his knees and begged for it to not happen this way. But alas, his prayers weren’t answered. The altar and the sky seemed to be glowing brighter and brighter, sending out small beams at first. These beams weren’t harmless. He knew what damage that they could do to him. But he stayed there. The small beams turned into huge rays. One of them engulfed him. His cloak and body were on fire, but he was not consumed. He stayed motionless. The sun went under the horizon, the altar still glowed, but not as brightly. The rays turned back into beams, and then faded away. Even the fire that been set ablaze on Christopher had burnt out.

         He was safe, he was done. All he needed to do now was to return the idol to the altar. There was silence. He looked around, nothing was moving. He couldn’t get up. He  knew something was coming. But what? There was no way they were going to let him through this easily, but nothing came. The silence was driving him crazy. He was getting paranoid and anxious. All he had to do was to get up and take the idol to the altar, but the silence was holding him down. He twisted and turned, but the more he struggled, the further he was held. He couldn’t make his body do anything. After hours of struggle, he gave, and let the silence take him.

         The sun rose and shone light to this grim scene. Thousands of Monstars flew through the altar and surrounded the corpse of Christopher. They attempted to take him back through the altar, for their master to dispose of him properly. They couldn’t get him to go through. Something in his lingering spirit prevented it. Instead, they dragged him off to the cave. The same one that had once seemed to offer protection from the horrible winds. When they threw him in it, the cave started to close.

         When they watched it, the Monstars couldn’t believe their eyes. It was slow and subtle, but the cave seemed to be fading from existence entirely. They couldn’t describe it, but it was obvious now. The cave was disappearing. Within a minute, it was completely gone. All that lay on the ground where it was now, is the idol.