Chapter 6: The World’s End
“There was a time when the world was alive, many thousands of years ago. Humans lived in harmony with the forces of nature and there was peace. Then humans turned against nature and tried to conquer it. From the fires of their revolution came sin, and sin gave birth to the demons and the Underworld.
“Over the generations, humanity conquered the planet and bent nature to their will. Then, one day, as they were basking in the glory of their empire, everything fell to pieces. There was too much negativity and it overwhelmed people. There was war and fighting, people were consumed by greed and lust and envy, and everywhere there was death. Demons rose from the Underworld, and humans fell into its allure and embrace. The natural balance of the world was torn asunder and chaos reigned.
“They say that out of that cataclysm rose a great shadow – Erebus – that brought together all the forces of darkness and conquered the world. In doing so, the world was sent plummeting into ruin and decay. Erebus was eventually vanquished, but its legacy continues to this day. The planet is slipping towards its death, and all around you can see the results of what once happened. And even now the fighting still goes on. There was a war not more than fifteen years ago that almost destroyed the world – and another could happen at any time…”
Her human friends looked at each other once she had finished. Byron was the first to comment.
“What about all that crap you were on about last night? You know, power of love and all that?”
“I…” she paused for a moment, “I don’t know.”
A smug grin spread across his face and he looked out at the cloudy skies, “Face it, we’ll all be killed in some final apocalypse sooner or later, we may as well live to the limit now, like I’ve always said,”
Doyle used the opportunity to slide over to Lyra and begin whispering in her ear. Moments later she made an excuse to leave, leaving him sitting dumbfounded. Kaori ignored his antics and came to sit next to Phantasia.
“That’s like Mr Haan taught us,” she said quietly, “He said there were all sorts of myths and legends that he’d heard during his travels as a vagrant. Things about some grand technological empire seeking to rule the world – they said the city of Malkuth down south is one of the last remnants of it. And there was the story about weapons that could wipe out millions of people in an instant, and that they were used to kill almost every human alive at the time.”
“Yeah, stuff about the land turning to ice,” added Joel, “It’s more a desert now though. Stuff about demon wars and demon gods and messiahs and saints and all that too. No one knows exactly what happened, though. Guess even you don’t know for sure.”
“He said there was a shadow demon in most cultures he visited, though,” Kaori continued, “It’s the thing on the mural, isn’t it?”
Phantasia nodded, “Whatever it was, it was imprinted into the planetary subconscious – I mean the dreams of people, their memories and legends…”
“Well, if that is the darkness of humanity, or whatever, we have to do something about those freaks beneath the club!” said Joel, sitting up with a burst of energy, “Our little bit for the restoration of the world, right?”
Kaori patted him on the head and he sat down again, whining softly as she giggled. “I think I’ll just try to be a little bit more positive. Maybe that will help. It’s hard, but I can try, can’t I?”
Phantasia beamed with pride. “I’m happy you’re going to! I know I’m a bit strange, and you might not understand what I say a lot of the time, but I would really like to see you all happy!”
“Yeah, you’re a strange girl all right,” said Joel, “Stranger than we would have imagined. So damned used to everyone being morbid. You’re certainly making things more interesting around here, though, and if it wasn’t for you then…well who knows,”
Phantasia smiled. She had made a difference – Joel and Kaori had been convinced to give up the bad habits they’d acquired and to try and think more positively about life
Hopefully, she thought, it was only the beginning.
~ Phantasia’s influence spreads! Who will she befriend next? ~
~ Next: The Lost Hawk! ~
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