To the people who are reading this, welcome! You can find the beginning by clicking on this link and scrolling down to the bottom. You'll have to progress through the Archives by clicking them...apologies. Once the story is complete, I will certainly re-arrange everything much better. Enjoy.

Interlude: The Man Who Refused To Die

Vearid. Night of the second day.

Darren felt the metal of Jared's sword slide through him, inch by cold inch. Blood spilled over the blade as pain coursed through his body. The killer said nothing, only pulling the weapon out and watching. Darren sank to his knees, coughing violently.

Jared stepped forward and reached inside Darren’s cloak, taking the pieces of the stone he had labored so hard to get. “You won’t need these. And neither will she.” With that, he turned and faded slowly from view.

Darren struggled to stand, knowing full well his wounds were fatal. I didn’t...expect it to end like this. He sank to the ground, landing heavily on his back. In a foreign world, all alone...

His eyes closed of their own volition. I can’t die...there are people that need me. Deep inside, he knew that his power was useless for healing himself at this point. The wounds were too deep and definitely fatal. Sara...I’ve failed you...I’ve failed everyone.

Each breath was a painful continuation of life, and though he could prolong it...he could not sustain it completely. Soon it would stop completely, and with it...everyone dies. Everyone except those who caused all this. His resolve hardened even as his body weakened. What would I do if given the chance?

He drew a deep shuddering breath, knowing full well that it was his last. Holding it as long as he could, his mind began to slow. What would...I do? I would...let them go...they want peace, even as I want peace...and in my own way, I will find peace. But if I find peace like this...the others won’t. All I wanted...was peace...for all...

Darren could hold it no longer, and exhaled, struggling desperately to breathe again. But no breath would come. The sun rose even as he died.

And Vearid shook. Mountains trembled and fell, the landscape exploded in countless areas in showers of dirt and rocks, and the planet shuddered. It was mourning the loss of its creator.

The planet showed no signs of slowing or stopping the upheaval. Seconds turned to minutes. But by the second hour, the land had slowed, and when the third hour was almost upon it, it had stopped completely.

Darren looked around in complete darkness. So what’s this? Is this Heaven? Is this Hell? Is there either in my world? He blinked, realizing it did no good but not really caring. This is...my world? His chuckle reverberated in the nothingness. This isn’t my world. My world is whatever I choose to make it, and I didn’t conceive an afterlife because I considered myself above death. Here...I have no choices here. This is the absence of things.

He lay down on something he couldn’t see, hard and dusty. But perhaps...perhaps if I find my world again...Fists clenched in defiance as his arms shook with the effort. Forget finding my world...I’m recreating it.

The third hour came into being. The sun reflected from the red stone in Darren’s right hand onto the ground nearby. I am Darren Kinsley. I am Darren Kinsley. I am...A single rock fell from a newly formed mountain and echoed throughout the area. All I have to do is...be. And the rest will fall into place. Darren trembled slightly and grabbed a handful of dirt. This is reality? No...reality is a concept for the weak-minded. Even I can create reality, a lowly man from Silver Lake...

A thought struck him. But...what if Silver Lake was merely someone else’s world? And if they died...so would I...His resolve faltered for a second and he felt his grip on his body weaken. No! It doesn’t matter...because I wouldn’t know. I only know what I can imagine. And I can imagine anything into reality.

Reality...is mine.
- posted by Nick @ 10/05/2004 02:37:00 AM