I Just Want To Be Average

Aparthyseion saw darkness, but it was a different kind of darkness from the darkness of his blindness. This darkness was deeper, blacker, and felt familiar. And this darkness had a voice. She introduced herself as his mother, and told him of his heritage. She said it was time to choose. He could choose the light or the darkness. He chose her. She had him say goodbye to his friends and took him away.

She led him to the world of darkness, where he didn't need eyes, and where he felt an innate connection. This world was his as much as he was of this world. As he embraced the newfound belonging, he felt opened up to a wider reality. The darkness saw all. His mother was cosmic darkness, she was the darkness itself. But, he was even more of the darkness, almost as if he was of a higher plane. He was the very essence of the omnipotent darkness, and everything else was merely a construct. Even time. And a simple construct, he could ignore.

His mother stood by him, shocked, as he relived the moment of Cleius pulling out his eyes. Back then, Aparthyseion wasn't able to see. He had no understanding of what happened. One moment, he was in the forest. The next, everything went dark and he collapsed under immeasurable pain. Now, in the darkness, he saw Cleius. But he still didn't understand. He needed his mother to explain. She told him about Alambra being charmed and that being the reason for Cleius' vicious assault. Listening to the end, Aparthyseion knew what he must do.

The heavenly court must fall, he decreed. His mother wasn't surprised this time. It was exactly what she wanted. Cleius hurt her child, so she would destroy Cleius and all of the heavens. Their pride would be their downfall. It didn't take long for her to realise the difference between her and Aparthyseion. She was the darkness. He was the lord of the darkness. With his decree, an endless army was born from the darkness. The battle horn was blown.

Cosmic darkness led the first attack. The unprepared heavens couldn't stop her. She entered the main bedchambers of the Areehyagya palace, smiled at a terrified Alambra and cut off the young princess' head. She placed the head in the arms of Alambra, the body lying in the pool of blood, and disappeared.

It was the night of the marriage. The joyous occasion had turned into a night of despair and horror. Cleius, Iyjuis, and all of the heavens were broken hearted. Cosmic darkness made no effort of hiding that it was her. Her actions were a loud declaration. War was coming.

The heavens were sealed. Cleius took the sun's silence as a promise that the sun and the stars wouldn't interfere. The armies of the heavens were ready, led by general Iyjuis. They took to the battlefield and didn't have to wait long. The army of darkness showed up with Aparthyseion leading from the front. Cleius saw Aparthyseion and felt regret, for having left Aparthyseion alive in the forest. If he had killed the cursed man, his daughter would still be alive.

The mighty army of the heavens knew no defeat. Every soldier was enraged by the murder of princess Alambra. The enemy across the battlefield gave them a target to direct all of their anger at. They were determined to kill every last enemy soldier. What everyone forgot, including the general, was that there was none among them who had fought darkness before. They didn't realise until it was too late, that their blades were useless. Their shadows became the enemies. They crumbled under the very first assault. By the end of the first day, every last soldier had fallen. And general Iyjuis lay under the feet of Aparthyseion, beheaded.

As night rose, Aparthyseion's army multiplied. It knew no fatigue. It needed no rest. The heavens that were still reeling under the shock of defeat, were in no way prepared for the unexpected assault. The shields fell. The walls crumbled. The barracks' were the first to go, the soldiers gone before they could assemble as an army. At the same time, the army of darkness marched the streets towards the palace. The imperial guards were no match for the enemy.

When the heavens were still young, the first god king left behind a majority of his power as a protective charm. The authority to call upon the charm was passed down to the successive god kings. It was the last resort to be only called forth against an infallible enemy. Legend had it that the charm was also the premonition of the nearing end. As he called upon the protective charm, Cleius was filled with sorrow. Everything he held dear, everything important, was gone. He couldn't understand where he went wrong.

As Cleius called upon the charm, a burst of light filled the heavens. The darkness was cast out. Aparthyseion lay fallen in the heavenly court. Not even he could stand up to the charm. With the darkness cast out, a half of him was ripped out. He had collapsed under the indescribable pain. Cleius was a broken father in tears as he stared down at Aparthyseion. He pulled out his blade, dredged out all of his anger and hate, put all of himself into the strike as he cut Aparthyseion's head off.

Before he could rejoice, Cleius heard the thunderous roar of the darkness. All of the heavens did. And everyone shuddered. Cleius was all too familiar with the pain behind the roar. In that moment, he understood true regret. He realised who Aparthyseion was. And he accepted that the end had indeed neared. He knew there was no stopping cosmic darkness. She would have his life. She would have all of the heavenly court fall. The heavens had ended.

They didn't have to wait long. They wouldn't see the sun. The war ended with the fall of the heavenly court. After the heavenly court fell, sun walked the dark court to comfort a grieving mother. The couple that had always been in love and yet had been apart for the sake of Aparthyseion, was finally together again.