Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Darkness spread through a seemingly infinite expanse. Standing alone in this void was a singular Observer. It was odd for them because normally, they observed events in the near or even far-reaching future, yet this seemed like neither.

Though the Observer could feel themselves walking through the endless expanse of nothingness, they were unable to tell if they had truly gone 'anywhere'. They could feel the impact of their steps upon a solid surface, though no sound reached their ears.

Slowly, after what seemed like hours of walking, something began to glow in the distance. A window seemed to open in the darkness. Finally seeing something new, the Observer rushed toward the window. Through it, they saw a field of flowers in a variety of colors. Walking among them were hundreds of people smiling and greeting one another.

They looked like normal humans, though they had slightly pointed ears. Whatever these people were, they were not human, nor were they elves. Half of them had glowing, silver eyes, while the others had brilliant golden ones. The two groups intermingled among the flowers. They laughed and played with such vigor and happiness that the Observer felt their heart swell.

Soon, the window faded and the darkness returned, turning the happiness to melancholy. It only lasted for a moment, and the window once again began to glow. This time, instead of a field of flowers there existed a beautiful city with buildings made of stone and metal. The same strange people walked along its streets. The scene in the window proceeded to follow behind a woman with golden eyes.

She casually greeted other members of her race as she traversed the city before entering into a grand building with more floors than the Observer could count. The inside of the building was lit with oddly-shaped glass orbs. The energy given off by these creations felt entirely different than mana.

The woman approached a doorway that seemed to be sealed shut. With a wave of her hand, the door crumbled to dust before she stepped through. Once on the other side, she waved her hand again, and the door rematerialized.

At first, the Observer thought the woman used Channeling, but that was not the case. There was no change in mana usage that indicated the woman would have cast a spell. Though the Observer was befuddled by the circumstances, the image through the window continued.

Inside the building there were numerous rooms hidden behind similar doors as to the one that the woman first entered through. Next to the doors were massive windows through which the woman paused occasionally to observe the rooms' interiors.

Inside several of the rooms were dozens of her people with silver or golden eyes. Seemingly out of nowhere, they would materialize different substances. One man created a flawless sword made of mithril where there was once nothing but air. Another seemed to create a mound of clay. Once the clay formed, it began to move about before taking the form of a small animal.

The Observer's invisible jaw dropped as the clay figurine began to shake and move independently. Slowly, the clay took on different colors and the carvings of fur became more pronounced until the clay had all but vanished. Where the figurine once stood was a small, dog-like creature. It blinked its eyes and glanced around at the glowing-eyed people before crying out in panic.

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The people began to talk amongst each other with excited voices. As an observer through this window, the voices were muted and unable to be deciphered, but the looks on their faces and the frantic moving of their hands indicated the level of excitement they all felt.

Even the Observer was awestruck by what they had witnessed. These beings could not only create weapons and objects with perfection beyond what mortal races could create, they also brought simple clay to life. Somehow they worked these miracles of creation with simple waves of their hands.

The woman the image followed smiled widely as she continued down the hallway before stopping at another window. Just before the Observer could witness the room's contents, the image faded into nothingness once more. If the Observer could speak, they would have shouted out in protest. They somehow felt as though a great truth had been hidden from them.

What was it that was hidden beyond that second door?

Before they could even attempt to complain, the window came to life once more. This time, the golden-eyed people and silver-eyed people stood on opposite ends of a massive room. Each side had representatives confronting each other. They stood before a massive door. The door itself was plain. The material from which it was made was unknown, but it was without any designs or door handles.

Simply two massive doors with a single slit down the middle to indicate that it was not a wall.

The people gestured toward the door as they argued in silence. The Observer desperately wished they could hear what it was that was being said. Even through the silence, she could detect the malice each side held for the other.

After a few minutes of witnessing the silent debate, the Observer realized that the side of the room with golden-eyed people was nearly a quarter the size of the silver-eyed people.

Peppered among the golden-eyed people were a handful of silver-eyes. They looked saddened by the events playing out in the center of the room. The two parties arguing with each other turned to the opposite sides and began making their case to the people in the background.

Suddenly, they all stopped moving. The door that had been ominously sitting in the background began to emanate a powerful energy. Ever so slightly, it began to crack open. From between the meeting point of the two sides, a bright, white light began to glow, enveloping the room in a strange warmth. Hundreds of the people began to glow.

Most of those who became wrapped in this warm energy had silver eyes, though a few were gold.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The light from the door grew brighter and forced the Observer to look away. When they returned to the window, every one of the people that were wrapped in warmth before had vanished. The crack in the strange door vanished and it seemed to slam close.

Of the people left behind, they looked longingly at the massive doorway. The room around them began to crumble, leaving only the door behind. Once again, the Observer saw the field of flowers from the first image. In the background was the city from the second image, though the massive buildings and structures within seemed to be crumbling into dust and blowing away with the wind.

The remaining people sadly walked out of the scene, leaving only an empty field of flowers surrounding a door that went nowhere. A sudden sadness filled the Observer's heart for reasons they did not fully understand. While they pondered the meaning behind their emotions, the image in the window faded, and darkness enveloped them once again.

Two lights illuminated the void in the distance. The Observer turned away from where the window had been, faced the golden lights, and waited for them to approach. A feeling of dread welled up inside the Observer while the lights approached them before the lights stopped.

A massive, toothy grin joined the golden orbs. Each tooth was as long and sharp as a dagger. The being to which the teeth and orbs belonged towered over the Observer's diminutive form. Despite the amount of pressure and terror the being before them emanated, the Observer knew that no harm would befall them in this space.

"As promised, I have shown you the truth, " the being said. Its voice sounded like a cacophony of hundreds of voices in pain speaking at once, each painful sound wrapped around an underlying tone of confidence and mirth. It was as if the being had taken the voices of people suffering and joined them with its own.

The Observer stared in silent frustration, still feeling as though they were on the cusp of understanding. They seemed to be missing a minor piece of the puzzle, but it was an important one that would have solved a huge mystery. What was it that was only barely hidden by the fading of the second image? What was this being trying to show them?

Unable to speak, the Observer attempted to project its questions and frustrations at the being that approached them. The eyes and smile towered over a dozen feet over the Observer's head.

"I know you wish for more, but certain things prevent me from sharing more with you. I have given what I can; I hope this is repayment enough." The voice laughed, "I will leave you with this: what was, will never be again.

The past laid the stone on which the present is built, but those existing now are capable of shattering the foundation built by the past and change the future that was planned for the world."

Slowly, the void faded away, leaving the last thing the Observer saw to be the hungry golden eyes that had gazed upon them.