“in Tartarus,

i alone am the 

fallen,

the false light in waking dreams,

and the one bathed in oblivion,

the harbinger of chaos,

in a proud kingdom

the pinnacle of hate,

or the tempest in the loneliest clouds,

the unruly prince”

once upon a time,

there was a prince in a little kingdom

a kingdom, hidden in a forest of fine birch

he lived behind,

cobbled walls

walls, from where you could barely see

the vast terrain

“my my, what kind of world might there be beyond these walls?”, the prince would say

his mother, the queen,

forbade him from leaving the castle walls

fearing,

the prophecy once told by the court’s shaman:

“he who slays the moon,

shall be brought to this world

on the day the sky would lose all its light”

and so was he,

born at the death of a month,

the time when skies would gray in thunderstorms,

and the moon masqueraded by darkness 

the prince yearned for,

a piece of the outside world

in a kingdom where the abundance of vanity lay,

he felt void of the warmth of a home

as he was approaching his 20th,

he would soon be married off,

to the daughter of a country-where-the-sun-never-sets

the prince did not want that,

for he never wanted the crown in the first place 

but to tell that to the queen,

would mean disgrace – 

an embarrassment he could never shoulder 

so as any wise youngster,

he decided to sneak off

and his golden hair?

was the weapon smith’s caravan

with an excuse to take an afternoon nap,

the prince snuck into the caravan as the castle gates were lifted

there, the prince experienced his first brush with the free world:

wind, the sound of birds, and the shaking of the caravan 

however,

the prince soon fell from the fleet, miscalculating the speed at which it would go

knocked on the ground, 

a stranger quickly rushed towards him

you’d imagine they came to his rescue,

except no, they were busy looting him

the prince, startled, 

tried reprimanding them

only for our kind stranger to run away

as pathetic as it may be,

our prince starts to run toward them

breathless,

he trips soon

the stranger stops to only stare at the prince,

laughing at his misfortune

giving into the pathetic excuse of a

soon-to-be king,

the stranger took off their cloak, 

revealing herself 

the prince, stupefied by her appearance,

demanded an explanation

her response:

“my my, you’re not from here are you?”

the woman revealed herself as a bandit,

stealing from noblemen and

giving to the locals

to the prince, this was as foreign a concept

as the grass in front of the castle walls

but he could not protest,

“how would i ever know what to say

in things i never read about?”

as he lay on the ground with new questions,

the bandit extended her hand

and so began,

on the most unpleasant evening,

a friendship born of contradicting ideals

a friendship,

that would soon spell despair

the prince would often sneak out,

to meet this friend of his

and each time,

he would give away something 

of “value” to him

and each time,

the bandit would slowly warm up to him

to the prince,

nothing felt more valuable than the outside world,

and the world she brought to him

from jumping into streams,

to tripping into mud pools 

she crashed into his world,

and made it anew

before the prince knew it,

he truly did love her 

despite knowing that her heart was always,

out in the wilderness that she could never leave behind

despite their worlds submerging into one,

a kingdom came between them

as cruel as fate can be,

soon the bandit was apprehended by the queen’s guards

their secret safe,

yet now she was to be executed

the prince was conflicted in his conviction,

how could he turn against the very kingdom that,

gave him the “world”?

isn’t the vast riches,

the power to hold a country,

and the title,

mean everything to one? 

that’s when,

the stupid prince decided

he would forsake everything for her

isn’t that just sad?

he protested to the queen,

betraying the throne

as a result,

the furious queen took her sword,

pointing at her only son:

“you dare defy the blessed kingdom,

for a thief?”

the prince, with courage stemming from his beating heart:

“yes, and i intend to leave everything for her”

the prophecy was coming true,

in fear of losing the kingdom,

the queen told the guards to lock the prince,

and to execute the bandit 

as soon as the sun set

in a cellar full of bones,

the prince was beaten till his legs couldn’t move

to the unfamiliar gaze,

he wasn’t a prince anymore 

in the verge of tears as he’s shackled by rusted chains,

the prince begs for help

he keeps shouting and shouting,

calling out her name

until his throat too, starts bleeding

suddenly, he hears a voice

a voice that could send chills down anyone’s spine,

a voice that wasn’t human

it asks: “are you the next king of this kingdom?”

“yes”

“if i were to help you, 

what would you give me?”

“anything you ask for, i want to save her now!”

“if i ask for her soul, would you let it be mine for the taking?”

“no, anything but her!”

“is that so? then tell me,

are you willing to sacrifice your very existence for her to live?”

“what do you mean?”

“to have never been born at all,

to become one with malice?”

the prince ponders for a while,

then he responds:

“will she live unburdened if i do so?”

“you have my word”

“i accept your offer, but who are you?”

from the ground,

an oozy shadowy figure emerges

its eyes gleaming red

soon the shadow melts away,

revealing its broken horn,

and his hellish grin

in a folktale he heard as a child,

there was once upon a time,

a noble who tried to conquer the world,

his pride consumed him,

till he became one with the blood of his enemies,

and thus lost his humanity

and became one with the shadows 

and soon enough,

the prince was engulfed in the very same shadow,

his flesh burning in its dark ooze 

the chains broke apart,

and to his surprise,

all his wounds were gone

but now his eyes changed its hue,

and he too bared fangs

in front of him,

the man in the shadows presented a sword,

a falchion

grabbing it, the prince slashed the bars that barred him inside

it was cut off with ease

understanding the power he’s received,

the prince walks to the execution grounds

as he comes to the grounds,

he sees her, 

tied to a wooden stake

the executioners waiting for the moon

to bloom in its full glory 

furious, the prince at inhumane speed,

starts to cut apart each and every one of the guards,

they all try to stop him,

but even they couldn’t realize that they were in fact,

already dead

as the moon bloomed fully,

it was revered by the massacre of a hundred soldiers

the prince then heads to the stake,

releasing the bandit

and in that moment,

both of them stare at each other

the prince could see the fear in her eyes as

the fool she once knew,

was now a ghost of what was the man

she could entrust the world to

“are you alright?”

“who are you?”, she demands

heartbroken, the prince turns his back on her

as he senses the queen approaching

the queen stood in front of him,

furious, and her face full of rage

“i should’ve let you rot the day you were born, scum”

after all, the prince was never her child 

suddenly, 

the three of them were greeted by a shrilling laughter 

from the shadows,

he again emerged 

“did you forget our deal, my dear prince?”

“no, i haven’t”

the bandit and the queen confused and in horror,

witnessing the abomination standing between them

“pierce the moon,

it’s about time”

in the sky, 

the moon now bloody red,

the prophecy was coming in full circle

the prince, taking one good look at the bandit,

he smiles 

the bandit in tears, pleads to him to forsake the deal 

“it’s too late, and besides

a world where you’re happy

is a world i can live with”

the prince turns his eyes to the moon 

sprouting wings from his back,

he starts to fly to the moon

the queen begs him to stop,

but at that point,

the prince was already above the atmosphere

clutching his blade tight,

the prince pierced the moon

soon enough,

the moon shattered

and from the moon,

a burst of crimson light engulfed the prince

burning him up,

the prince accepted his fate with a smile

letting it go,

he starts falling into infinity

his last thought,

being that of the day they met for the first time

the world reset itself,

to a world where the prince was never born

the kingdom remained as it always did,

dull, quiet

and the king to still be alive

and with the queen, they had three children

the world beyond the castle gates, 

remained the same as well

except,

now at night

monsters lurk the woods

often, giants and golems 

try to enter the castle gates

in this new world, 

humanity is no longer the 

ruler of the land, air, and the seas

these titans prevailed 

like they’ve always existed

the bandit,

now the kingdom’s monster exterminator,

leads all her quests alone

and now revered as the strongest slayer in the country 

in her off times,

she trains the kids in the nearby village

to use swords and bows

living her life content,

she somehow feels as though

something is missing

seldom in thought,

she finds solace in the river

thinking as though somewhere along the river,

she’d find a lifeline

soon enough,

reports of a powerful demon came to the king’s attention

“meria, i need you to vanquish it

but be sure to stay safe”

soon, the-bandit-now-a-slayer 

rushed to the deepest part of the forest

where the reports of the demon,

was heard

as she entered the giant crater of the forest,

she sees a humanoid creature whistling

the entity, sensing her presence,

turned its back to face her

what she saw was,

a man with yellow gleaming eyes,

garbed in dark clothes

and a falchion stabbed on the ground

“who are you?”

the man, smiles,

“i believe i’m the demon you’re here to exorcise”

meria draws her blade,

“so you creatures can talk?”

he takes his blade from the ground,

“i feel like i know you from somewhere”

and the two clash their blades

the tale of the prince and the bandit ends,

and the birth of a new story

of two mortal enemies was soon etched into

history

now, where was i in this new world?

i was never gone to begin with,

and as for the prophecy,

the folktale,

none of it were true to begin with,

i’d know for i wrote them,

and even now i gaze from the shadows of the trees,

smiling at the anarchy i’ve brought to an innocent world

after all,

i hate the smell of humanity on a bloody moonlight 

as their blades clashed,

both in a stalemate

although both of them were supposed to kill the other,

the thrill of their battle 

made it sure they eventually fled,

and for the years to come

one would hunt the other,

and the other letting himself be hunted

the red string of fate

in their two worlds will always,

bind them together 

whether it be damned lovers,

or mortal enemies,

destiny cannot outwrite the tale of two souls,

bound by fate itself  

for each world that will be born,

i will always make sure you smile

in every birth i take,

i know in an infinite cycle of the universe,

dying and rebirthing,

the world falls with us.