Chapter 1: The Loophole& A Dying Desire
At the very last moment of the fight i barely remember, i nearly whited out. I couldnt see, it was very difficult to breathe, but worse than all of this... i remembered what happened so many years ago, long before the now befalling time compression even came to be. It was a time when i was barely 8 years old, and my mother was by was side all the time. We went to a town that was rumored to be in bad shape to help, but we got attacked out of nowhere as if we had committed the greatest of crimes. A very angry looking group of people came out holding torches and large sticks as if they were expecting us and looked ready to kill both of us. Having only been about 8 years old, i was too scared to do anything but back away. My mother, however, stood up to them bravely and used her power causing several of them to vanish into a hazy void. The people were very spooked and shocked at her power, and just as she prepared to make more of them perish, one of them started to go directly for me, and i cried "Mommy...! help...!" alarmed by being thrown off guard, she immediately saw the man raising his large stick and to my shock, she leaped right in front of him pushing me out of the way. I rolled on the ground not very far off after she pushed me and i thought i had heard her scream. I quickly got up and saw my beloved mother completely motionless and wounded on the ground. I ran to her and tried to shake her awake, but she wouldnt move or open her eyes. I started to cry realizing she died trying to keep me from harm. Before i had a chance to run away, what was left of the violent and vicious group started to close in on me laughing. I backed away, unable to eliminate my fear and loss of my mother at the same time. Then i screamed crying heavily, not realizing what was about to come next. Suddenly, i heard a loud roar very close by and opened my eyes still in tears. I saw a large, black and crimson furred beast attacking them and before long, many of them were dead by its monstrous strength. Only a few of them were left, and they ran off screaming and panicking without hesitation. I was so shocked by the sudden turn of events, all i could do was stand there and look at the powerful creature. I realized i had unconsciously used my power to turn a statue in this town into a living creature. i started to calm down and looked at my gloved hand in surprise. My final words during this nightmare were "I will get them, Mother... i will grow as strong as you and make all of them pay of this, no matter the price, no matter how far i must go...!" I tightened my fist and looked at the beast born by my power, then said "Griever... your name will be Griever. And you will help me get revenge for what they did to my mother."
After the flashback that was only the dawn of my lifelong nightmare and prelude to my reign of power, I woke up unexpectedly. I felt very weak, barely able to even stand. I sat up and looked around, then saw a woman with long black hair in a black casual dress. She came up to me and held her hand out. I realized she knew I was a weakened sorceress, waiting for me to give her my powers so i could rest in peace. I tried to do it, but i couldnt. I couldnt let go... i didnt want to disappear, no matter how much i might be suffering. I had to keep going regardless of how much i get knocked down and trampled on by ignorant people. I looked at her and shook my head, realizing i was crying. "I... I cant do it... I cant disappear yet..." She lowered her hand in shock, surprised by my answer and inability to let go. I suddenly had just enough strength to stand up, and started walking out of the strange place i somehow wound up in after taking heavy damage in my former domain. I wasnt able to walk very fast at all, though. But at the same time, i just wouldnt stumble and fall no matter what. I should not have survived what had gone wrong in my castle... i was to give my powers to another and fade away. But something was preventing me from doing it. I couldnt fail what i sworn to do... i had to live on, and try again... that was the only way I would ever return to my true self--the only way I'd get the life i desired back. After i had gotten out of the stony house, i managed to pass through an open field and ended up in the town i hated so much. I widened my eyes in shock when i saw a lot of people comin and going doing beats me what. I stood still and said "But thats impossible... did i not kompress time...?! how...?!" I hardened my expression and suddenly gained enough strength to start running through the area and toward another city, only to come across the same thing: even more people coming and going as if nothing threatening was happening. I groaned in fury and tightened my fist, leaving and running past another very annoying place but i did not enter. I yelled "This is impossible! After all of that... all that work, this is what i find?!" I sat on the grassy ground and put my face in my arms, unable to bear my obvious failure. My mind went back, showing flashbacks of my long-lost mother's face. I had grown looking a lot like her... and despite it being over a thousand years ago, i could never forget or let go of the only thing that ever knew love... that ever showed love in any way. This world hates our kind. Endless wars are inevitable as long as either they or we exist. And i was bound and determined not to let it end with us being erased; that was why i went through with compression of time. Or had thought I did. I failed my objective, my mother still wasnt coming back... suddenly, i didnt know what to do. I had already been discovered unexpectedly by a group of enemies. That immediately put all the hatred directly towards me instead of some useless pawn that didnt matter. I looked up at the sky confused and afraid. Suddenly, someone came close to me and looked at me. It was a man i thought id recognized, but he seemed different somehow. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a very long silver coat... but he didnt seem like the exact same person who had given up on me before i got discovered. He said "What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere, huh? and why are you crying?" I sneered and stood up, saying "Im not crying. And im here because my home has disappeared due to an unexpected accident. I have nowhere else to go." He laughed holding his weapon over his shoulder "Crybaby chicken, bok bok!" I groaned and kicked him very hard "Shut your rotten mouth, you insect!" He staggered back as if it hurt badly "Oww! Hey cool it, i was just kidding..." I looked away crossing my arms and sighed "Well you made a joke at a very bad time. Im not exactly in a good mood at this time." He shrugged and then looked at me in a very strange way "Have we seen each other before? I swear i should know you but nothing's coming to mind for me here..." I looked back to him, and replied "I dont know. But the klock is ticking and i have to get a move on." He laughed a bit and said "So where to? You said you lost your home." I sighed and looked down not saying anything. I knew he was right, but i didnt want to admit it. Ever since that horrid day, i never wanted to admit any person was right about anything. He went to my side and said "Hey, the name is Seifer. If youre stuck with nowhere to go, you should come with me. Im gonna show the place i spent my childhood and teenage years." I looked at him surprised, but decided not to give my name. I didnt want to get surrounded by a human army of heavily armed soldiers. I decided to nod in silence and follow him since he didnt seem to recognize me. Time compression has somehow stopped, and people are going about their business like nothing unusual or frightening to them had happened at all... What exactly happened to my time here? Was there some kind of distortion in time when i grew weak that warped people's memories? My castle was nowhere to be seen, the ones i had defeated had all returned as if nothing had happened at all. And I seemed to be the only one aware of what was going on here, to make things stranger than they already were quickly becoming. But maybe it will be fine as long as I dont have thousands trying to kill me like the setup that took my mother away from me... maybe i will not be hated like she was just for being powerful. I didnt know how to count on such a far-fetched fantasy, but in this position, with all my hard work ruined and completely foiled, i didnt have many options...
To Be Continued...
At the very last moment of the fight i barely remember, i nearly whited out. I couldnt see, it was very difficult to breathe, but worse than all of this... i remembered what happened so many years ago, long before the now befalling time compression even came to be. It was a time when i was barely 8 years old, and my mother was by was side all the time. We went to a town that was rumored to be in bad shape to help, but we got attacked out of nowhere as if we had committed the greatest of crimes. A very angry looking group of people came out holding torches and large sticks as if they were expecting us and looked ready to kill both of us. Having only been about 8 years old, i was too scared to do anything but back away. My mother, however, stood up to them bravely and used her power causing several of them to vanish into a hazy void. The people were very spooked and shocked at her power, and just as she prepared to make more of them perish, one of them started to go directly for me, and i cried "Mommy...! help...!" alarmed by being thrown off guard, she immediately saw the man raising his large stick and to my shock, she leaped right in front of him pushing me out of the way. I rolled on the ground not very far off after she pushed me and i thought i had heard her scream. I quickly got up and saw my beloved mother completely motionless and wounded on the ground. I ran to her and tried to shake her awake, but she wouldnt move or open her eyes. I started to cry realizing she died trying to keep me from harm. Before i had a chance to run away, what was left of the violent and vicious group started to close in on me laughing. I backed away, unable to eliminate my fear and loss of my mother at the same time. Then i screamed crying heavily, not realizing what was about to come next. Suddenly, i heard a loud roar very close by and opened my eyes still in tears. I saw a large, black and crimson furred beast attacking them and before long, many of them were dead by its monstrous strength. Only a few of them were left, and they ran off screaming and panicking without hesitation. I was so shocked by the sudden turn of events, all i could do was stand there and look at the powerful creature. I realized i had unconsciously used my power to turn a statue in this town into a living creature. i started to calm down and looked at my gloved hand in surprise. My final words during this nightmare were "I will get them, Mother... i will grow as strong as you and make all of them pay of this, no matter the price, no matter how far i must go...!" I tightened my fist and looked at the beast born by my power, then said "Griever... your name will be Griever. And you will help me get revenge for what they did to my mother."
After the flashback that was only the dawn of my lifelong nightmare and prelude to my reign of power, I woke up unexpectedly. I felt very weak, barely able to even stand. I sat up and looked around, then saw a woman with long black hair in a black casual dress. She came up to me and held her hand out. I realized she knew I was a weakened sorceress, waiting for me to give her my powers so i could rest in peace. I tried to do it, but i couldnt. I couldnt let go... i didnt want to disappear, no matter how much i might be suffering. I had to keep going regardless of how much i get knocked down and trampled on by ignorant people. I looked at her and shook my head, realizing i was crying. "I... I cant do it... I cant disappear yet..." She lowered her hand in shock, surprised by my answer and inability to let go. I suddenly had just enough strength to stand up, and started walking out of the strange place i somehow wound up in after taking heavy damage in my former domain. I wasnt able to walk very fast at all, though. But at the same time, i just wouldnt stumble and fall no matter what. I should not have survived what had gone wrong in my castle... i was to give my powers to another and fade away. But something was preventing me from doing it. I couldnt fail what i sworn to do... i had to live on, and try again... that was the only way I would ever return to my true self--the only way I'd get the life i desired back. After i had gotten out of the stony house, i managed to pass through an open field and ended up in the town i hated so much. I widened my eyes in shock when i saw a lot of people comin and going doing beats me what. I stood still and said "But thats impossible... did i not kompress time...?! how...?!" I hardened my expression and suddenly gained enough strength to start running through the area and toward another city, only to come across the same thing: even more people coming and going as if nothing threatening was happening. I groaned in fury and tightened my fist, leaving and running past another very annoying place but i did not enter. I yelled "This is impossible! After all of that... all that work, this is what i find?!" I sat on the grassy ground and put my face in my arms, unable to bear my obvious failure. My mind went back, showing flashbacks of my long-lost mother's face. I had grown looking a lot like her... and despite it being over a thousand years ago, i could never forget or let go of the only thing that ever knew love... that ever showed love in any way. This world hates our kind. Endless wars are inevitable as long as either they or we exist. And i was bound and determined not to let it end with us being erased; that was why i went through with compression of time. Or had thought I did. I failed my objective, my mother still wasnt coming back... suddenly, i didnt know what to do. I had already been discovered unexpectedly by a group of enemies. That immediately put all the hatred directly towards me instead of some useless pawn that didnt matter. I looked up at the sky confused and afraid. Suddenly, someone came close to me and looked at me. It was a man i thought id recognized, but he seemed different somehow. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a very long silver coat... but he didnt seem like the exact same person who had given up on me before i got discovered. He said "What are you doing out in the middle of nowhere, huh? and why are you crying?" I sneered and stood up, saying "Im not crying. And im here because my home has disappeared due to an unexpected accident. I have nowhere else to go." He laughed holding his weapon over his shoulder "Crybaby chicken, bok bok!" I groaned and kicked him very hard "Shut your rotten mouth, you insect!" He staggered back as if it hurt badly "Oww! Hey cool it, i was just kidding..." I looked away crossing my arms and sighed "Well you made a joke at a very bad time. Im not exactly in a good mood at this time." He shrugged and then looked at me in a very strange way "Have we seen each other before? I swear i should know you but nothing's coming to mind for me here..." I looked back to him, and replied "I dont know. But the klock is ticking and i have to get a move on." He laughed a bit and said "So where to? You said you lost your home." I sighed and looked down not saying anything. I knew he was right, but i didnt want to admit it. Ever since that horrid day, i never wanted to admit any person was right about anything. He went to my side and said "Hey, the name is Seifer. If youre stuck with nowhere to go, you should come with me. Im gonna show the place i spent my childhood and teenage years." I looked at him surprised, but decided not to give my name. I didnt want to get surrounded by a human army of heavily armed soldiers. I decided to nod in silence and follow him since he didnt seem to recognize me. Time compression has somehow stopped, and people are going about their business like nothing unusual or frightening to them had happened at all... What exactly happened to my time here? Was there some kind of distortion in time when i grew weak that warped people's memories? My castle was nowhere to be seen, the ones i had defeated had all returned as if nothing had happened at all. And I seemed to be the only one aware of what was going on here, to make things stranger than they already were quickly becoming. But maybe it will be fine as long as I dont have thousands trying to kill me like the setup that took my mother away from me... maybe i will not be hated like she was just for being powerful. I didnt know how to count on such a far-fetched fantasy, but in this position, with all my hard work ruined and completely foiled, i didnt have many options...
To Be Continued...
