Daniel, Age 13, One Year Ago
Another day at the beach. The sand, warm and fine, ticked his toes as he followed the shoreline. Cassie swept low to touch the crest of a wave with her wingtip. The others played in the water or lounged in the shade.
“Daniel!” Wendi called. He approached where she dug in the sand, water welling in the nadir.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” He shrugged. “I’m building a sandcastle!” she pointed, indignant, at a lumpy mound of wet sand.
Daniel stared a moment, then blinked. “Of course you are.” He sighed with resignation. “Want help?”
She smiled. “Sure!”
“Alright.” He started giving directions, “Take a handful and put it on the side—no, not there, it’ll fall off!” As predicted, the packed sand fell away in a larger chunk than she’d added on. Vague instructions were worse than intuition. He needed to be more precise but wasn’t sure how.
“Hop on my back,” she said. “It’ll be easier to point at stuff with your eye on my level.” She was right, he admitted, and Daniel reluctantly climbed aboard.
He found he had a certain talent for sandcastles—he could spot weaknesses at a glance and predict landslides with uncanny accuracy. Wendi’s hands outperformed shovels, scooping buckets’ worth of sand and placing it with precision to the granule. Under his guidance, a recognizable structure emerged, and together they built the basics of their castle: walls, parapets, and a tower.
“Wow!” Paul the candle boy said. “You two are good.”
Daniel laughed, pleased and a little embarrassed at the castle’s rough edges. Then he had an idea. “Want to help?”
Paul did a double-take and pointed at himself. “Who, m-me? No…” He craned his neck to see the impressive structure, and a stream of wax spilled from the crown of his head. “What could I do?”
“Actually,” Daniel said. “I think we could go higher with a solid core for the towers and a good foundation. Wax is harder than sand.” Paul smiled.
They had to start over, but the new castle was taller and more stable. Daniel had Paul extend the core deep into the ground to keep the tower from falling. He showed the candle boy where the weight of the wax stressed the structure and how to distribute that stress through supports.
“Hey guys, think we could help?” Cassie said as she pushed Rana out of the shade, Lea pulling the frog girl by the arm.
“That’s perfect!” Daniel said. “We couldn’t go higher without a better coagulant for sand than water. With sticky slime, we can practically make bricks and mortar!”
They built higher and added turrets. Cassie decorated by dribbling sand from the air and shaped the hard-to-reach places. Lea lifted Wendi on her caramboles and levitated bricks of sand for the Caprid girl to place. They went higher, and Daniel noticed mounting stress from a slight tilt in the base—no more than a fraction of a degree multiplied by the height of the tower. He pointed and shouted, “It’s going to break right there!”
They heard a colossal snap.
The tower’s base cracked, and the whole thing started to fall. However, Kenta used Daniel’s warning to loop black strands around the pillar. The Kaminoke heaved, hair pulling taught, and the others grabbed hold of the lines to pull. They thanked Kenta for the save, righting the tower together as Rana glued the break shut and Paul added more support.
They added the final touches, fake windows, crenellations, a pointed roof, and a flag. They admired their work, congratulating each other. Lea laughed like tinkling bells, Cassie screamed her excitement, Kenta slapped Paul on the back with a grin, Wendi gave them a group hug, even Rana had a little smile, and they all took a moment to celebrate—admiring their teamwork.
“Well,” Kenta said with a sigh. “It’s about time to leave.” The others looked at the orange glow of the sherbet sunset over the water and knew he was right. “It is getting late, and the tide is coming in.”
“Hold on,” Wendi said as she rushed forward.
“What are you doing?” Daniel asked.
“It’s going to come down sooner or later. We should at least make it a spectacle!” the devil girl advocated.
“We shouldn’t leave any sign we were here,” Rana agreed.
Cassie giggled and flew to the top. She braced her leg-hands on the roof, her shoulders on a turret. Then she flapped her wings until cracks ran rampant. A carambole hit the cracks like a cannonball, and the turret fell to shatter on the beach.
They laughed as they tore apart three more turrets. Paul pushed at the base of one, not doing much until Kenta pulled from the other side. Rana did a few running jump-kicks to get another started, and Wendi punched it so hard the whole thing crumbled as the others clapped. They left the tower itself for last.
“You should do the honors, Dan,” Kenta said.
“Yeah!” Wendi agreed, “We couldn’t have done this without you!”
“It was your design,” Paul pointed out.
Cassie flew around the tower once and said, “You can do it, no problem!”
“It shouldn’t take more than a push,” Lea added with a wink.
“Don’t hesitate,” Rana said as she rounded the tower’s far side.
Daniel put both hands on the tower and stared at the flag on the roof with seven rings, one for each of them.
He pushed.
His feet dug deep into the sand for purchase, and incredible strength flowed through his thin body. He felt a crack in the core of the tower and pushed harder. The massive pillar leaned. With a tremendous groan from the heart of the structure, it reached the point of no return. Daniel stumbled to catch himself as the tower fell into the sea.
He watched as bricks of sand splashed into the waves and vanished beneath the surface. Joy and sadness churned inside him in equal measure as he laughed. A tear welled in his eye, then boiled away on his skin. He surveyed the waves beneath the sunset as they resumed their usual course.
“Why do we build castles in the sand?”
Daniel turned around. The beach was smooth and featureless as if no one had walked it for ten thousand years.
He was alone.
> Why Ask Me
>
> When You Already Know The Answer?
Daniel turned. Before him hovered an ancient, worn, and ragged robe that may have once dressed some grand forgotten king. It floated above the sand as if draped across the shoulders of a tall and muscular man, but there was no one there. No one at all. Above the faded robe hovered a broken crown of tarnished metal and dusty jewels. Without a doubt, he knew who this was.
Perses, The Ruin.
Had Daniel spoken? He had. His question had spilled out like a tear. Daniel knew he should be afraid, though he felt no fear of this eldritch being invading his dream. Instead, he gritted his teeth in anger at the intrusion. “Why are you here?”
> You Called Me
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> Daniel
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>
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> Earlier Than I Expected
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> Not For The Reason I Predicted
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> But You Called Me
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> The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“I didn’t call you. I never called you! Back then, I didn’t even know your name!”
> You Cannot Silence Your Heart
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>
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> Whether You Will It Or Not
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> Like Calls To Like
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> I Never Imagined You Would Call Me With The Eye Of Ruin
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> I Had Not Hoped There Would Ever Be Someone Like Me In That Way Again
Did Perses mean the strange things Daniel noticed that others didn’t?
“I can see the cracks in walls, the stress in structures, and the way magics interact. Wouldn’t that be natural for us? Don’t others of my kind have this Eye of Ruin as well?” His mind made an abrupt leap. “They use it to destroy, don’t they? Is that why they’re feared as one of The Thirteen?”
The Ruin turned to face the sea and the sunset. The crowned figure considered for a moment, then replied.
> Through Arduous Training
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> They Honed Their Eyes To See The Weaknesses Of Their Enemies
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> It Made Them Fearsome Warriors
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> Yet
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> In Their Ardor
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> They Forgot
> I Thought There Were None Among My Children Who Remembered Its Greatest Strength
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> The Eye Of Ruin’s True Purpose
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> To See It Demonstrated So Clearly
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> If Only By A Child
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> If Only In A Dream
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> A Feeling Stirs In Me I Thought Would Never Return
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> Very Well
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> You Have Earned A Little Of My Time
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> Ask
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> And I Will Answer
It wasn’t every day a being as powerful and terrible as Perses gave you a freebie. While cautious at first because he felt he’d done nothing to deserve this, Daniel knew he couldn’t afford to pass on the offer. He thought about the past day and a half.
“I know I have some special kind of strength. I can tap into it to do extraordinary things, but in other ways, I’m so weak. What is it, and how can I use it?”
The Ruin nodded as if he’d expected this question.
> The Strength Of Samson
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> Topple Any Pillar
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> Cast Down Any Working
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> Bring Low Any Monument Of Order
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> Use It To Push Or Pull
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> Crush Or Toss Aside The Obstacles in Your Way
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>
This confirmed his instincts and intuition, but hearing it directly from the Ruin changed things. Was it knowing the Name, an effect of Perses’ Voice, or the element of certainty? Confidence—Belief—made a considerable difference.
He had to know more. “I don’t understand how my abilities fit in a battle. My punches are too slow, and I can’t throw the Ruin as a projectile.”
> Your Touch Of Ruin Is An Extension Of Yourself
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> Would You Sever Your Own Hand To Throw It?
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> Change Your Thinking
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> Use Your Abilities In Concert
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> Combine Your Skills To Their Full Advantage
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>
He knew he could use these words. Believe in them. This was his chance to find the heart of his magic. He balled his fists as curiosity won.
“Where does the power come from when we destroy something?”
The Ruin tipped his crown to look down, though he had no body. He bent to take a fistful of sand and let the grains fall through nonexistent fingers as he stood.
> Matter Is Energy Given Form
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> When Someone Takes The Sand On The Beach
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> And Builds Something
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> With The Strength Of Their Bodies
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> And The Cleverness Of Their Minds
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> They Sculpt It With Their Will
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> Imbue It With Their Intent
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> Devote It To A Purpose
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> They Give Energy Form
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> When You Use Your Power To Break Something
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> You Are Purifying That Form
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> And Releasing Energy
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> When You Understand The Purpose Of That Form
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> When You Know The Intent Of Its Design
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> When You Can Accept Their Will
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> And You Are Renewed
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> That is Catharsis
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>
Daniel looked again at where the tower had been, smooth beach now, and a powerful impulse struck him.
“Why do we build castles in the sand?” he asked again.
The Ruin’s robe blustered with indignant anger, and Perses’ Voice became harsh as the desert wind, bitter as a tundra blizzard.
> You Think I Do Not Know?
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>
>
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> In Your Impudence
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> You Dare Imply I Have Forgotten?
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> No
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> The Answer Is Simple
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> Unforgettable
For a moment, just a moment, the Ruin’s Voice softened in imitation of another’s,
> “Because it’s fun.”
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>
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> I Was There
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> When The Worlds You Walk Were A Twinkle In The Eye Of A Dreamer
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> I Helped Them
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> I Told Them Where They Were Weak
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> And How To Become Strong
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> I Had Fun
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> I Loved Mine
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> As You Love Yours
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> Ask
One last question burned his lips. He feared to ask because he knew Perses would answer, but he had to know.
“Why do we knock them down?”
The Ruin stared with eyes in a skull that wasn’t there. Daniel would not meet those eyes beneath the crown no matter what—for they held the end of all things.
> I Am No Longer Having Fun
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> Daniel
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> As Patient As I Am
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> I Have Lost Patience With This Universe
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> It Is Time To Put Our Toys Away
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> It Is Time For A Change
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> When You Call Me Next
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> It Will Be With Your Lips
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> You Will Beg
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> And I Will Bring The Tide In
The sand beneath The Ruin sank into the void. The ground fissured and plummeted into nothing. Daniel retreated a step as the beach slid into the expanding pit, but spreading cracks devoured the land around him for miles. The ocean cascaded down an infinite thundering waterfall that swallowed the sea.
Above, the sun dimmed to blood red, decrepit with age. The horizon shattered, the sky’s edge crumbling like shards of broken glass. Emptiness gnawed at the firmament.
Daniel, on his shrinking island of sand, faced Perses looming over the abyss.
> I Will Wash Away The Castles Founded On Lies And Corruption
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> The Monuments Built On The Shoulders Of The Innocent, Their Blood In The Mortar
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> The False Idols Of Power and Greed
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> One Day
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> You Will See The Face Of The Universe Unmasked
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> Wasted, Scarred, Filthy, Sick, Ugly
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> And You Will Beg Me
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> YOU WILL CALL MY NAME
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> And The Good
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> And The Bad
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> Will Fall Together
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>
The sun died, and the stars went out.
~~~
Daniel woke with a start. Though she didn’t move, he knew by her breathing he’d woken Wendi.
“Take me outside,” he whispered.
She stirred, rudely awoken from frolicking in dreams with the Tsukumogami, dreams Daniel could not partake in, and moaned, “It’s the middle of the night, Danny. Go back to sleep.”
“Please, Wendi. I’m not getting more sleep tonight. I should at least get an early start.”
She smiled, eyes closed, then opened them and rose. “Sure.”