In a realm far removed from the eyes of reality, there stood a man wearing a green beanie, his gaze fixed intensely upon a billowing wall of gray smoke.
However, to say that he was 'standing' wouldn't be entirely true, nor would it be accurate to call the 'gray smoke' a 'wall.' In this realm which physics and laws dare not touch, the orientation of objects and the positioning of its scenery are all thoroughly distorted. Depending on what kind of lens you use and from where you view the scene will create what kind of scene you see.
This space is known to all who have come across it as the 'barely defined.' It is known for its un-fleshed out concepts and ideas that seem to fluctuate rapidly between 'existing' and 'not existing'.
Surrounding the barely defined is a perimeter wall known as the 'primordial gray,' believed by many to be what created the entire known universe. This defining feature led some to simply refer to this realm as the 'gray,' and its primordial gray exterior the 'cycle of existence.'"
Within this distorted realm of sporadic existence, a boy with a leather jacket adorned with red stripes appeared seemingly out of thin air, walking over to the man in the beanie.
"Father, what are you doing? Why haven't you come home yet?" the boy asked, tears starting to show in his eyes, showcasing the long journey he had traveled just to get here.
The beanie-wearing father didn't even give his child a glance. "Son... How does our home compare to a wall?" He shook his head with dreadful disappointment. "If I went back home... How would you make it up to me?" He finished the sentence, raising his voice to a roar-like shout. "How could you EVER repay me for missing a glimpse of what is behind THIS WALL!?!"
The leather-jacketed boy cowered at his father's words, tears streaming down his face.
"QUIT your CRYING!!!" The father barked, still steadfast with his stare at the gray, "Straighten up and stand next to your father." He pointed to the ground next to him.
The boy's tears stopped, and they disappeared like they never existed, he moved over swiftly to stand next to his father.
The father began to teach his son. "Stand tall and gaze at the wall with me. Over time you will understand why one looks beyond this smoke even over their own existence."
The boy peered into the primordial gray, trying to understand his father's words, but all he could think about was his family.
"Father, I'm sorry. I see nothing. I couldn't see beyond the gray swirls, my only thoughts were when you were back home with Mom and I."
The father didn't respond to his son's thoughts.
"Father, I need direction! Tell me what I am supposed to see," the boy insisted, his tone filled with urgency.
The father remained silent, his eyes dry from a stare that seemed to have lasted an eternity.
"It's impossible to know exactly what you will see when you look behind the wall," the father said slowly, closing his eyes for the first time before opening them abruptly. "But I can tell you what is hidden from you."
"For behind the primordial gray lies the answers to life's greatest mysteries, all the travel logs for the unexplored universe, and an incredible mountain. Where if you scale its summit, you can see all of existence – the legendary peak of existence!"
"But, above all else, this wall hides a pair of curtains to your own personal ambition and future!" The father raised his arms emphatically, giving a deep and cosmic laugh at the end of his speech.
"Currently, you live within the definable red. You can't see beyond the wall because you are too attached to your own existence. Your eyes are blinded by thoughts of your family, your lifespan, and, most of all, your self. You need to realize that today's you is obsolete to tomorrow's you, that your entire existence will one day become a thing of the past and fade back into the primordial wall, completing your existence's cycle."
The boy became terrified from his father's words.
The father looked at the child for the first time since they started their conversation. "Fear not, child, for although your existence is fleeting, there is one thing that will never disappear, no matter how much time passes, something that is truly immortal."
The boy looked at his father with curiosity.
"It is called the undefinable GREEN! In it holds our very own future, and as long as we look to it... it will never disappear; and it too is behind this very wall!"
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"Together, one day, as father and son, let's venture forth and explore the green... let's become its first pioneers and behold the indescribable landscapes offered from this undefinable expanse." The father finished by laughing uproariously.
The son smiled for the first time at his fathers proclamation, and his father returned to looking at the wall. The boy thought to himself about the green; he imagined a never-ending field filled with green grass and trees. In that scene, he and his father stood smiling hand in hand, each carrying backpacks and walking sticks, as they trekked across the unfamiliar fields.
The boy turned to look at the wall and instead of gray swirls, he saw a pair of curtains which were peeling back to reveal the vision he saw exploring the green with his father.
"Father! Father! I saw a glimpse of what's beyond the wall. I saw the undefined green! It is real!" The boy spoke excitedly. Sharing this moment with his father, he felt a strong sense of happiness for the first time in his life.
"Good job, son. I knew you could do it." The father smiled warmly, his eyes still fixed on the wall.
"But, child don't get complacent because looking at the wall is only the first step. You need to understand the truth about life and its ladder of obsolescence."
His tone turned serious as he slowly explained. "Those who lived in the past are obsolete, those which live in the present are temporary, and those which will live in the future are immortal."
"By staring at the undefined you have only managed to push yourself into the fringes between being temporary and being immortal. But to take the second step... it can be quite the leap." The father frowned at his own words.
***
In the Rookie Fighter arena, Ged, a small boy with bushy green hair fell quickly towards the ground.
Ged observed the arena ceiling growing more distant and felt the air ripple beneath him.
"So, this is how I die?" Ged thought to himself.
A profound relief washed over him, as if a colossal weight had been lifted from his chest. His mind relaxed, realizing that all his current worries had vanished. However, in this calm, he noticed something – a hidden chain situated inside his eyes connecting his future desires to his present circumstances. Unfettered by consequences, Ged scooped his eyes from their sockets, crushing them within his palms, and breaking his connection to reality.
In that moment, Ged became enlightened.
The chain broke, and his present and future split into two. His future became an emerald green body, which escaped into the gray curtains, while his present body continued its descent to the ground.
His future body sat motionless behind the curtains surrounded by billowing gray smoke. He looked through the unfurled curtains to catch a glimpse of the opposite side, but instead of reality all he saw was red.
With a painful, splattering sound, Ged's body hit the ground.
***
In a darkly lit room located somewhere in the Rookie arena hallway, three people stood by a table where a human shaped figure was covered with a white sheet.
"I've met this child before... He was one of the few people who immigrated to this town and actually cared to get along with the locals." An old man with a white beard stood over the white sheeted individual.
"You know when I met with the reverend... you know what he told me? A man who hates to see even the changing tide, had a smile on his face, and he told me that he was happy that his son finally found a friend... His son who was shunned by the other village children found his first friend and he didn't even grow up here." A tear rolled down his cheek. "You know he tried to call me the other day..."
He choked up a little, "late at night he called, but I was too busy to pick up the phone." He sniffled. "I apologize for all I said today, my demands for how you should run your arena, I always thought my duty in life was to make this town a better place, a place for children to grow up and thrive in."
"But, this boy was in trouble, and I ignored his cries for help; I'm the true monster here." The old man kneeled to the ground next to the sheet as he gave out an ugly sounding cry.
"Ralph... You need not blame yourself; I'm sure he had his reasons," a young man with combed hair and business casual attire replied.
"BUT IT IS MY FAULT!!!" Ralph screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Fern, you don't understand, you didn't meet him. You didn't look at his life filled eyes filled with the hope of the future, like I did. I denied him his future, he came to live in this town and I left him to rot as a corpse. How can it not be my fault?"
A beautiful woman with oval eyes, tied-back hair, and dark-rimmed glasses quietly smiled off to the side. Not a hint of emotion could be seen in her eyes, but it wasn't that she wasn't affected by the sight of the broken Ralph; rather, she chose not to show it.
She sorrowfully lowered her head. "It is truly a shame what happened to poor Ged. Just before he entered the arena, he told me that this is where his dreams lay. But, to see him like this..."
"Children are truly too cruel too themselves. They will stop at nothing to realize their dreams, not even taking into account their own lives." She shook her head. "I'm sorry for my earlier rudeness, Ralph, I'll put in another request to get the arena platform lowered."
Jen then began to walk away to the door. "I have to return to my work, it's been my pleasure, but I'll leave you two by yourselves."
"Wait!" Ralph called out.
"I've been truly blind to this all, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I will make sure this fighter facility gets built and find a way to make the people understand, I don't want to see another child under this sheet. Please, Jen, if you have any way to revive this poor child, I'm willing to pay any price. Even stripping away my title of mayor."
Jen had a hidden smile underneath her face, an apparition of a headless demon appeared behind her as she spoke. "That won't be necessary, this child, I will make sure he is taken care of personally." She then continued to leave out through the door.
"Oh! I almost forgot," she stopped herself. "The second wave of immigrants are about to arrive, I believe forty-five families will be coming here soon."
"With five gold fighters, with the influx of silver and gold fighters coming to this town, the government is sending several trucks filled with supplements and food. Please look over the papers that we sent you so you can approve of the contents specified." With that she left through the door leaving Ralph and Fern by the motionless Ged.
Ralph looked at the sheeted boy pondering, "Was this the right path?"
Fern looked on to Ralph with pity on his face, "You did your best. Although the people might criticize your decision today, in the future they will understand."