as the very soil of the ground beneath me carried me forward I felt as if all of my senses were heightened. my, hearing, taste, and smell were so heightened that nothing escaped my notice

I felt an ache in my bones and my limbs, my muscles screamed in pain but I still couldn't sense or see anything

I tried hard to concentrate but the pain racing through made it extremely difficult

It was so bad it was almost unbearable. I didn't know what else to do except try and ignore the pain

Then a voice broke my focus.

" you are alright."

The voice is distant like it's coming from somewhere outside of me and not in here.

it wasn't silver as far I could tell

It wasn't until the pain suddenly subsided that I was able to concentrate and finally opened my eyes with clear red vision flooding my sight

I was laying on the floor with my arms stretched out across the cold marble ground.

The light was so bright, that it burned my skin.

My body was completely covered in sweat

but, there wasn't a speck of dirt anywhere on me.

u tried to look around but I wasn't able to move my head all I could see was a giant done above me which was disturbingly familiar

suddenly I felt myself being Lyft above the ground until I was face to face with an odd group of people who were looking at me with worry

One of them,

a young man wearing a European knight armour

had white hair, he was smiling at me like an old friend

he caught my notice because I could see his white hair in my red vision

to his right sat an old man with a long beard and wrinkled dusted crumbling yellow skin looking at me intently with his wise-looking eyes

silver was sitting on his lap beaming at me like an idiot

there were others but couldn't make them out as they shimmered and blended with the shadows as if they themselves were shadows and nothing else

I was just staring back at all of them when they all started moving again

they started heading towards me

I tried to stand up but my body refused to listen as they encircled me

suddenly

They started laughing and smiled at me as if I was an old friend.

it was weird seeing shadows laughing and cackling

finally, the old man stopped and looked at me with a smile so

kind and warm, like sunlight, it seemed to melt away the darkness that had engulfed me and cast light over everything.

when with his missing and crooked death the smile looked elegant

"Welcome, child of wrath we meet at last"

His voice held power. He was so kind and friendly

like sunshine.

and

the rest of the strange shadow creatures that came forward to greet me were no different,

their voices were all gentle like the sun and they too were welcoming me

even though I couldn't see but them I could feel them

I couldn't help but feel comforted

but the words the old man said were too disturbing to put aside

for much more than a moment

"We need your help."

They said in unison

"You have come to a land filled with shadows

where light means death"

I was feeling slightly confused

okay more than slightly

what was happening?

"Yes we do need your help, and you must choose wisely your gift child, no choose child of wrath"

they said in songlike tones in unison

the old man lost his friendly smile as he took out two orbs from his robes

he placed the orbs each in each hand of silver who finally stood in front with a beaming smile offering me the two orbs

the orbs. were saying brightly even with my red coloured sight I could see the colours much like the young knight's hair colour

the orbs glowed with bright yellow and green colours as they were held out to me

the orbs were flawlessly smooth without a hint of

imperfection,

they glistened like the stars that twinkle above us

the orbs were glowing, as if alive, with life energy and hope.

As much as I wanted to reach out and

grab the orbs

in my hands

I hesitated

because this world seemed dark to me

darker than usual

darker than the night before a storm

darker than my own heart

darker than any shadow that has yet to find its way into this world

the lightness that the orbs radiated with strength and power that I could feel

from their presence alone was intoxicating, to say the least

but the shadows that surrounded us were darker than any shades I have ever seen in my life

I couldn't help but feel like I was missing so vital information

I looked at the group full of confusion and suspiciousness

"Who are you?" I asked

"choose" they sang

"where am I?"

"choose"

"why should I choose?"

"choose"

"what is it am choosing?"

"choose"

I was getting frustrated no matter what I asked them they just sang the word choose over and over again

when Silver had lost his baby smile and was looking at me with a worried expression

but the more they wanted me to choose the less I wanted to choose

my mind was clouding with confusion and worry

was something wrong

was I hurt

did something happen

were these people dangerous

should I be afraid of them

"What do you want from me?"

"choose"

"how am I supposed to make a choice?"

"CHOOSE"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

When I heard the echo of thunder crash against the sky when the I heard the word choose I was terrified and the next thing I knew was screaming on the top of my lungs

I screamed like a ferocious animal with so much strength that my throat began to hurt

" I will not choose" I shouted with all my strength

my lungs began burning with pain my throat was dry that I was sure I won't be able to speak for a week

but it was worth it

this time they did not find the word choose

the like day me with open hostility

gone where their friendly smiles and welcoming nature

the young knight began trembling

"How dare you....." he stared but he was hit with a backhand slap from one of the shadow people

at least I thought it was a slap by the sound it made

the young man wearing a European knight full armour regalia stumble back and looked dangerously at the shadow

the shadow began to tremble and bend in odd shape soon or morphed into the shape of a man

I was astonished

the man was the most beautiful and I had ever seen in my life

his face was perfectly symmetrical with a strong jawline and a sharp nose

his lips were plump and shiny

his skin was flawless and stunned with a good hue

his eyebrows had a slight arch to them making him seem almost angelic

his eyes were deep blue

and soft but they held such wisdom and intelligence

he easily towered over the knight and the old man

his golden hair was pulled into a ponytail

and cascaded down his shoulders

it was beautiful and enchanting

it was breathtakingly gorgeous

it felt like I was seeing a work of master art

I could not tear my eyes away

not that I could even if I wanted to

he had been watching me

as he suddenly bowed toward me

"I apologise for our behaviour child of wrath"

He spoke in an accent with hints of the British lingual aspect

"I apologize for the harsh treatment we have been giving It was uncalled for"

he said

" We are not used to dealing with humans like yourself"

"you may call me Lord Erebus"

"and I know you have many questions and before you begin to rain them upon us I have a suggestion if you are so inclined to listen"

he paused waiting for my response

I just nodded too lost in his beauty to fully form a sentence

"you will can you allow young silver to bond with you, you see I foresee that a lot of your questions can be answered by him without wasting any time"

" what do you mean bond?" I asked finally breaking the spell of the man's beauty

"exactly that a bond" the man purse his beautiful lips as he tilted at me

I shook my head at least I thought I did for I did not feel it move

"not before you answer a few of my questions"

the man pouted

"that will waste a lot of time and we don't have a lot of time to waste child of wrath"

The man pouted again

I should shout at the expression of the man

"I will not do as you wish until I know what the hell is going on" I whispered

He smiled gently at me,

"you've got that right child death for you are no pawn of mine but maybe this will help "

Erebus walked forward and stood in front of me I noticed his clothes weren't clothes at all they were shadows dancing and melting all around him licking his skin like real cloth

he clapped his hand a flame of shadow appeared in front of him and began to expand into a full giant circle and a liquid began pouring inside it filling every surface of the inside of the giant circle

soon the giant shadow circle was now an 8-foot giant circular mirror

the scream that formed inside me caught in my throat as I held my horror back

my heart began beating so loudly that I could hear it not just feel it

it was suffocating me with fear as I stood there frozen

the screams of the shadows echoed like thunder through the air making me flinch

my eyes filled with tears and I started breathing heavily

in the mirror, I saw myself

but it was not me I remembered

the person who stared back at had hollow blackness for eyes and his body was bent out of shape from a dozen words bleeding continuously his left arm was missing while his right arm was twisted in a strange unnatural position

the mirror was filled with blood and tears

as the legs of the man staring back at me were swollen and mangled

as the face of the man whose face I was staring at was pale and there were a dozen cuts all over his now disfigured face

" you see child" I heard Erebus

" We don't have much time not because we are in a hurry to be somewhere it is that your body is dying and we need you to make a choice fast otherwise we would lose you"

Erebus said as he put away the mirror

it took all my self-control and willpower not to just scream wail and cry in despair

instead, I just tried to swallow the lump that was forming in my throat

I could not take any more of the torture that was being inflicted upon me

but as I wasn't feeling any pain my mind cleared as my thoughts began to form coherently

as the plain error over my mangled body faded

I looked at Erebus with firm eyes as I made my descion

"but what is it I am exactly choosing "

I asked

Erebus smiled like the spring breeze

"You see child of death we need your help and for you help us we need you to live and for you to live as need to heal your now broken body and to do just that we need you to choose"

he then pointed at the two orbs silver was still holding

"We give you two choices child of wrath,

the number one is the gift of gods offered to you by their grace and blessing "

as he spoke the yellow orb began to shine brightly and the green orb dimmed

" and the second choice is a gift of heart given to you by the echos of a ghost of a hopeful mother who died protecting one thing she held dear"

As Erebus finished the yellow orb dimmed and the green orb began shining brightly

" now child of wrath you need to choose without any pressure without any hesitation"

a sense of dread enveloped me

the moment I realised what Erebus was asking me

the way he spoke it felt like

it was already done...it was already set in stone...there was nothing I could do but choose

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply as I thought about the choice I was making

I tried to calm myself and think

I had so many questions to ask so many answers needed before I could make descion

I started hesitatingly at the orbs that were held in the grips of silver

I turned my gaze toward Erebus to ask more questions but he just shook his head slightly even before I could open my mouth

his mean clear as day

he won't answer any more questions until I made a choice

at one point I thought Erebus was trying to trick me by putting pressure on me but as I felt my consciousness begin to slip that illusion deflated quickly

I looked intently at the two orb

and closed my eyes trying to think harder

my mind became hazy with confusion and I didn't know what I wanted to choose

I began thinking of different options, but no matter how hard I tried

I couldn't make descion

"Trust your intuition, my child let it guide you" a soft kind voice echoed in my mind

an old piece of advice

that was given to me long ago by the woman who took care of me

I smiled at the memory and slowly opened my eyes even though I had the sudden urge to sleep

I intensely looked at the yellow orb

I mean it felt right a gift of the gods is exactly what I needed to mend five. up of a life

as I looked at it I could feel the incredible strength radiating from it I could feel a sense of pride terminating from it

suddenly I found my envisioning myself wearing golden armour holding a mighty spear shimmering with golden light as wielded the power to

vanquish the darkness

I was able to picture my future quite clearly

if I choose the yellow orb I would become a. warrior like none other wielding the power of gods as I crushed my enemies

it felt right to me so I decided to choose the yellow orb

as I was about to speak I suddenly consciously looked at the green orb I send no power from it but I did sense a strong feeling of love

the orb glistened with a passion for love

as I stared into the orb the only thing I could sense was love there was no power no future no nothing

the yellow orb

its power resonated within me it made me feel powerful and unbeatable from it could sense my future and I could feel my desires

but the green sent me nothing but a sense of loving care as it called to me

I made my decision no matter how hard it was how wrong I felt I made a decision

my heart kept calling to it

and said it out loud

." the green orb"

the entire group broke out in curses and shouts as the yellow orb dimmed

"he dares to refuse our gift "

"the foolish mortal dares to not accept or gift "

" he has chosen ignorantly"

"he will pay for his insolence"

"I see that child of wrath is nothing but a fool"

"the insolent erected scum mocks us"

"he should be punished"

and there was mad cackling laughter among the shouts of curse and hisses

the sudden anger of the crowd of shadows confused but I ignored them as the green orb floated confronted of me and began beating and morphing into a green emerald gem the size of an almond

the gem was shining brightly with an emerald green hue

"you chose wisely child of wrath we will wait"

Erebus said with a smile

I nodded at him

I turned toward the gem when suddenly it flew at me and enter my hear causing no small amount of pain

I felt the warmth of the orb inside me and suddenly it was replaced with something else

something old

I began to shriek as I felt my nerves blazing with unthinkable pain

" why will this foolish mortal refuse to gift or bond" the old man spoke with malice towards Erebus

"you promised us a champion Erebus a pawn that will strike at our enemies, not some mortal who will now be destroyed by his own folly" the young in armour began to shout at Erebus

Erebus ignored the snapping men and shadows Alki as he intensely watched me

"the child of wrath is a free soul Geras, Nerio or have you forgotten the laws of free will"

the two-man blanched but the old still pointed at me and shouted

"We didn't need a free-willed fool we needle a loyal champion Erebus"

the shadows also began to shout and curse but the words of the shadows and men that I heard were meaningless sounds,

vibrations among a cacophony of agony that demanded all my focus, all my attention, as my entire body burned with unimaginable agony.

suddenly there was a new power tearing open my heart as I felt it change

Feeling a sudden frisson of horrified wonder that transcended pain I began to gasp for air and scream as my whole body trembled violently under immense shock and fear

I couldn't even comprehend where the pain came from nor why the pain seemed to increase at exponential speed

I saw Erebus' face in front of mine as he said in a tone of warning

"feel and embrace the pain child of wrath for they are your friends"

I flashed him a grim smile as I did just that I stopped fighting at letting the pain consume me

" never stop fighting David never give in"

I heard my father as I saw him standing there wearing his denim jacket and his khaki pants smoking his cigarette

And whether it was truth or delusion brought about by hideous agony it didn’t matter.

The agony was consuming me, body and soul.

Then after long endless moments of agony sobbing, forcing myself to relax, to accept the pain, to absorb it head on, to not let it destroy me

and just as suddenly the pain had appeared the pain disappeared and I found myself once again staring into my own green orbs

I sat there shaking and shuddering in fear and terror at the sight I was presented with,

for I realised I was now bound as the green orb melted into me

I tried to move and found my body once again listening to me I could once again move

I hurriedly checked myself there was no wound or abrasion on my soft place skin anymore

my arms and legs which had been twisted and mangled beyond recognition were now back to normal.

My ears were back too, my nose was fine and the only injury I had was a slight soreness of my throat due to screaming

the most shocking part was my eyes!

They no longer shone in red!

I could once again see in colours I felt tears spring into my eyes with relief

The colour of life had returned!

I was back!

but as I felt my heartbeat I was shocked it was no normal best that heard!

It was the beating of a thousand hearts!

The beating of millions of thousands!

I turned towards the only man who could answer

and as I turned around I was shocked done where the people of shadow gone was the old man and gone was the young silver-haired knight

only Erebus and. silver stood there side by side

Erebus then clapped his hands

"well-done child of wrath you have more wisely and sagely than you can ever know"

" oh God Erebus...what has happened to me?"

" my child you are truly reborn!

A child who is reborn from despair is reborn through joy and hope!"

silver loosely shouted as if he was afraid he won't be allowed to speak

Erebus just smelled and nodded

"Yes now before you shower me with your many questions we should go and meet with someone important"

he tilted his head beckoning me

after what had happened I felt a feeling of safety from Erebus so I followed the man

" She will be so happy you chose the heart, child"

silver said as he to joined Erebus

I hurried jogged to keep with the two beings I was now sure were anything but normal