Dark traverses the Willways, hooves gracefully scraping the ground as it runs. His demeanor is much calmer here; a woman with freckled skin and red hair rides on its back. Her clothes are tattered. She wears an expression on her face that soldiers can emphasize with. Her hands and thighs grip his back to brave the many twists and turns they find like she’s done this many times.
Kikito watches from that outside place again. He understands he isn’t in the present but he’s not sure how far into the past he’s visiting.
“Do you need a break?” Mirana asks the creature.
It doesn’t slow. She furrows her brow as if Kikito’s missing half the conversation.
“You’re allowed to rest. We’ve been searching for days.” She pets him lightly until he finally slows. She smiles and says, “that wasn’t so hard now was it?”
Dark isn’t gentle about letting her down. Mirana plops down hard on the ground with a thud. Dark stretches his long body. Once it’s carved a comfortable spot he glares at her.
”I’m not going anywhere without you this time. Don’t worry,” she says. It narrows its eyes. “I’m not coming over. I’m too anxious.”
Dark huffs a big puff of angry steam into the air. She rolls her eyes and lays against it.
There’s a long pause before she says, “Very funny. You’ve been waiting a long time to tell that one, huh? Can you speak? It’d be nice to hear an actual voice again.”
Nothing for several minutes. Then a gravely voice says, “Is this better?”
“Definitely,” she says despite how unpleasant it sounds, “nothing a little practice can’t fix.”
“I should practice. What would you like me to practice on?”
“How about you tell me a story?”
“You’re serious?”
“Why not? The world won’t end any faster because you took a few minutes to tell a story.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I’m knowing more and more each day. Story time. Go.” She settles back against Dark.
He snorts but then his eyes soften and he says, “In the beginning—
“It’s even got once upon a time!”
“Sure— in the beginning, a being drifted alone in the celeste. Time didn't exist yet but as it developed so did the entity. Eventually, it developed the ability to think, and this being decided to call themselves Alnother. After many moments, their thoughts evolved to wonder what existed beyond themself. Alnother knew nothing existed but hopelessness didn't either, and so they dreamt of all the things to discover: giant climbable structures, deep gashes cracking open along plateaus, long enough to glide across.
“But they needed a form to play and, more importantly, others to share it with. Alnother dreamt of friends as carefree and playful but tactful and resourceful. As time began its infancy, Alnother found that she had transformed into something tangible. They flexed primordial ligaments. At the same time, they heard voices. Not as you’re used to them, but within the space Alnother existed just the same. The two were tiny and mighty, one containing all to be known, and the other the embodiment of the chasmic celeste. The celeste had heard its child’s wishes and gave them a friend. Intended to be one, accidentally creating two friends. ALL and nothing came to Alnother and they played for eons.
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“They built all the structures Alnother had dreamt of. ALL and nothing took well to their purpose by creating things based on Alnother's original work. When Alnother made sand and mud nothing created faunaless terrains so vast only they could successfully traverse them. ALL arranged Alnother's formations and crushed materials to create gemstones and stardust to blow across the celeste. The three took their time exploring, growing in size and power along the way. While all 3 were one, Alnother was content in her role as mentor, and ALL and nothing got along like siblings, especially when it came to their love for competition. The two would try one upping each other at every opportunity. Alnother watched on, never participating until their rivalry resulted in the creation of their own sort of offspring.
“From nothing came Light, an entity of the cosmic power shared by all, and ALL created Dark, drowning celeste in a newfound darkness and a home to harbor creation and creativity.”
“That’s you,” Mirana interjects.
“Indeed,” Dark replies dryly, “these two infantile entities renewed the spark in Alnother and they dreamt up a young one of their own, new and fresh to the universe. Inbetween was the result of this rumination. They all took Inbetween in and from the bridge of creative energy the young one formed, Light lit giant lanterns of glowing energy and sent them out in celebration. These lanterns were tinged with Dark's influence and from there embers scattered, seeds to germinate the to be formed tangible universe.
“One inherited the first blossom of negativity from their parent, one who was jealous of Inbetween's power. He came directly and individually from Alnother, a product of their full focus and intent without the celeste’s chaotic nature that came with their interference in the universe.”
“What does that mean?” She asks.
“The celeste can’t just interfere with anything within itself. Its power can create an unpredictable ripple effect, as in when ALL was made as well as nothing. The celeste never intended that.”
Mirana nods and clamps her lips shut.
“While ALL and nothing were imagined by the celeste as comrades, Inbetween was intended as a descendent and so took after Alnother in many ways. In slumber he dreamt up the planets and stars in the sky, though Light's lanterns turned into the largest suns and my influence ensured they would become the black/white dwarves and black holes forming the galaxies.
“These planets were feral in their infancy: full of turbulent waters and violent lava, but no life yet. Inbetween would soon have that power to build friends out of the soil and clay, and so much more. His youth would guarantee more power than Alnother, close to the celeste itself. The jealous one coveted the gifts this child had never earned and took Inbetween and destroyed them in the pursuit of harvesting just a smidgen of his power, splitting them into 8 pieces, putting an end to the circle of everlasting life and the literal creation of Life and Death.
“From Death came death for all but the mightiest and Death built a home for them, what eventually you got to see as the Tides. All negativity in existence came from this period of grief as well as Death's most evil, unfathomably horrific creatures. Even in death they torment one another, suspended from totally destroying everything by Death. But from the remaining pieces they found of Inbetween, the pantheon came together one last time and scattered Inbetween on a planet they had personally loved, one that embodied all Inbetween meant to them.
“After the Great Burial it served as a glorious rock and tomb. I took to the Willways. Death took the blessed deceased and kept their souls content. He found that the energy they produced could be recycled and sent back to Life and so he crafted the Tides. ALL and nothing retreated to a planet of their own design they call Eden.
“Alnother couldn’t bring themself to leave Inbetween’s grave so they burrowed deep inside and fell into a deep slumber, eventually forming the core of the Earth and helping Life create life. After many millennia of all walks of lives lived, the Alnother transformed, losing sentience and self until only the Repression remained.” Dark finishes, leaving Mirana and Kikito wide-eyed. She flips through the rolladeck of questions in her head.
“Is that all true? Is that how it all began?”
“At some point, yes. Alnother used to tell most of of that story to Inbetween.”
“The one Kelvin is supposed to become?”
“The very one.”
She sighs. “There’s just so much to ask, so much to know,” she says. Dark cranes his head back to her.
“Don’t overwhelm yourself. I’ll answer any questions you have, anytime.” A softness finds its way into his voice, seemingly reserved just for her.
Mirana eyes him and asks, “Why are you helping us” as Kikito is pulled back and even as he returns to his body the information dims, until only a pebble remains in his mind, waiting with the pile of rocks.