The ocean waves rocked steadily against the shore, shifting grains of sand along the beach and filling the atmosphere in hushed tones. The waves were not soft, nor were they harsh, yet they seemed to hit the shore like an impending storm was brewing. Palm trees rocked in the steady breeze, with the long, broad leaves swaying in time to the small tufts of grass scattered below. The sky above was swirling with dark, red-tinged clouds, mimicking the threat hinted at in the meeting of ocean and land. It was a beautiful sight that held a terrible dread of what was to come. Aaron had been here before. He had relived this day so many times—he knew all too well what was to come.
A boat’s motor was heard speeding off in the distance, and Aaron panicked as he realized he was still standing on the shores. How was he not on the boat? –He was always on the boat! The dwarf ran and stumbled as he huffed through the sand, chasing after the rapid thudding sound of the boat’s motor. He could not believe they would leave without him—they always took care of him, just as he and Molly tried to do for them. As Aaron crested a sand dune, he realized he was too late; the boat was too far gone, speeding into the ocean’s distance.
Conflict shocked the dwarf’s mind as his original memories told him this was not right. Aaron was on that boat—he was always on that boat. He could almost hear his screams as the boat sped toward the horizon. Yet, as he stared after the fleeing memory, Aaron could not recall ever seeing the sun setting in this memory. It was like the great ball of reddish-orange was slowly leaning down to kiss the ocean’s surface while displaying a brilliant array of purples, oranges, and reds that splashed and sprayed across the sky in anticipatory excitement. The ocean’s enthusiasm for the sun’s kiss was reflected in equal excitement as its surface shone with all the magnificent colors of the sky. The choppiness of the waters only seemed to heighten the ocean’s anticipation for the sun. It was an incredible sight, but staring at the red colors streaking through the sky brought recognition that he was still on the island. The Red Mages were still on the island—and they were preparing for a final attack. The island was about to be destroyed with Molly still on it—Molly!
The blast of revelation hit the dwarf with wide-eyed wonder as he suddenly recognized what it meant not being on the boat—he could still save Molly! Quickly now, Aaron turned away from his escaping boat, away from the romancing horizon of the sun and ocean, and sped off toward the island's center. He did not look back, only forward, climbing the high slope of a berm covered in thick vegetation.
Heaving over the slope and rolling onto the berm, Aaron popped his head up to look around. Palm trees were littered about and swaying harshly with the increased winds. Air gushed by as the clouds continued to swirl, and the deep sound of thunder rolled across the island. The storm was nearly here. If the boat had just left, then Molly couldn’t be far. Still looking ahead, Aaron saw another slope that led to a higher berm. The dwarven investigator raced onward, confident Molly was just beyond the next berm.
Again, the dwarf heaved onto the berm and rolled to his feet. Looking around, Aaron saw the same view as before. The winds whipped at his scraggly beard and disheveled white hair. The palm tree leaves whipped parallel to the ground, and the rolling thunder reverberated in the dwarf’s chest as he looked forward at the next berm.
“Why do you remember this day?”
The voice caused Aaron to jump and spin around, frantically looking for its source. The voice was feminine, but it wasn’t Molly. “Who said that?”
“You have lived for over a hundred years, raised by a dwarven family of sanitation engineers, survived the wars, and became a skilled digital forensicist. Yet, for all the years you have lived, for all the memories you have made, why do you recall this memory the most?"
“What in the depths is going on here?” Aaron growled. “Who are you?”
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“You’ve been trying to find her, get back to her, but you can’t. Death does not bring us closer to those we have lost.”
The voice in the howling air came down on his heart with the weight of a thousand stones. Aaron stopped searching for the voice’s body and looked to the berm ahead. “So, I am dead?”
“No. You have come to a point where you have lost your connection. Many experience darkness, and many others experience light, but some experience something else.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Why do you come here when you have nowhere else to go?”
“Quit speaking in riddles!”
“Why is this the memory you choose to live in?”
“I did not choose to be here!” Aaron responded hotly. “I don’t want to relive this part of life. I don’t want to remember any of this! But it won’t let go.”
“What do you hope to achieve by being here?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I don’t want to be here!”
“And yet…”
“No! Don’t you say I chose this.”
“Do you hope you could have done something differently?”
“Do you think I could have done something differently?” The dwarf threw his hands to the sky, searching for his interrogator. “Please, tell me! You seem to know everything. How could this have possibly gone differently?”
The voice was silent for a moment, and Aaron was ready to move forward when it spoke again. “Your time to reckon with death is near. Prepare yourself.”
“Wait, what? I thought I was dead.”
“Though experiences differ when individuals lose their connection, there is one thing they all have in common. Death’s coin toss. The coin will determine if your connection is restored.”
“What in the slag-covered tailings are you talking about? A coin toss decides what—my fate?”
“Since this is the day of your choosing, it may interest you to know that this is what connects the Red Mages and their followers. Their desire to regain this connection is what drove them to fanaticism and what started the Esoteric Wars.”
Aaron rocked back at the sudden shift in conversation and mention of the Red Mages. “Hold on. The Red Mages were all here?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
The landscape and scenery shifted and changed as his thoughts went back to the war. The Esoteric Wars were declared upon a group of red mages who had some fanatical idea of destroying the system and freeing everyone from it. Their understanding of the system was like a religion worshipping something greater than life and the system that governed life. Though it was red mages who started the fanaticism, it wasn’t just red mages who were involved. All sorts of mages and non-magical users joined the faith movement. Only a minority of red mages had started this movement; however, since the red mages were at the front, everyone who was a red mage was automatically associated with the cause.
“You will not get closer to her through death.”
Memories of signing up to fight in the war and becoming a digital forensicist washed through his mind. He was so proud, but his grandfather shattered that pride. Dwarves belonged to the stone, his grandfather would say, and digital things would only drive dwarves further from the origins of where they belonged. Aaron never got to tell his father about being a soldier in the war—his father was in a back alley pub, not even present to show indifference.
“In life, you can find a means to regain memories of her.”
Aaron remembered deployment, working in the server rooms, and fighting against the terrorist hackers and other adversarial entities who would take advantage of the wars. He remembered crossing paths with Molly. It was a chance encounter that forever changed his life. She was a special operator on the front lines and would often be gone for long periods. However, when she would come back, she would always find him.
“If you live, be alive, and search for her in life.”
Their contracts ended at the same time, but the Esoteric Wars had not. They joined an organization dedicated to helping refugees from the wars and flew out to the islands ravaged by the red mages and their followers. It was in their effort to save the islanders that they met Tommy. It was Molly who made Tommy promise to watch him. It was him, Aaron, who left Molly to use her Hero’s Dice and die as she kept the red mages' final attack from killing them all.
“I hope you are given life.”
Blackness surrounded Aaron, and a deafening silence encompassed him. Then, there was light, and he was back on the island with the swirling in a storm. Blackness, then light, then back to black. His life flipped from light to dark, like a great coin was being flipped through the air. Aaron felt himself falling through the rotating abyss of darkness and light and cried out for Molly as he had done on the escaping boat of refugees.
Death’s Coin Toss — Aaron succeeds.