Long ago, in the age of the gods when the world was still young, an ancient river once circled the land from which life sprung forth. It was said to be created by Aisha, the Goddess of Life, with the sole purpose of giving and distributing life on Earth. Tales of Aisha pouring a handful of water from the heavens became the origin of the sacred river. It was then called the River of Life, where tribes and civilizations flourished on its banks. The river was regarded as sacred by humans.
The crystal-blue stream sparkled under the sun. It curved gently like a serpent and flowed through lush forests, verdant mountains, and fertile valleys. The water’s taste was refreshing as it leaped over glossy rocks. In totality, the river itself was invigorating. When evening came, and the stars covered the sky, the water shimmered like sprinkled fairy dust. The River of Life was longer than all of the world’s rivers combined. It was so grand that nothing could compare to it.
Time passed by and humans began to worship the gods. They built shrines and temples in honor of the primordial deities who composed the natural laws of the world. There were seven gods at the beginning of time. Each of them ruled over a specific domain that kept the order and balance of the universe aligned with the Will of Chaos, their father and the first thing that came into existence.
For thousands of years, life on Earth was pleasant and peaceful since the creation of the sacred river. Humans prayed for guidance, bountiful harvests, and abundance of sea creatures from the gods. Their population efficiently increased due to the divine blessings they received. Tribes began their expansion of territories. Some built great kingdoms, and others started their conquests for new lands. However, the greed deeply rooted within the imperfections of human beings led to their destruction. No seas nor lands were enough to satisfy their greedy nature.
Humans started to seek more power, more wealth, and more glory. These earthly desires that they found led to chaos and conflict among them. War broke out across the land and the gods in the heavens were forgotten and gravely displeased with them. Tribes and kingdoms waged war against one another. They lost many lives for the sake of twisted ideologies. Innocent people suffered and lost their lives protecting what was precious to them. The world was plunged into chaos and divided by different sides who had different beliefs about the world. The casualties and victims of war were so many that it almost broke the cycle of life.
The sacred River of the Gods, once pure, ran red with blood. The gods in the heavens were forgotten, and they were gravely disappointed with the humans. It deeply saddened and angered Aisha. To end the conflict and make the humans repent on their sins, Terra, the Goddess of Earth and sister of Aisha, cursed the world to enter into a glacial period that would eventually freeze to death all life forms known to humanity. In the first year of the long, harsh winter, many plants, animals, and trees did not survive the cold. It was a period of constant darkness. The air was frigid and could almost freeze the human lungs. The gloomy skies hung sadly outside as if to reflect the pain and suffering of the humans inside. The once green earth was blanketed in bleach-white snow and made the surroundings look almost blinding to the eyes.
Famine and diseases killed many lives and survival became their top priority. They tried their best to adapt to the extreme climate and survive the harsh weather. Then one by one, like a domino effect, kingdoms fell and froze to the ground. The humans were broken, hopeless, and sick with the cold. Out of desperation, they went back to worshipping the gods and prayed for divine intervention, but their prayers went unanswered, and the gods never made contact with them again. As their last light of hope vanished, a miracle that defied all the natural laws in the universe, occurred from the kingdom in the north, near the frozen sacred river.
A young girl from the small Kingdom of Solaria changed the fate of the world. She was not of royal blood nor part of the aristocracy. Her family was destitute, and they were merely natives of the kingdom, but her compassion for humanity was the greatest among the people in her land. She revered the gods and had great respect for all forms of life on Earth. She lived a life of contentment and had an appreciation for the beauty of nature. She grew up witnessing countless of deaths and wars around her.
Out of empathy and respect for life, the girl couldn’t stand seeing the world suffer in misery any longer. She felt the pain of her fellow humans and saw the anguish in their eyes as they were all left to die in the cold. The girl had no special powers, she didn’t even know a single spell nor how to use magic, and if they existed, but she had unwavering faith and courage even more potent than magic. In the second year of the glacial period, the girl was determined to save the world. She knew she had to do something or else all of them will freeze to death. She went to the frozen river, unfazed by the cold wind blowing harshly on her face. The skin-seeping cold didn’t bother her as she only focused on one thing, and that was to save the world from becoming a barren wasteland of ice.
Upon reaching the sacred river, she closed her eyes and willed herself to focus all her attention on the world around her. It was too quiet, no chirping of birds nor a sound of any animal from the frozen forest. A gentle hush cloaked the land. She felt her body shiver from the cold draft and her feet went numb from being buried in the snow for too long. The girl breathed a lungful of air and took out a dagger from the pocket of her coat. She sliced open her left palm and let her blood drip onto the frozen ground. She cleared her voice then gambled everything she had.
“Here do I let my blood flow on the sacred ground beneath me,
I call upon Chaos, the father of the gods and the creator of the universe.
I offer thee, this life and body of mine
Come forth to me!
And with your divinity,
Appear before me from the depths of the universe!”
The young girl courageously summoned Chaos. She stood like a statue for what seemed like forever. The cut in her hand didn’t heal, and the bleeding was slowly taking her life away. Nightfall came, and the weak rays of the sun were about to disappear into the dense clouds, she couldn’t feel her body anymore. Her senses dulled and she was sure that she would die from the cold at any moment. Then as if in a trance, a young man appeared before her and placed a large fur-coat around her. It was warm, and it smelled of spring like the woodsy scent of the forest and the newly-bloomed flowers in her garden. She stared at him and noticed that he was also wearing the same coat.
‘Am I dead? Is this heaven?’
The man before her had golden blonde hair and eyes the color of topaz, and his skin seemed to glow in the twilight. She gently caressed his face with her cold fingers, to see if he was real and not just a figment of her imagination. She felt his smooth, warm skin as he smiled down at her. He caught her fingers with his warm hand and held them in place on his cheek. She watched as he exhaled puffs of cold air from his mouth. He seemed real to her and everything else happening around her. She concluded as much since they were both affected by the cold.
The man encircled her with his arms and tucked her head under his chin. She leaned on his chest and felt the steady beat of his heart. His body heat surrounded her shivering body as he locked her in his warm embrace. His face and the warmth she felt from him were her last thoughts before her vision went black. The girl opened her eyes and saw darkness. She found herself floating in space. She didn’t feel any cold nor warmth from her surroundings. She looked around and spotted a giant blue orb that glowed gently in the distance. She noticed bright dots glimmering around it and a myriad of colors swirling in space. The vibrant colors mesmerized her and its overall beauty. Then, she heard a deep voice echoing from the bottomless chasm.
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“I am Chaos, the father of the gods and the creator of the universe. Are you the one who summoned me?” She felt the loud booming voice resonating within her. She looked everywhere, but there was no one in the dark with her and yet she could feel Chaos' commanding presence.
“Yes.” She replied.
“You are in my domain and in front of you, is the world where you live in.”
“It’s beautiful.” She gasped in awe.
“So tell me, young lady, why did you summon me?” Chaos asked.
“I wish to save the world.”
“How will you save it?”
She paused for a moment. It was now or never.
“Please bestow upon me the powers of the universe.” She replied with determination in her voice.
“And what will you do with it?” Chaos asked gently.
“With the power of the universe, I will use myself as a vessel and contain within me all the sins and evil committed by humanity.” She declared with conviction. She was ready for anything to happen. She knew she was going into this headfirst with her eyes blindfolded. Still, she would take this chance to speak with Chaos, a hundred times over, if it meant the salvation of the world.
“Are you ready for the consequences?” Chaos inquired.
“Yes I am, and I will accept all of them. I will do anything to save this world.” The girl said with finality in her voice. A long moment of silence passed, and she thought that Chaos wouldn’t answer her. She was about to appeal to him once more when she heard his voice again.
“I have received your offer. I bestow upon you the power that you need, the infinite power of the universe. And with that, I shall now dwell within you. Call for my name once, and you shall have my power.”
At that moment, she became fearless. The words of Chaos seemed to echo in her head. She did it. She finally did it. It didn’t matter if she lost everything she had, just as long as the world was back to its former splendor. The gentle voice of Chaos and the power that his words held eased her doubts and calmed her worries. She was right from the start to seek help from the Great Father. The gods had already forsaken humanity, yet Chaos, the mighty creator, still believed in her.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was back in reality and still in the arms of the mysterious young man. She felt the brisk wind on her skin and his comforting warmth followed in an instant. She tilted her head and stared at the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.
“Who are you?” She asked him.
“I am Deo, the God of the Sky and the Son of Chaos. I came here to see you.” He replied in a husky voice which seemed to have a soothing effect on her. It was like honey coated his voice.
“What does a god like you want with me?” She asked with confusion and curiosity on her face. She didn’t know why a divine being would be interested in meeting her. A god never once came down to see a human. It was the first time.
“I have always been looking at you from above. You are an exceptional girl, and that beautiful red hair of yours caught my attention.” Deo looked at her straight in the eyes with sincerity in his words as he tucked a stray of red locks behind her ear. She was taken aback by his response. Who was she to have the God of the Sky be interested in her? She felt her face go warm at the intensity of his stare.
He was by far the most handsome man she had laid eyes upon in her seventeen years of existence. Well, considering that he was a god and all gods possessed divine beauty which made them inhumanly beautiful.
“I am flattered, Lord Deo, but this meet and greet will have to wait later. There’s something I must do first.” She smiled back at him, and he smiled back too. It was as if he knew what she was about to do.
She called for Chaos and felt his essence in every fiber of her being. She closed her eyes at the intensity of the power permeating in her bloodstream. All her senses were alive and a hundred times sharper than usual. She felt energized, and she gently broke free from Deo’s embrace. She focused all the power she obtained from Chaos into her will.
“My word is the law.
My wish is a reality.
The seven primordial gods in the heavens.
The seven natural laws of the world.
In the name of these sacred laws
And by the infinite power of
The universe bestowed upon me,
I order all the mighty forces
To restore and bring peace to this world.
With Chaos who dwells within me,
I cleanse this world of its sins and darkness
I seal within me these evils.
May the divine light of the heavens forever guide this world!
A bright silver light came out from where she stood and shot up straight into the heavens. Dark clouds rumbled, and thunder roared across the sky. The silver light got brighter and brighter until it swallowed the whole land and everything the eye could see, restoring the world in its wake. A few moments later, the silver light disappeared, and the world was back to its former splendor. The blue skies, the glorious rays of the sun, the lush forest, the fertile soil, the verdant mountains, the gem-blue seas, and everything else was back to normal.
The picturesque view of the new world brought tears to her eyes. She could hear the chirping of the birds, the sound of the water splashing from the sacred river, and the joyous laughter of the humans. She toppled from exhaustion, and Deo immediately came to her aid.
“What do you want from me, God of the Sky?”
She asked in a weak voice. She felt dizzy, and her body ached all over. Her consciousness was slowly fading, and her vision was blurry. She couldn’t stand on her feet for a moment longer. She was about to fall when Deo caught her in time.
“Please call me Deo.” He said as he effortlessly lifted her and carried her in his arms. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, brushing his silky golden locks. She stared blankly at him, and he laughed.
“I want to be your shield and your strength. Can you please tell me your name?” The God of the Sky knew her name already, but he wanted to hear it from her lips. She leaned closer to him and whispered her name to his ear as the fate of the world was forever altered by the girl from the river. They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled. It was only the beginning of everything.
----------------------------------------
“…And they lived happily ever after.” The child’s eyes twinkled at the end of the story. It was her first time hearing the tale, but she knew that from then on it would be her favorite bedtime story.
“Mommy, what’s the girl’s name?” The child asked. Not once did her mother mention the name of the girl in the tale.
“I will tell you some other time, Ria .” The mother laughed seeing her daughter pout.
She kissed her forehead and tucked her into bed. Her daughter fell asleep within minutes. Before the mother turned the lamp off, she stared at her young daughter’s face and felt a surge of sadness well up inside her heart. She knew she did the right thing, which changing the end of the tale into something beautiful was best for her daughter. It was not because she wanted to hide the truth from her but because she loved her deeply that she wanted her to live a life not burdened by anyone or anything.
Deep inside her, she knew that should have told her daughter what happened at the end of the girl’s tale. She should have said to her that months after the world's restoration, eighteen beasts appeared, wreaking havoc in their wake and thrusting the world into utter destruction. Three oceans vanished overnight, mountains cut in half, and almost all of humanity was wiped out on the face of the Earth. The peaceful world they have known ceased to exist. She turned the light off and stood to take her leave.
“Her name is Ria.” The mother whispered in the dark.
She closed the door, and when she turned around, a scream was caught in her throat as she felt the length of a sword bore through her stomach. She fell on her knees and choked on her blood, clutching the hilt of the sword with her bloodied hands.
Even as tears blurred her vision, she was still able to identify the royal crest on the hilt of the sword. Her eyes widened in shock, and all the blood in her body froze. They were here. They came to take her daughter away from her. Her killer’s dark violet eyes and sweet smile were the last things she saw before she died.