Anyone can reach for the stars when the skies are clear. It is those who are obscured by clouds yet still rise that are truly worthy.”

-Words of the Shattered Sage.

“I don’t remember much of my first few days. I just remember a blank haze, no sights or sounds. I only ever remembered my basic instincts. Eat, hide, keep moving. I have the faintest memory of a weird sensation, of eating. I’m not sure how much time I spent in this state.”

“This was your state as the ooze creature, yes?”

“How’d you know?”

“I do not just see what is in front of me, young one. Continue.”

“The days began to separate themselves. I found myself scavenging for food, and drinking from the creeks. Each passing day I seemed to learn more and more. How to avoid dangerous animals, how to make a proper shelter. I survived like this for many moons, as the forest around me changed from green, to orange. Until the cold came and left as the green returned. At some point, something changed. The world became so much more… Vibrant. And vivid. Then one day I saw the screen.

Your Intelligence has increased by 1.

“Your ability.”

“...Yes. I remember seeing it appear, and afterwards everything became much more clear. I used my ability to switch between this form and my older one. Seventeen moons I just walked around, observing the world around me. I learned to interact with instead of run away from the many animals.”

“They were not aggressive towards you?”

“At first they were hesitant. But I guess they saw me as harmless.”

“Mayhaps it has something to do with you being a child?” Ankh responded dryly.

“Want me to keep talking, or do you wish to sprinkle some more sarcasm over it?”

“Continue.”

“I grew to learn more and more, what berries and plants were safe to eat, what weren’t. I learned from the animals how to find safe water to drink, how to find appropriate shelters.”

“You seem fond of them.”

“I never got too close with them. I stayed a night in their dens sometimes, but I always left.”

“Why is that?”

“I had more to learn. More to see. One day I began to hear some noises, sharp clanging and growling, followed by screams.

“A fight?”

The boy nodded.

“I went to see what it was. A creature, Bigger than any bear I've seen, armored with wicked claws. And surrounded by it, a group of…”

“Hominids.”

“Is that what you call them?”

“That is what they are.”

“Well, I stayed away from the hominids until the screaming stopped, hiding in an empty burrow. It lasted a while, but eventually things began to quiet down. I waited a few moments before I poked my head out. It was huge. Easily three times my size. The earth around it was gouged out, trees tilted with their roots poking out. There were weapons laying about, most broken. There were… some limbs caught in the creature’s mouth. Blood everywhere.”

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“You seem affected by it.”

“It wasn’t the gore. I mean, I've never seen so much blood or severed limbs before, but it was the creature. Throat torn open, heaving on its side. Its underside was nearly gouged out. Its insides were still steaming on the forest floor. Yet instead of keen or writhe around like a dying animal, its arms were cradles around something.”

“Something?”

“Its infant. Still alive, just shaking.”

“Ah.”

“My first instinct was to run.” The boy ruefully admitted, face burning red at the admittance. “I just wanted to leave, to run and hide from whatever could have killed this, but…”

“But?”

“Its eyes.” Enix said simply, his voice barely above a whisper. “I looked into this creature's eyes.”

“And what did you see?” The question was soft, almost expecting.

“The same thing I had felt for a long time. It was afraid of leaving its infant alone. It knew it was dying, and yet it still sheltered its infant, and it cradled the small thing as close to its chest as it could. The poor little thing sat shaking.”

“In the end, there was nothing I could have done. So I sat there, and waited.”

“You comforted it.”

“I tried to.”

“And when it finally passed?”

“I did my best to bury it. It took a while.”

“You are quite small for someone who can boast of that strength.”

“I dug around it.”

“And then?”

“I sat there for a while, just watching its young. It was distressed for a while. After a bit I realized it was hungry, but it wouldn’t leave the grave. It wouldn’t stop shaking until I placed my hand on it. When I did it seemed to calm down a little, so I decided to hold it. I tried feeding it berries but it didn’t like them. I only realized it ate metal after it started chomping on one of the broken weapons that lay about.”

“So you decided to adopt it?”

“In a sense. We stayed there through the night, and when I left it just followed me. I kept some of the weapons, and I decided to name it.”

“Ingot.”

“That’s right. We started learning how to survive together. He digs really well.”

The boy took a breath, a half smile forming.

“After that things started to change. Other animals tended to avoid us. I guess it was because they were scared of Ingot but things began to change.”

“How so?”

“I wasn’t just me surviving day to day. I wasn’t alone. I began planning ahead, I kept food for both of us. We ended up helping each other, learning off each other. He had a great sense of smell, and could find shelter and dig burrows. I scavenged for our food, and led us through a safe enough path. We started thriving instead of just surviving.

“Interesting.”

“...It was a few nights after that I started having the dreams. Disembodied voices screaming warning, sometimes for help. I’m standing in a field of tall grass, at the foot of a mountain as the sky begins to blacken. The sun disappears, and four blue orbs appear on the horizon. The wind begins to whip up as a form appears in front of me. It looks like you, but with two horns. It always says the same. That I need to prepare-”

“For when the sun fades and the wind cries. When mountains crumble and the Allmark flies.”

“...Yeah.”

The entity named Ankh nodded its head, seemingly satisfied. It waved its hand, and light began to show behind the boy. He turned to see a doorway open, Ghiri appeared, with a small silhouette of Ingot.

If you will come this way, I will happily accompany you to our arena.

“The arena?”

“Yes. I have made my decision.” The being known as Ankh extended from his seating position, standing tall. “You have come far, guided by a message implanted by my kin. Your story is an oddity, but I am glad to see you have made it this far on your own. I will bestow upon you a gift. I will prepare you for that day as best I can. And when that day comes,” the being turned its head as if to regard Enix, “We will see if you are enough. Now go with the Servitor, and heed his guidance.”

The light began to envelope his surroundings, shrouding the being as it turned to walk away

“Hey, wait! What is so special about that day?”

“I will leave you with this,” Ankh turned to face the boy one last time as he faded away. “We have dubbed that as the Day of Blackened Sky.”