At Dawn, a River's Woes

Date Written - January 30, 2024 Characters - Aeon (Embodiment of Time), River of Time Warnings - None, as far as I can tell.

Aeon collapsed on the ground before him. He had returned from destroying a disturbingly advanced time-travel contraption and had spent a majority of his strength during it. He gazed down at the River and reviewed the passage of Time. To his relief, the dangers had been resolved.

A watery, humanoid creature popped out of the river and sat down next to him. "You are injured."

Aeon chuckled softly and acknowledged his injuries from extended use of his powers. "Odd, isn't it?" He dismissed the River's worries. "I'm fine, just a little exhausted."

The River-creature shook its head. "No. We cannot have the Guardian remain injured," the entity formed bandages from their temporary body and placed them over each wound. "We don't know if there will be any dimensional rifts in the past or the future. We must be prepared for such scenarios. The River can't defend itself. We may be Time, but we are still water. Water cannot do anything without a force. You must be able to protect Us if this final layer of existence is ever invaded."

Aeon simply rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You've repeated this countless times. I already know all of that. I've known that since my birth. I'm not going anywhere, River. I can't be killed. They'd have to figure out how to find you first and foremost. Humans still don’t understand time. They’re restricted by their own minds.”
The River’s persona remained silent. It knew its Guardian was correct…as usual. It couldn’t help but worry. It couldn’t do anything to help or protect Aeon. It could only continue moving towards the end, as it always did.
“How will I end it all? What will drive me? What is the cause?” Aeon’s playful smile faded. “How long do I have left with my friends?”
These were the only genuine questions to come from Aeon’s lips. The River lifted a watery hand and rested it on Aeon’s shoulder. “Not even the River knows, Aeon. Time Wars are unpredictable. The Timelines are limitless. There may come a day that they merge back into one…”
The two were dead silent, but both knew the dreaded event all too well.
At midnight, the River evolves into the Sea.
“This is why you fight. To prevent Us from becoming a force that not even you can control. It may very well become an inevitable outcome, but we must preserve this universe for as long as we can.” The persona returned to the River, leaving Aeon in a deafening silence.
Aeon laid down on the green grass. Time was very different on this last layer of reality. It was not transient, yet simultaneously not eternal. It moved, but still remained entirely stagnant. It was nothing and it was everything. He remembered all the contradictions that created his very essence. Before he ever knew it, his injuries had successfully been reversed. They did not heal, because they had never existed in the first place. Yes. This is the meaning of Time. Incomprehensible by all but two. That is my burden to bear. The moment it is understood… I will have failed my mission.

Storm

Date Written - June 6, 2023
Inspiration - All the Magic [Karliene] Characters - Lucien Morningstar (v4, the Sorcerer), Judgmental Villagers Warnings - Old timey insults.

Lucien ignored the stares as he made his way through the town. He was on a

mission, and no one could stop him! Ah, the sweet face of the young lady next

door was etched into his mind, and after many months, he needed to make his

feelings clear. Her lovely voice echoed in his mind as he spotted the flowers,

and was drawn to the roses. The serpentine man almost danced, carefully

picking only the very finest. He chose a combination of red, white and pink,

and brought them to the florist. "This will be all." He paid more than necessary,

but that didn't matter. All that he needed was to see that angelic woman, and
hear those three beautiful words...

It wasn't long before he found himself on her doorstep. Taking in a deep breath

for courage, he knocked on the door. This is it!

"Yes?"

Ah! And there she was, her beautiful amber eyes sparkling in the sunlight! "My

fair lady, I have come today to admit to something," a bright smile displayed

itself upon his lips. He lifted the delicate bouquet, but she made no move to

take them. "Please, accept my affections, my darling."

Her eyes widened, utterly shocked by her quiet neighbour's boldness. "I..." Her

eyes softened as she saw the hope in his gaze. "I... I'm so sorry..."

Lucien's heart stopped. Why was she apologizing? "What do you mean?" He

felt a pit of dread in his stomach.

"I mean that...I do not return your feelings..." She stared at the ground between

them, flinching when the bouquet was dropped.

All the serpent could hear was a distant shatter. It was happening again... His

world was crumbling again... He couldn't even hold back the tears this time.

The aching in his heart was agonizing... It was a pain he had never felt before.

It was unbearable. However, the heartbreak quickly turned into anger as he

chuckled to himself. "So this is how you pay me back for everything that I've

done for you..." He whispered, not bothering to listen to the woman's request
for him to speak up. "You WRETCH!" Dark power quickly built up around his
body, "I performed protection spells for you! I've defended you from harm!
I stopped my research for you! I put myself out into the open for you! I gave my

heart to you! I give you everything without question or cost! This is the thanks I

get?" His voice rose with every word until his voice was drowned out by the

fearful shrieks from the villagers that were caught in his storm. The clouds

darkened, and thunder roared as he chanted spells he had only read in his

mother's old tomes. Today he would put everything he knew to the test. He

would raise hell upon this wretched village. They would pay for everything. I
won't let anyone hurt me ever again. I swear, I will dedicate the rest of my life
to my magic and research. He caught someone trying to sneak up on him in

an attempt to kill him, but he only laughed. He lifted a hand and seized control
of the poor fool's mind, ordering it to destroy everything.
"I won't stop until everyone is punished." He crouched down and put a palm on
the ground. "Rise, my ancestors, it's time to make them pay for our centuries of

suffering!" Necromancy. It was taboo, but he didn't care anymore. No forbidden

art was off his table now. "There will be people who one day seek me out. Not

to kill me, but to request my services. They will pay me with what they hold dear
to their heart!"

"Bastard!" One villager cried from the crowd. "Kill him! He's a danger to our

society!" Lucien narrowed his eyes. He had exhausted himself during his

rampage. He had certainly destroyed the entire village, and now he was

being sentenced for death by hanging. "You brought all of this upon

yourselves!" The serpent felt emotion try to take hold of him. No. Not anymore.

I won't let them have the chance to hurt me again! He shook his head and

released his power yet again. However, he couldn't inflict any more damage.

His strength was far past spent. All he could do now was escape. They'll beg

me to return when they realize the miracles I can perform. He gritted his teeth

as he struggled to remove the rope that bound his hands together. No time! He

looked up when the sound of people coming to capture him again. All he could

do now was run. I'll go to the old house in the woods. It's far from here, nice and

quiet, without any sunlight. It's perfect. It'll be safe there. And so that became

his destination. There, he would continue his research and obtain more power.

He would open up to customers searching for his sorcery to help solve their

problems, just as he had promised yesterday. He would observe the results from

afar, and wait for the day the world finally paid for all the pain it put him through.

Who knows... Perhaps playing with their weak minds might end up becoming a

fun little activity?

Clarifying a couple confusing things

Hi. I'm not good with intros, but there are some confusing things I need to

clear up, namely what would be a very obvious question... Wtf does "v#"

mean? Well, it means "version [number]". Simple as that. Okay, for context,

here's an amazing example!

Lucien has seven different variants, each one with a vastly different

personality from the others. Lucien v1, which I tend to call "demon king" is a

twist on the biblical figure, Satan/Lucifer. He was never supposed to be Satan

nor Lucifer, but I got annoyed by the peer pressure, so I caved. I've cultivated

this little fragment about him into his own, so I don't have too too many bitter

feelings about it. Case in point, Lucien v1's sin is Gluttony, not Envy. My twist

on Lucifer started the Angelic Rebellion because he wanted The Lord's

knowledge. And for a different variant of Lucien, Lucien v4 (The Sorcerer) is

a complete and utter lunatic with ultimate mastery of black magic to the point

even demons avoid him. He's preformed several experiments on himself,

changed his DNA to the point he's an entirely different species, and is a proud

owner of a demon heart.

So yeah, that's kinda what I wanted to clear up before anyone starts reading

my stuff. Also forewarning that there may be some stories where you don't get

any context beforehand and you just kinda have to accept that in order to read

it. I'll put a heads-up at the start of the post.

Feel free to ask any questions, as long as they're related to my writing. I won't

be answering questions about myself. I'll try to answer as soon as possible.

Friend

Date Written - June 9, 2023
Characters - Satan (Lucien), Kayan Myrski, The Lord, Generic Seraph

Lucien sighed as he entered the room. It was beautiful, heavenly. It made his

eyes burn. He was, after all, the king of demons. Lucifer, Satan, Sin, the

Adversary, the Morning Star, Humanity's  Downfall… All those names all

belonged to him. However, ever since his coronation, he preferred to go by

Lucien Morningstar. It marked a new way of life for him, to separate himself

from his past actions. Today, he existed to keep the hoard of demons from

destroying the material realm, or what others liked to call 'Earth'. He couldn't

help but be a little nervous about the prophecy from the Book of Revelations.

Just what did the Lord have in store for him? Lucien had already sworn to not

interfere with life. His duty was to keep the gates of Hell sealed. All he asked

for in return was knowledge. He felt envy bubble up inside him when he set

eyes upon the Lord, his Creator. "Why am I here? You have never once

brought me out of my domain for any reason… So why?"

The Lord chuckled softly at Lucien's irritation. "You will see. This involves you."

Before Lucien could respond with a sarcastic retort, a golden-haired male

entered the room.

"Woah!! This place is so cool! Where am I?" The recently deceased male

asked excitedly to the Lord. It seemed he had absolutely no clue who he was

talking to.

An atheist perhaps? But…why would he be here? Usually non-believers end

up in Purgatory to learn of the Truth. Lucien was utterly confused. How did this

involve him? This man obviously wasn't a criminal. He would have automatically

been sent to the Demon Realm if he had. He crossed his arms and gave the

Lord a confused look.

"OHH!! Are you God? That's so cool! I was never really sure if a higher power

existed, so I decided to play safe and not think about it too hard." The man

laughed to himself.

Lucien's eyes widened at that response. "You… You aren't going to refuse to

believe in the existence of the Lord?"

"Of course not! The proof is right in front of me! Why wouldn't I consider the

existence of the Big Holy Cheese?" He gave the demon king a bright smile.

Big… Holy… Cheese? This terminology was not in any of Lucien’s books back

in the palace.

A seraph leaned close to him and whispered, "He means Divine Leader. I heard

that this one isn't the brightest of the bunch."

"Ah." But again, what the hell did this have to do with hi-

"You must be the Big Demon Cheese!!"

Lucien's brain paused. What did this human just call me?

The man tilted his head and observed the demon king. "You look a lot different

compared to your representations…"

"How so?" Lucien was curious. He never gave a thought about how humans

imagined him as.

The male closed his eyes to recall the many paintings."Well, a lot of humans

have painted you as this small red-skinned thing. Sleek skin and a thin hooked

tail. Overall, it's really unpleasant to look at."

"Unpleasant?!" Lucien was absolutely furious now. "I'm beautiful! I'm the Morning

Star! The former favourite of the Lord!! How dare you humans call me physically

unpleasant!!"

The male shook his hands and waved his arms in front of him in a panic. "No, no,

no! That's not what I meant! It's not my opinion. That's what others have thought.

I didn't really care. That depiction just happens to be the most popular." He paused,

staring at the demon lord again. "Huh… You give off some lonely vibes…"

Lucien’s anger was doused by that statement. Lonely? What was the man talking

about? He thrived in solitude! He hated being pestered by other demons, constantly

attempting to trick him into releasing the seal on the gate. How could he be lonely?

"From now on, I'm gonna me your friend!"

He couldn't believe it! This human was actually choosing him over eternal peace?

What was wrong with him?! He turned to the Lord, only to be met with a gentle smile.

The Lord stood from His seat. "Kayan Myrsky, are you sure you wish to go with

Lucifer to the demon realm?"
Kayan nodded excitedly. "Yup! I'm gonna be his friend from now on!"

"I don't need friends!" Lucien quickly interjected I'm an attempt to dissuade the man,

who appeared to be named Kayan. "I'm perfectly fine!"

"Nah, bro, my gut tells me you don't get out much. I'm gonna help change that!" Kayan

crossed his arms and grinned.

Lucien lifted a hand to hold his head. He could sense that there would be many

headaches in the near future. "Fine… Not like I have any say in the matter. I don't

have that level of authority outside of my domain."

"Then it's settled. Lucien Morningstar, from this day forward, you have a new friend,"

the Lord smiled, though Lucien couldn't help but wonder if this was payback for the

Angelic Rebellion. "Take care of him." Just which 'him' was the Lord talking about?

It was a question that would probably never have an answer.

Lucien sighed again. Now he knew he had no say. "Alright, Gremlin, let's go. I'll show

you around so you don't get lost."

Kayan cheered at that, and he rushed to his new friend's side. "This is gonna be great!"

How innocent of him… Sweet. Although he didn't know it, a tiny sliver of a smile

appeared on his lips as he showed the new demon the way home.