An unimaginably beautiful scene stretched before me.
Like a sun setting behind hills, painting a sea-blue sky in hues of orange dusk.
Yet this dusk was cold, emotionless, and utterly unbearable.
In front of me was the void that people called the universe.
My body drifted through it like a blazing comet.
I could only watch, watch the sands of time count down.
My voice wasn't there to be heard. And yet it was peaceful, quelling my anger at losing my sister yet again.
The emptiness reminded me of the vast universe, it was like this.
But my grief still lingered. The images of her dying, the soul-crushing dream judging me.
My doubt crept over my skin like a venom, crawling through my veins. The voices of the unknown crept into my mind.
"Wryyy don't yuuo lettt mmme taaake conrrrol?"
A voice so dark it pierced my ears, yet with words comforting enough to haze my mind.
My eyes fluttered, begging for a surrender I would not allow.
Trying to break free was becoming impossible, and yet I tried.
"Iiiii caaaaan grrrrantttt youuuur wwwwish. You don'''''''''t neeeed to lose your sister now."
My mind was becoming plagued, as the voice resembled my own, growing clearer than the sky.
"Don't lose hope! A man can climb a mountain if he starts to believe he can." It was a voice full of hope and belief.
A picture formed in my mind: a man holding a shield, smiling comfort to the unfortunate while protecting them from harm.
I could feel my heartbeat surrounded by chains of light, pushing the Void away from my heart like an antidote drives out venom.
"Sometimes you need to witness the darkness so you can hold tighter to the light." This voice was much softer, yet childish, yet its words were as wise as the first.
I could see a black fog within my mind, consuming the venom.
"Nnnno! Heeeee issss miiiineee! Heeee isssssss mnnnneeee!" The dark voice descended into broken screams, just as before.
As the venom-like void left my body, I stopped hearing all the voices.
Sam, I feel your pain. But you must not let the doubts consume you again." This voice was nothing like the other three.
So calm, so free, so mesmerizing, like a loving mother telling a bedtime story.
The words alone felt like a soft, caring hug.
As much as I wanted to hear it more, it has left.
My memories become my refuge in the void.
But slowly I saw the light. Light of freedom. As I was born into life.
From my first breath, I was captivated by the beauty of this world.
I spent my days under the glow of a white sun in a never-ending orange sky.
And my nights beneath the gaze of two white moons, set in a darkness surrounded with red stars.
It was truly a feast for the eyes.
I was born into a farmer's family, and from the time I could walk, I joined my father in the fields each day.
Then, when I was five years old, my father and mother came home with a newborn girl.
"Sam, meet your sister. Her name is Ina." My mother's smile as she held the small baby was priceless, though a part of my young mind noted, that I had never seen my mother pregnant.
Ina. Ina, ina. The name echoed in my mind.
Memories, long forgotten, surged to the surface.
Memories of a life breaking in grief and death.
The crushing weight of losing my sister, not once, but twice. The little girl in my mother's arms was her. Ina.
I made a silent vow to the sleeping child. This time, I will protect you. I will shield you. Even if I have to stain my hands in blood.
My mind was no longer that of a child. It was tempered by the memories of a soldier, a phantom, a brother who had failed.
And so, alongside my chores, I began to train my body.
Every month, I traveled to Chambord town to deliver our wheat.
In return, I received five silver coins an amount that, for years, had been just enough for the four of us to survive.
When I wasn't helping with the crops, I trained, and three years passed in this rhythm.
Then, my mother brought home a boy. A recognition turned through me 'in my ghost memories, this boy was me.'
My parents struggled to find a name."Jarvis?" my father mused.
"No... Morika?" my mother suggested.
I spoke up, "What about Leon? A prideful man with a soft heart. Like a lion, or the zodiac Leo." They instantly loved it, and my new little brother was named Leon. Ina was delighted.
But I couldn't share their joy. My concerns were grim. The five silver coins were no longer enough for four of us.
My father and I were skipping meals. He was the kind of man who would starve himself to see his children eat.
I gripped my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms, drawing blood.
I stopped helping him in the fields altogether and increased my training to a hellish intensity.
Doing push ups till I collapsed, chopping wood for hours, and trying to hunt without tools or traps.
For months, this pattern continued. I would watch my father and mother eat plain water soup, while Ina, Leon, and I had plates with meat and vegetables.
The happy smiles on my parents' faces as they watched us eat made me sick to look at my own food.
"Father, Mother, here," I said, putting my food into their bowls.
They refused immediately, claiming they were full or had eaten earlier. But their lies weren't there.
My father looked like a husk, and my mother was as pale as a pearl.
I stormed off to a nearby lake, my throat tight with frustration.
It was clear my parents would starve themselves unless I could provide more.
As I knelt to drink, a movement in the forest caught my eye.
Through the trees, a pair of sharp yellow eyes looked back at me.