John Ryder peered at the horizon, perched atop a cliff. It was the brink of dawn and the sky was an eerie red, enough to partially dye some white fluffy clouds lingering in the night.

The red sky seemed to be made entirely of malice but with that it was still beautiful. A storm would surely fall tonight; tearing through the land like it was a toy. But like countless times before, seeds would again sprout, trees would grow and life would return. Beat it to the ground, stomp on it, rip it apart and still it returned.

There was pain though, as the forest became a tinge of red from the intensity of the sky. Like a mirage of blood foretelling of an event not so far away. Even though life would return, it was hard to see it go.

A family of tiger cubs pounced on one another, showing and failing themselves to be dominant to one another, their efforts amounting to a rolling ball of fur. A red bird with gold tipped wings sparkled in the rising light of dawn, delivering some morning grub to some hideous looking chicks. Dimwitted fish moved up stream for god knows why as they ended up in the mouths of a hulking brown bears for their attempt.

John jumped and spread his wings. His large black feathered limbs opened wide, filling themselves with the wind of the fall. Muscles twitched and his wings redirected the air so that he may glide.

He found the currents in the air, joining the animals of the forest already in flight.

Then it began as the sun passed the horizon and the day began.

The earth shook, shockwaves could be seen in waves as they traveled across the forest. From this alone life began to be snuffed as trees fell and life became buried under rising and falling dirt, but this was only the first part.

“Power from the deeps of time heed my command, arcane shield!”

John wanted to see it happen with his own eyes and as such took precautions. He could and would use magic to see this through.

Next he witnessed the second phase as in the distance vision distorted with the distortion becoming larger by the second. His barrier was struck, straining to withstand what could only be described as an earth shattering explosion of air encompassing everything in sight.

It a moment though the blurry air past, showing a land that had been devastated, devastated once more. It was silent, the screams of creation where not to be heard, be it on the ground or in the air.

Then a spark, with such a release of energy it was inevitable and there was not only one. Everything began to burn. The air had shattered the trees and left particles of dust and flammable plant matter to float in the air.

*BOOM*

The flames rushed over the forest, burning hot and fierce so that it all would disappear. John felt it really was the end with this as the fire reached out for miles, connecting with other fires to claim the region. Somewhere in the distance it rose to the height of a small mountain, a mountain made entirely of the forests last flaming signs of life.

It grew and grew, sucking the air from the entire region to fuel in a self-generated updraft.

With this the final chapter came and the horizon disappeared, replaced with a wall of water. It came, washing everything away and replacing the presence of everything with itself. The end was just a big mass of water, reaching over his cliff of a perch and beyond.

In time that water would recede, giving birth to a new forest and homes for life but for now, this was what it was.

John readied his wings; his arcane shield had kept him fixed in place but once he released it, he would once more need to fly.

“Shield release.”

*Thunmp*

“Huh?”

John could only feel confused as something heavy and fluffy landed on his head. Reaching up he checked what it was.

John was dumbfounded while brining it in front of his eyes. It was a white skytiger, he must have survived by hiding in the shadow of the arcane shield.

Though of a race that could rival some dragons, it was a baby and survived all that. He did not see the reason nor would he be its executioner by leaving it in this place.

Taking a blank white card from his waist, John tapped it to its forehead “Seal.”

A white light spread across its figure, covering its features so that they could not be seen. Then when no part of it was visible, the light and creature fell apart into sparkling dust.

That dust did not fall; instead it gathered on the card and changed it, revealing a picture and words upon it.

John placed the card in a pouch where it disappeared from the world as if it had never been there to begin with. It did not bother him and John simply rose, flying higher and higher until he was above the clouds.

There, where one could not see the surface below awaited his ship, Icarus.

Landing, John logged out.