Three awoke. Three fought. A conflict that seemed everlasting.

I waited atop a rounded boulder within a small grassy clearing. Dense forest surrounded it on all sides. A breeze rolled over the area swaying the grass and trees, such a methodical motion.

Here I waited, to see the unfolding of a plan within this verdant expanse. The sky above was beginning its transfer from late evening to dusk, an intimate blend of light and darkness. A truly symbolic start to the impending journey and everything that was going to unfold. As a result, my mind began to wander and reminisce to what was and now is.

It began so long ago, and here I now stand at the precipice.

Within a dream now long gone, I witnessed the unfolding of a grand story, the creation of everything. This vision was based on a singular concept, balance.

A place where all things consistently operated in harmony. Nothing tipped the natural scales too far in one direction.

Awakening from that deep slumber, I come into a reality which seemed foreign from the dream that was perfect. It portrayed itself as a setting free of strife and chaos.

When I woke everything seemed wrong. I yearned to return to that dream.

This realm was an existence that felt nightmarish and fragile. One subjected to drastic and violent changes. At times it seemed close to the edge of destruction, staring down into the void. In contrast to the perfection inside the dream, this was a restless world that struggled against itself.

Night slowly donned its mantle as the light across the sky began to fade.

Cool air caressed my body as I continued recollecting my own choices and actions. The slow blanket of darkness seemed fitting.

I remembered trying to influence the world at one point.

All of creation was held together by two natural forces, they were woven into the fabric of reality. The continuation of the natural cycle depended on a tentative balance between the two. If that balance was to be broken then the cycle would alter itself into a perverse reflection of itself. Calamity would arrive when one side overtakes the other by gaining control.

An opportunity to bring back what I saw. It seemed inevitable to me.

Realizing that dire consequences awaited everything if they continued to walk this path, I began to plan.

And so I made the attempt to recreate the perfect vision within a reality deemed too chaotic.

I managed to bring about balance with my own scheming; however, it resulted in my image becoming that of a tyrant and my actions are seen as that of a disaster. I am cursed even now.

My attempt ultimately failed at forcing my ideals onto this world. It was my mistake and sin to bear.

After it was done, I realized that the chaotic tendencies of this world could not change. This realization did not bring me despair but instead, it gave me a new perspective. Balance already existed within the chaos and that itself made it more beautiful, they existed together. Though far from my dream this was a more pure balance.

What would have happened to the world if I succeeded? I shuddered at the idea.

This realm became accustomed to the already present balance. When understood this an understanding of the world became evident to me, rather than constrain its chaotic alignment, the better solution was to maintain it. A form of balance that could be upheld.

A new dream was to be made. So, once more I decided to manipulate the strings within the main realm. This time I leave what must be done to those whose fates are more heavily tied to this reality than mine.

I paused my musings and noticed that darkness had fully dropped upon the world.

Sounds of the forest heralded the night’s arrival. From the soft crunch of dead leaves to the creaking of branches, the ambiance was soothing to me.

A soft breeze once more rolled across the clearing and washed over me, and as if coming with the wind itself a light, a dim glow, began to emerge from the tree line. The light emitted was a dull gray. The bobbing of the glow was slow, relaying cautious movement. Though I was feeling the strain of both past and present, I felt accomplishment at seeing the beginning of a new future unfold. More lights began to pierce the night. They are my beacons to a future for everyone.

—

Fatigue was now fully manifesting and I was exhausted. The core of my being ached for rest.

Almost done.

The night sky around me began to break into the magnificence of dawn's light.

From the dim forest emerged, what felt like the last, a humanoid figure shrouded in gray light, featureless.

It approached the boulder at the center of the field where I was. This one came to me without much hesitation. It stood before me and spoke, "Shaped like a human, but with no features. This was not what I expected when imagining you."

I titled my head and let out a small sigh, "You are not the first to make a similar observation and following statement. Your mind is framing me in a form it can comprehend. Which is why I appear similar in shape to you."

The figure seemed to think on those words and then spoke, "Where am I? What were those visions I saw? And why choose me to undergo what I just did?

Feeling faint, I responded with a tired voice to similar questions asked many times today, "So full of questions. You are in a forest, one I quite like. Seemed a fitting place to conduct my plans." My voice softened for a moment, "The visions you saw were simply futures that could come to pass. Those are possibilities I wish to prevent and so do you." I tilt my head up towards the sky slowly beginning to alight, "As for your last question, you were not chosen. This outcome was because you happened to experience fate on a day that my plan began."

The figure thought on those words for a moment, that seemed to stretch longer than what it was, before responding, "And I am now a part of this plan? What happens next?"

Sunlight began to eagerly wash over the forest and into the clearing, "Now you return to participating in destiny, your destiny, but before I do. I impart upon you a task. One I know you unknowingly accepted when you overcame the trails I set before you."

The sunlight illuminated both of us, the warmth of it seemed to alleviate some of my exhaustion.

The figure became obscured in shadow as the sunlight reached it, the gray light seeming to become dull. It nodded, "I then see no reason to not participate in your plans, but I do not remember much of who I am. I feel as though when I leave here that little bit will vanish completely."

Many before this one expressed similar feelings, and it still saddened me to inform them of the truth and how it was ultimately necessary, "Yes, you are mostly leaving behind what you once were in favor of something new. Some memories from who you once were will linger because of strong emotions attached to them, but at best they will be vague." I raise a hand and point at the figure, "You were a story once written, but the pages are now erased and the story being told is new. For the sake of preventing the future you saw, this is all necessary." All around the forest was filled with the sound of it awakening to the new sun, "I have provided you with a goal, a purpose, but you will decide how to conduct yourself."

The blank face looked back at me. A storm of questions brewing beneath the surface, and an understanding that time was likely too short for many of them to be answered, "You have given me a purpose, a mission, but I have no name to recall nor a clear identity. How can you expect me to do anything? How can I help when I am in such a state?"

Despite the fatigue weighing heavily upon me, I projected pride, "You, like those before you, reached me on your own regardless of what obstacles presented themselves in the depths of the forest. You inexplicably moved forward to a goal you could not fully understand, but you knew within yourself, as you pushed your limits, that something at the end would hold what you wanted."

The tone of my voice became strained, "The task given to you will not be easy and success, elusive. Part of what you were will return and guide you. Some things will feel natural. Use what little you remember to help you down the new path that lay before you." The figure began to slowly fade, but it didn't notice as it was focused on me, "If it helps you I suggest using something from those remaining memories to provide yourself a name." The face of the figure looked downward for a moment and then raised it back up to say something. I interrupted it, "Save it for yourself and focus on it as you leave this place, and may the path you walk be one you do so with pride." The figure vanishes into particles of gray. I embrace the tiredness of my being and slip into the embrace of sleep. I do not know what dream lay ahead for me. A part of me regrets having to leave.

Would the dream have been truly better than this? I do not truly know the answer. What occurs now is up to you all.

I close my eyes. "I was Balance."