He stood before the figure clad in shadows with a sword blazing with sunlight. The power he held was the sun while the baron held the night with him.

The sun and moon seem to always be in balance. Always in the clash against who’d rule. Half of the world belongs to each side. Always locked in battle…

Creatures of light will fade without the sun. And those of darkness will burn under the sun and can only exist upon the mercy of the gentle moonlight.

Terin knew that.

It was simply a stupidly simple answer.

One has to perish or hide away to thrive.

But he has to wield that saving blade.

He was a pawn to the wills of the world.

The power he had was simply the world helping itself. He was the vessel in which the Gods pour their might unto.

A giant made of light. No, to put it bluntly, he was the heart of the Giant, and if the heart is gone, then the giant would fall. He believed that the power poured into this creature was the same; but in different energy.

“We are slaves, no?” the baron said. “Slaves to the will of the world. There are as many barons that fight under this sky. And we are simply the pairs of these.”

Terin knew.

He knew the moment he transformed himself into that of a giant.

There are many like him that are vying for control. He could feel them going out. Like candles and lamps whose fire went out.

He held the sword made of sunlight and swept his blade. He knew that the process had started and they were foolishly fighting in such a grand world.

He didn’t know what happened next.

All he knew was that the blade he threw at the enemy fell. He could feel something tear and he knew that he had somewhat won and failed. He was just not there. He saw the sky dimmed. He felt the light dying out and before long it all just passed by.

He was inside a tree, floating.

He would sleep most of the time. Spending days upon days of nothing but rest. After dueling the baron, he felt like all the energy he had was spent.

He couldn’t tap into that beautiful sunlight.

And then he realized that it was gone. Not gone, gone. But it was simply unreachable, like a wall was stopping his connection to this source.

He wasn’t worried. If anything he felt so tired he thought of only slumber. Once in a while, he would get visitors, familiar faces who he could remember getting older as days passed. His friend was getting wrinkles and before he long saw his sons as tall as him looking at him.

“When will you come out?”

He’d recall Mardon saying that. Then there’s his mentor. Caldor Ando would always come to where he was and stare him in the eyes. He wondered if he knew that he was conscious, maybe he did but Caldor was never the type to bare his heart out in the open.

He would stare him down with his hands behind his back. That stoic face of his becomes more weary as time passes by.

“I have pulled out of that farm out of selfishness, boy,” Caldor said. “I did it because it was the right thing to do. You… deserve a better life than being in a tree. And you will find more hardship from here and out, boy.”

He knew that.

He’d still have work to do if he gets out of this tree. And yet he placed that thought away to recover what it is missing inside of him.

Then as days passed. He noticed that Mardon and Caldor barely visited. He waited for a while, but then he saw Felecia and Lady Rosalve visit.

Lady Rosalve remained rather the same, but Felecia was more mature. Refined, yet still beautiful as the day he saw her visit the farm alongside Lady Rosalve and Caldor Ando.

“He sleeps still,” said Felecia. “Does this mean his duty’s not over?”

“It isn’t. He is untamed by age and the good Doctor takes good care of him.”

The mention of the Doctor seems to annoy her. Lady Rosalve notices it and then smiles gently.

“Do not dislike too much. He’s not someone who’d have such grudges.”

“Maybe. But he’s purposely kind to others that I would think that he is doing so because of--”

“Perhaps he can be rather blunt,” she cuts her off. “But believe me, he isn’t someone you’d have to worry about.”

She wanted to protest, but she instead made an annoyed look on her face. She seems to acknowledge that, but he guessed that she didn’t like that part of the Doctor.

Terin could remember the Doctor. It was a face that would come in. A face that remained old and yet untamed by time.

“Speaking of the Doctor… he remains young isn’t he?”

“Yes, he does. Though at best we’d have to praise Zyra for taking care of Terin.”

“Yes, she has been taking care of him. Though the assistance of a Doctor who specializes in the internal is worth it. Not a single complication, and the elven-kin had made sure to provide the best help he can get to preserve his life and soul.”

He thought about it. How he was able to float so easily without feeling vexed. There was something in this liquid that kept him stabilized. Not to mention the vines in his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears were keeping him from drowning. It might not have been a pretty sight, huh.

Felecia glanced at him. “Terin will still have a role to play. Do you think he can still do it?”

Lady Rosalve shrugged. “The fate of this fleet is in his hands alone. Despite the information spread. Do you think a fleet this huge would survive with luck alone? It is said that the blinder’s light carries the wills and winds of the world. It is through this that they are able to thrive. Even the elven have no control of the destiny’s placed unto us. Terin is the sole light left in the world and through this light we can gather enough hope to light the fire in our hearts.

Felecia neared the spot where he was floating. “And his heart beat has gotten louder. Is it because of them?”

“I think he senses them. He has been sleeping and I think the call of the world has come for him again.

Felecia looked unsure. It was a maturity that Terin wouldn’t expect of her. She was always a power-hungry woman of a pompous demeanor. And yet it seems time has come a long way for her.

Terin stirred.

He found himself blinking in and out of consciousness. His mind wandered around. He was above an island he didn’t recognize. He does recognize the giant walking island and yet the jagged crater surrounding this Tundra was something he was unfamiliar with.

Then he saw it.

The hopelessness that the fleet faces.

The island they were on was surrounded by miles of shadowy creatures. Creatures borne out of the shadows emerging within gaps. If it wasn’t for the seal around the island… then they would have lost it.

The cannons and mortars and even the Tree Soldiers relentlessly and tirelessly defending the beaches were preventing the horde of monsters from entering.

“They won’t be able to hold at all.”

Terin’s first thought for a while was that. Terin tried to move, but he knew that there was something else missing. He could not control himself nor even dare a thought that wasn’t filling his head up.

Terin struggled for a while before finally moving his consciousness passed the clouds. And then he saw something that made his mind awake and alert.

The world was drowned. Mountain peaks were poking out of the flooded waters and cities that were towering buried under mudded and clear water.

There were only a few places that remained and yet were covered in giant walls that were keeping the monsters out. Some of these walls were breached and the rest were fighting a war that they couldn’t win.

One of the cities however was striving and on miles away from the Island the Fleet was in. Terin saw the goal of the fleet. The thousand islands that they dreamed of.

But what he did made Terin want to rip his head off. Islands burnt to crisps with monsters the size of hills faced down and drowning in their own blood. Bloated corpses and creatures of the night feeding on the gigantic remains of once proud creatures. Some parts of the islands seem to have been burnt by the same light that he was wielding. Then he saw the spine of the world and finally his eyes landed on the very thing he was looking to.

The sole purpose of his journey.

The sole reason he remained steadfast.

In front of Terin was the eye of the world blinded and scarred. Something happened. Someone managed to blind the eyes of the world, but something went wrong.

He tried to look around for clues, but there were only the burnt remains of those who challenged the night. Then it came to him that the world wasn’t simply between the light and the darkness.

What he saw in those cities were nothing more than starving creatures attracted to a source of food. Like a bowl of feed ready to be devoured by a pack of starving animals.

Beyond these lands were nothing more than wastelands of salts buried under the vast water. Upon the giant continents he saw, there were only a few strugglers resisting against the end of the world.

Those who were keen were able to survive by becoming nomads who relied on the sea just like the fleet while the fortunate ones turned their mountain homes into settlements.

The sight of such a drowned world struggling to fight against the judged time… no… they were simply mistaken. This was not the destined battle they were hoping for. It was simply the time of the end that had come for them. A time where the last wills of the world had left them, leaving only a grim realization that the world has ended… truly.

Not because of a battle between good and evil.

Not because of two sides fighting for the fate of the world.

Not because of a destiny that must have been met.

It was simply the end of the world.

The thousand islands they dreamed off was simply salt and burnt wasteland. A place that has nothing to offer other than a cruel reality.

Terin floated above the island. His eyes perceive everything. He could feel the winds creeping in. The mutter of every hostile creature and then the hopes of those who remained on guard.

Then, Terin had control over his mind. He scanned the fleet and the darkness surrounding them.

He was gone.

He found himself floating inside the tree.

A familiar face saw his opened eyes and rugged hands started to pull him out of the tree he was trapped in.

“You’re awake,” the Doctor said. “Been a long time, Gaspar. I guess you have know timing?”

The Doc's voice wasn't the same. It was deeper than the last time time he heard it.

The Doctor blinked, then asked. “Hmm… I have to ask. Were you conscious already?”

He nodded. He looked around but found no words coming out his mouth. He could audibly hear the gunshots and mortar now. He tried to stand up. Get control over his body and yet it did not respond the way he wanted to.

“I don’t think you should be moving yet. I don’t know how blinders work… but you should still be human and inactivity for generations will not be the same.”

His heart ached at the thought of generations. Then he gritted his teeth and breathed in the light to himself.

“Or you can do that. Can you rest here for a moment? I need to call the Elders. I’m sorry… but I think we’re going to need your help sooner or later.”

Terin tried to open his mouth. Reveal what he had seen, but there were simply no words that came out.

How… could he possibly tell them?