Everything I know and love no longer exists, nor has it ever with the breaking of time. Have you ever wondered why time works and never falters? Better yet, how,or more precisely, who maintains time and ties your reality to it? It's okay; you can't be blamed for not knowing. Your perception of reality is so tiny. And that is perhaps a mercy, for all of reality is collapsing in on itself, and none of you know or will know until it's too late. 

 

Shrouded in mystery, the keepers were ancient, even when the Elder Beings first emerged. Even I, with all my knowledge, cannot fathom their true nature and purpose. They were indifferent to what you might perceive as right or wrong, unwaveringly carrying out their enigmatic duties.  Morally androgynous, they were a force of stability.  But like every coin, reality has two sides. Lurking in the dark was the keeper's counterweight. A shadow of reality so hidden even I know nothing more about it than that it exists as an antithesis to our reality. 

 

It created horrors to destroy the keepers and extinguish their light.  Horrors beyond your capability to understand were unleashed.   The keepers, thankfully, had created their own protectors.  For countless eons, the powers of reality fought off their enemies. The hoards of darkness crashed upon the shields of the keepers. But the keepers armies held firm, causing a stalemate. The keepers maintained the flow of time but didn't control it, so something out of their control changed; for what it is, I couldn't say. But the battle lines began to break down, weakening the keepers so that the realities of the nine worlds bleed into one another, like dyes of different fabrics leaching onto each other.  In desperation, the keepers built their Mechanical Automatons and placed them in the nine worlds.  Tied to the keepers, they acted as Anker points, holding reality in place and standing sentinel, silently watching and waiting.  The damage was done, of course, but this had stemmed the rising tide.  And for many Eons, stability held firm once more.

 

The keepers, as ancient and powerful as they were,  had forgotten they were not all-knowing and powerful.  The darkness exploited their hubris.  Out of the formless void, a silent whisper emerged; unnoticed, it rode on the tides of time. It slowly found its way into the nine worlds through the ebbs and flows. It slowly infiltrated the minds of many, twisting and warping them towards the darkness.  The world's light dimmed, everyone oblivious except one protector in the world of man.  The sentinel’s tether to its keeper had begun to fray, allowing the automaton to gain a sense of self.  Slowly, it developed its consciousness and began to act independently. Alarmed by this, its keeper tried to regain control of its creation, but it was too late. The tether snapped, and the world of man was lost to the keepers.  

 

 

Cut from the control, the sentinel could see objectively what was happening.  Watching as the light in the universe slowly died out and the fools so oblivious to it.  With this, the sentil learned anger.  The sentinel had watched the people of Midgaurd for eons and had learned love.  Created as a force of stability and protection, the sentinel didn't need to learn honor or justice; the sentinel was justice guided by honor.  Cut off from its creators, it forged its own army in preparation.  The keepers could create life, but their creation could not, so it created machines forged in the fires of the Aether.  

 

As its preparations ended, the sentinel could do no more than wait and watch. It watched as the darkness spread out on the tides of the universe, turning the vibrant colors of life that branched out from a single source out to the other worlds into a pitted blackness. Then, all at once, that silent whisper became a lilting tune, and the void struck out. The keeper's Armies fought valiantly against the horrors, but the keepers were overwhelmed and slaughtered by the millions. In a pitiful panic, the keepers took their machines and fled.

 

 

Here in the world of man, my fellow humans were utterly ignorant to all of this, and most died from shock as the Elder Beings invaded and began their tuning of the world.  The sentinel and its army fought bravely but were losing almost immediately.  The Powers of the Elder beings had changed somehow, making them more powerful and resilient. It was like the Elder Beings were operating on an unknown frequency. 

 

The sentinel killed its enemies in droves as it watched its creations being obliterated. Fighting through the battle, the sentinel found the enemy's General.  A Great bulbous creature with molding leathery skin. It looked down upon the sentinal and drew its maul. The two clashed with a sound of thunder heralding the beginning of their fight.  It was long and sustained. The Darkness’s champion held the advantage,  beating down the Sentinal repeatedly.  But each time, our hero rose back up and fought on. 

 

For myself, well, I could do nothing but bear witness. Like always, I was part of reality but not of reality.  I knew our hero needed to sever the General's umbilicus to the powers of the Elder beings.  And I swear to you, I tried to warn him! I screamed out to him until my vocal cords tore, and my tears blinded me.  Wiping my eyes, I gave into despair as I watched the general stand over our defeated hero. It rose its maul for one last killing blow.  

 

I have lived long and watched the world in a disjoined timeline.  One day, I was far in the past, others into the future, so much so I cannot tell you which is which anymore. The experience of this has fragmented my mind as a way to cope.   But I promise you this one thing: my account is true. I have not spared or embellished anything.  I must hurry to get the rest of this out before my mind fails again. 

 

My heart wrenched at the sight of our hero. Then my mind cleared because I remembered this day.  This was the day I became unglued in reality, the day I died. Realizing this was a memory, I could stop it, and the battle froze in time.  I walked away. I needed to watch myself die to see what happened after.  I am sorry for my selfishness I hope you can understand.  I took my time walking to where my nightmare began. As I did so I let the horrors around me sink in. For who else was going to remember?   I made my way to the old city of marble.  Forgive me again; I can not remember the city's name. It was something like Jefferson, DC, or something along those lines.   As I arrived, the air was repelling me like I shouldn't be here. And I probably should not have.  You are not supposed to watch yourself die, after all.  

 

As I searched the disintegrating city, looking up, and I couldn't help but smile a little. There he was through the Aetheric Window, scared and alone.  Back in my home, along the rows of dusty bookshelves, my dear friend and I watched out for him occasionally.  We sent him out into the Wildes after all. Letting the memory continue, the scene sprang to life once more. So.. if the Alchemist was up there, then I must be down…. There.  My heart ached anew in a selfish desire to stop myself. To prevent myself from being lost.  But I watched my younger self as I used the power given to me by the oracle. Standing before the horrors of the Elder Beings, my hands together as if praying.  Chanting the words of power before my eyes shot open and with a deathly scream, Pushing my hands out before me. That searing white light shoots out of me into the void.  

 

I had used it all and was successful in stopping the tuning.  But it had killed me in a way. Looking down at my lifeless body as the gateway winked out.  As I stood on the hilltop, my heart skipped a beat.  This glowing green little moth came down and landed on my corpses forehead.  Then another and another till I could no longer see my corps.   The wind kicked up, and the moths scattered.  In a way, I wasn't surprised to see my corps had disappeared with them.  My old self had started its new journey, unglued to reality and at the mercy of times ebs and flows. 

 

Closing my eyes, I was overwhelmed; I knew what lay in store for myself.  Then I felt a tickle on my cheek.  I assumed it was nothing, for I had not been able to so much as feel the wind on in my hair since I had become unglued.  But then it happened again, and my eyes flew open. A little green moth hovered at my cheek, its wings lightly touching my face.  Then I noticed the ground's weight and the wind's coldness.  

 

I had come full circle!  I was bound to reality once more! I feel no shame in telling you I cried like a babe for a long time. Every smell and sensation new again.  But as is the way, the world's weight came crashing down on me again, and I gathered myself up.  Unsure of what to do I wandered and found myself back at the sight of the battle.  Broken machines and rotting corpses lay everywhere.  Seeing the sentinel, I ran to it. It was still alive in its way.  But its mind shattered. It just looked down at the ground, defeated as its golden energy slowly left its body.  Placing my hand on its shoulder, it turned to look at me. The sadness in its eyes broke my heart.  I stayed with it as it slowly bled out.  So its last moments were not like its life… Alone.  

 

Finally, it lifted its head once more as if to say something, but before it could, the glow in its eyes faded, and it became still.  How do you honor a hero that was never living?  How do you honor a hero who was completely unknown to the people he sacrificed everything for?