-Hollow-

“So, how do you plan to get little ol’ me to the End of Time?”

After leaving the camp, Eve jumped up in enthusiasm. Seems that meal gave her the strength she needed to bounce back.

“What do you mean?”

I lazily replied.

“Well, the End of Time is waaay up there.”

She points to the stars. Her aim hits directly at the moon clearly visible in the twilight sky.

“Once the moon turns blood red that’s when the gates to the End of Time is open, right Hollow?”

We march up an incline as I search the moon. I already agreed to take her there…what harm will it do if I tell her?

 “Seeing that its way up there and we’re way down here plus we have to wait for a blood moon…it’s pretty unlikely that we’d get there, y’know?”

Eve's skepticism annoyed me a bit. But I knew she was fishing for answers. Might as well…

“For someone whose forcing me to do this, you’re quite the skeptic. “

I closed my eyes and kicked at the dirt ahead.

“The End of Time is just as you say…in the heavens far away from humans to ever reach.”

I confess as I search the moon with tender eyes. No matter how I think about it…Wails is my father and what I plan to do is going against…his will.

 “Once the blood moon appears, my beings, demons are rejuvenated and brought back from the brink of death. It’s Wails blessings that we are given life to begin with.”

I didn’t look at Eve. My heart drew near to my king as I searched the crescent object in the sky.

 “It’s sporadic for you humans…you never know when the next blood moon will appear.”

“Oh, is it different for you Demons?”

I glare at her, trying to gather the effort…no, the reason for her asking. But instead of entertaining the thought, I continued.

“I know when the next blood moon will be.”

I admit.

“Just you?”

“Obviously not…Just the Ruiners.”

“Well, aren’t you special.”

Eve teased as she slapped her knee.

 “Ruiners are Demons who were blessed with the power to destroy the world with their very own two hands.”

I search my fingers.

“If that’s not special…I don’t know what is.”

“How do you get a gift like that, Hollow?”

“You don’t…it’s given to you. Once a blood moon occurs there are a select few who obtain the power of a Ruiner. I was just in that pool of selected few.”

“So, you are that fabled bird? The one who destroyed two kingdoms…and decimated the third.”

Eve cleared her throat.

” The prior two were in ruins…Why was the third especially mortifying? No one lived...”

I closed my eyes and scoffed back at her.

“I think you’re asking too many stupid questions. Aren’t you afraid knowing that I am the Forbidden Bird?”

“I can’t die, why fear?”

Eve rushed in front and squared up to me now. Along the mountain trail, she puts her hands on her hips and smiled.

“You don’t have to tell me what happened in that kingdom. For all I know you were just on a good killing extravaganza then.”

“Tsk.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get on your bad side.”

“You do that a lot if you haven’t noticed.”

We journeyed for a while before Eve couldn’t contain her silence anymore.

“Wails, the entity of destruction, appeared before the world nearly 800 years ago…ever since it’s been like this. Humans and demons fighting for the sake of eliminating the other…”

Eve investigated the sky as she continued walking in front.

“I wonder what started this conflict…and how it will end.”

“Is that why you want to go to the End of Time?”

I probed, now concerned. Eve shook her head.

 “No, as I said, I have no intention to learn how to stop this conflict. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about how to stop it. But because I have a duty…I’ll go.”

“Duty…”

“Yes…”

Eve closed her eyes as she turned back to me with that eerie smile.

“A duty that’s been passed down to me.”

“What’s that duty?”

I leer at Eve as she now searched the skies.

“I need to give Wails my answer.”

“…”

I wait patiently as Eve took a deep breath.

“Let’s just say…I’m sent for the sake of Wails. That is my goal…”

“For the sake of Wails?”

Could it be that she’s an alley of the demons? A question loomed in my mind. However, for the sake of Wails is as vague as it can get. But instead of letting the details swing in my head too long, I take a deep breath and calm my mind.

“I have another question.”

Eve turns back to me who’s still nibbling at her previous response.

“I know that you are a Ruiner and that you can sense when the next blood moon is coming but…how do we actually get to there….”

She points at the moon.

“It’s a different planet, it’s not like we can take a boat there.”

Here is the question I feared most. I humbled my thoughts as I revealed to her in whispers.

“Wails Fragments.”

“Wails Fragments?”

Eve parrots.

“Ruiners are let into a secret regarding Wails. For him to connect to this planet he left pieces of himself scattered across the land.“

I tapped my sword eagerly.

“I, being a Ruiner, can sense these pieces as a way for me to guard him. If we can bring all his pieces together, we can return to the End of Time once the portal opens.”

 “Remarkable…but doesn’t that pose a problem?”

Eve leered. I nodded as if reading her mind.

“Yes, that means the other Ruiners can sense it too. So, if I do steal a Fragment…”

“Your buddies will be hot on your tail for it.”

Eve cackled as she skipped around.

“Are you willing to risk your life for little ‘ol me?”

“Tsk.”

I turned to the sky...

 

 

“Whoever is in my way I’ll eradicate. I have my own answers to seek that have nothing to do with you…”

“…Hollow.”

Eve’s smile didn’t go away. She eerily kept face, but I could see her eyes wane a bit. Maybe she was afraid of my determination, but I didn’t care.

“Face whoever is in our way.”

Eve searched the sky once more too.

“Is that what I must do, no matter the cost, Wails?”

I marched forward but Eve stayed there a moment before spinning around and following my lead.