An old man, average in height and wearing blue robes, stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the world as it slowly came to an end. Spheres of brilliant colors floated in the sky, breaking and absorbing the land beneath.
“The end of the world…” the old man muttered, eyeing the destruction upon the beautiful world he called home while stroking his waist length beard. “I must stop it.”
He began emitting particles of light and soared high into the air, causing the wind to get separated by the barrier protecting him as he flew towards the source of the problem; demons.
With jet black wings and bodies with blank faces, the minions of destruction were responsible for conjuring the brilliant glowing spheres. Upon seeing him, they began launching their attack spells at him.
“You need more than numbers to defeat me,” he said confidently.
His magic consisted of earth, wind and ice that dealt a powerful blow to the enemies. They retaliated by firing balls out of their mouths, but he merely waved his staff and blocked them with ease.
“Stop!” Shouted a voice from behind them.
They stopped and parted to make way for the Wrath of Destruction, the son of the God of Destruction, who smiled coldly down at him.
“You impress me, magician.”
The old magician replied coolly. “I'm not here to impress you.”
His enemy let out a cold laughter before swaying his hand around and asked, “You liking the view? It's remarkable how the end of a world looks.”
“That’s what I'm here to stop,” the magician replied in a firm voice.
He began chanting in a strange language while particles of light began emitting from the ground and took the forms of different looking creatures.
“Spirits of life and truth, perform your duties and save this world!”
The light spirits flew towards their enemy in an instant, whom the Wrath of Destruction welcomed with a grinning face as he ordered his army to fight back.
Several minutes later, the armored demigod lay with his back against the ground covered in extensive wounds while blood seeped through his broken armor. The old magician stood over him, sporting heavy injuries of his own. Around them lay the dead bodies of the monsters, turning it into a graveyard.
“You may have defeated me, but even you can't stop the end of this world now!” The Wrath of Destruction said gleefully.
The old mage looked down at his enemy in exhaustion. He used up all of his magic and exhausted his supply of magical items, such as potions of healing, stamina and energy.
“You're right,” the old man admitted after a few seconds pause, “but someone else can!”
And he put his staff in front of him and grabbed it with both of his hands before activating his magic. In an instant, the wind blew wildly and the pressure thickened around them.
“What… What're you doing?” The Wrath of Destruction asked weakly.
At that moment, a blinding light erupted from the sky and shot down before revealing a being of great power enveloped by it.
“You have summoned me, mortal. Why?” The great deity asked in a voice that caused the world to shake.
“Oh, Entity Limitless, I beseech thee to save my world!”
“Very well, but a high price must be paid.”
“In that case, take whatever I have! Strength, power, knowledge, wisdom and all of me!” The old man offered, spreading his arms out wide.
There was a moment of silence before the great Entity Limitless replied, “No. It is not enough.” As the mage became disheartened, the Entity Limitless suddenly suggested, “However, you can stop this from ever happening by going back into the past.”
“Time travel?”
“Yes, but your soul will go back into the past and be reborn in a time when the beginning of the end has not occurred. That is your only chance to save your world.”
The mage was momentarily shocked at the prospect of going back into the past before saying, “Yes! I accept your offer!”
Thus, the contract was made, just as the spheres of brilliant light went critical before exploding with great force. The old man faced the wave of destruction and took his final breath before he was wiped out along with the rest of the world, but his soul got transported through the stream of time to the past with hopes of stopping the upcoming calamity.
I like it! Second chance/time travel stories are a personal favorite of mine, so this immediately gets a seal of approval on my part.
The story's style seems to be a bit more pared down and focusing on the characters and their actions instead of flowery and elaborate descriptions, but it's in no way bad. Instead, I'm getting a sort of abstract/distant feel from the story as a result, making it seem like I'm an observer standing on a different level. It's neat!
I'm looking forward to seeing how the old mage manages to change the future!
...On a side note:
“You're right,” the old *made* admitted after a few seconds pause, “but someone else can!”“You're right,” the old made admitted after a few seconds pause, “but someone else can!”
Thank you for the lovely comment! I am happy that you really like it and thank you pointing out that silly mistake in the sentence
I think you need to revise the conversation between the Limitless entity and the mage. It feels off to me, a bit stilted perhaps. It needs to be more alive.
I did not understand, what price he paid for this?
Entertainment for the Entity maybe?
There is difference between "go kill everything evil" and "cast one spell and go get the popcorn"
He paid everything he listed, except his soul I suppose.
Seems interesting so far. Looking forward to the next chapter!
Thank you and stay tuned for more! ;)
I love how you both take your time to describe important details while simultaneously advancing the story in the first half of this chapter. I would have liked an explanation of why it cost less to send him back in time than fixing the world as it is now or at least a back and forth between the old man and the entity, the end of the chapter feels a bit bland to me as it is right now.