This Is Halloween

Prologue

"Today unveils a wintry day, as the snow descends upon the earth, as it has been the fate of the past thirty days. In the warmth of my shelter, before the fireplace whose flames crackle incessantly, I draft this missive intended for my compendium, or rather, for my enigmatic grimoire. Does it appear as a farewell letter? In a certain manner, yes and no. I do not yearn to succumb to death's clutches, yet I am aware that if perchance you have access to these lines, then I am no longer among you. I fervently endeavored to contrive an escape route from this enclosure, and yet I discovered its impracticability, at least in this ephemeral earthly existence. In this realm, I am a mortal being, devoid of powers, a helpless human. Somehow, I experienced a sensation of confinement within the bars erected by my own hand, bars from which I can no longer evade. However, after two winters elapsed within this seclusion, I glimpsed the metamorphosis of this world that once loomed as a veritable inferno in the eyes of mine, now transmuted into a delightful paradise. At this moment, I rejoice in the impossibility of taking flight towards other realms. It may seem a self-centered sentiment, but honestly, I care little. I have awakened to over two millennia of life, and I sense that the opportune moment has arrived for me to retire, the occasion to bring an end to my toils across these past two millennia. What befell me did not traverse the path of a curse, but, truly, it unfolded as a prodigy. My life, since its inception, was subjugated by a wretched malevolence. I express wishes that all may uphold harmony in the absence of my presence, or would that be a plea too audacious? It is not as if I am making a deliberate choice to remain; I simply have no alternative but to embrace this condition imposed upon me, and now, in my acquiescence, I cling to the conviction that it is the most auspicious destiny ever unfolded in my life. Finally, I have time at my disposal to discover love and establish a family, a dream that, due to my tumultuous existence, I deemed unattainable. What is the underlying message of this epistle? Well, selfishness does not lie in living according to our own inclinations, but rather in desiring that others live according to our preferences. For a long time, I surrendered to this insidious selfishness, and for the first time, albeit paradoxically, I renounce it."

Ilham, the wizard.