Years of Forget: Rewrite

Chapter 5

Crow seemed to wake up. But, he wasn't where he fell asleep. A vast, black expanse was all he could see. It was dead quiet for a moment, but soon, he could hear something. The beginning of a sound. A song. Suddenly, pink objects manifested. He reached out to touch it, and was knocked back.

A voice rang out as he dodged the corruption. The music faded just enough for the voice to be clear. "Young Crow, welcome. This is a test of endurance. All guardians before you have taken and passed this test, and I have no doubts that you will also pass."
"Dodge the corruption, and reach the triangle at the end of each section. I wish you luck."

The music gained volume again, and Crow dodged around the corrupted particles and touched the triangle. There was a bright flash of light, and the music changed. The patterns changed, and he had to dodge different projectiles. He touched the triangle again a few more times, and the trial got harder. Eventually, he came across a huge wall. However, he couldn't figure out how to get across.

Some birds came in from behind him, and dashed straight into the wall. But instead of hitting it, they turned into a blur of strange particles, and ended up on the other side safe and sound. He then realized— he had wings. He took a few steps back, and ran forward. He jumped into the air and used his wings to propel him forward. He didn't seem to get it yet, though, and slammed into the wall.

The bruise from the corruption burned like he'd never felt before, but he stood up again. The birds came back to demonstrate, and he made another attempt. This time, it clicked. It was kind of like teleportation, in a way. But he didn't need to directly touch his pendant for it to work.

He dashed through a second wall, and touched the triangle. The next portion had moving walls and projectiles, but he manage to dodge without much trouble. But then came the real trial. There was no triangle in sight, and just corrupted projectiles to dodge. The patterns became more intense, and he had a harder time dodging. He was also struggling to get the hang of his new wings.

He finally got through it, however, and he triangle appeared again. This time, it cleared all the corruption, and a small path formed.

The voice began again. "There are four more trials here. Complete the first three, and you will gain access to the final level. Before you complete it, however, I will have a little history lesson for you."

Crow went and looked at each of the levels before him. He chose "Chronos" first, as it was the closest one to him. He struggled at first, but soon found his groove. Next he decided to choose Logic gatekeeper. Finally, he completed Milky Ways. He decided Milky ways was his favorite one because of the music.

Once the triangle cleared the corruption again, he was led up to Long live the new fresh. He touched the level, and then a pink figure formed. The face was obscured.

"In the beginning, when I was choosing guardians, there was this boy. He was much like you, actually. Determined. Kind. Clever. But he had something you do not: Greed. Because of this, he was not chosen to be a guardian like the other four. This made him furious, and he went home with hatred in his heart. His father, the fool he was, declared he and the boy would get their revenge. Thus, the first corruption event began. The boy became the first corrupt overlord, taking over and ruling the land.
"But, the guardians came in and defeated him. Eventually, he forgave them, and went back to his natural ways. After all, he still had much kindness in his heart. But his father still had a rage inside him that I could have never anticipated. For the time being, he accepted his fate, and helped his son raise a family. Many generations passed, and the father's rage only festered. His wife left him for another man, and he became vengeful again. The son's successor became the second corrupt overlord.
"Over time, the father became known as the Lord of corruption. He was feared, revered. He lost sight of why he was angry in the first place, but continued the unending cycle of violence. Successor after successor he made into overlords, getting closer and closer to some unspoken goal. Even now, he plans and schemes, his heart filled with hate. There can only be hope that he remembers his loved ones, and lets go of that hatred."