The Forthcoming

Prologue

It approaches. The Cleanse approaches. Terror takes hold; Some prayed, some gathered their weapons, most ran. This was the End. It would only be a matter of time before it swallowed the island, enveloping the people in darkness.

The Cleanse has come.

•••

He sat by the fire, it's glow reflecting in his eyes.

"In the beginning, there was only darkness. Only the Cleanse and it's chaos, engulfing everything that the world had to offer. Then, life sprung from a corner of the globe, an illuminating light - the first child of man, born from the bowels of the Earth itself. This child bore eyes filled with hope and the very essence of being: they reflected the stars, a light which threatened the darkness. He was the first of the Aspects - the Aspect of the Stars."

He grinned, a toothy grin at that, the flame throwing shadows onto his face, pulsating warmth in the desolate landscape.

"Soon after, a second child was born. His eyes? The deepest shade of crimson, filled with passion and power - yet, there was a frailty to them, with the newfound passion and power, came mortality, death, and the courier of life - blood. He was known as the Aspect of Blood. From him, came all mortal people."

The flame danced and twirled with excitement, as the wind sang and howled into the night.

"Through the Aspect of Blood, the first mortal child was born, composed of flesh and bones. He shared the eyes of the second aspect, passionate and resolute. His eyes burned with the colour and intensity of a dying star, illuminating the world around him even further. He embodied justice and passion, and more than anything - virtue. He came to be known as the Aspect of Virtue."

Rain trickled gently, causing the fire to hiss and sputter. Barely clinging onto life.

"The fourth Aspect, however, did not follow the path of his predecessors. His eyes bore hatred and destruction, the colour of the cruel, unforgiving, dark skies. He pillaged and slaughtered the children of the Aspect of Blood, bringing ruin to all he touched and glimpsed upon. His hatred knew no bounds, it had no restraints. It was as limitless as the fear he instilled in people's hearts. 'He cannot be redeemed.' The people thought, yet the Aspect of the Stars knew better, for he knew that solace was the path to his redemption, and so - he banished the fourth Aspect to a life of containment within his brightest star, a place where his hatred could not fester. Millennia passed and he returned, divine and at peace, like his brothers before him. He pleaded for the people's forgiveness, but still, they remained fearful of him and labelled him as the Aspect of Ruin."

The raging downpour had doused the fire now. The wind no longer howled, but shrieked and screamed, whipping the ground below it. A laugh rang throughout the air as he melted into the darkness of the storm.

It is Forthcoming.