In a cataclysm known as the Nightfall, the worlds were almost completely destroyed by a harrowing surge of darkness.
In the shadows of the ensuing chaos a new group has taken shape. Led by an Aegyl named Kalos, the 11th Hour touts an esoteric knowledge of how to combat the darkness and restore the worlds. They might be the worlds’ best chance at survival; but nobody really knows enough about them to confirm or deny their claims.
On the brink of collapse, the universe holds its breath in anticipation. Of restoration? Of destruction? It is up to individuals like yourself to decide.
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There aren't enough praises in the world I'd like to give to wonderful coders for the Proboards community. The following have contributed to World Destiny in some way: W3 Schools for countless how-tos and countless of other souls who have helped get WD up to where it is.
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"Did...Did I really do this?"[/i] a trembling man questioned himself as he tried in vain to move from the ground he was sitting on. Blood trickling down his face, making a small puddle on the cold concrete. In his hands was a ripped shirt and necklace, neither belonged to him and it was obvious that whoever it belonged to was viciously attacked. But was it Maverick who had done the deed or did he simply attack the person attacking whoever this clothing belonged to? The youth had no idea, over the past few days he had been blacking out for hours at a time; most of which he had no idea he had.
A wandering citizen eventually passed him and asked him rather sympathetically, "My boy, what happened? Are you hurt?". The woman reached out to touch Mavericks arm but once she made contact Maverick pulled back and shot up, his clothed eyes glaring at the woman. The cloth Elaeus had given him had once been taken off once Maverick got used to the darkness in his heart, but now, now he doesn't want to face his own reflection. It lied to him, he was not a being of darkness, he just couldn't be.
His voice was low and raspy as he spoke, "I-I don't know. I...I need to leave!" he threw the shirt and necklace down and darted down the nearest ally way leaving that woman screaming for him to come back and that she could help. As he ran through the dark ally way his thoughts kept racing, how did he end up there? Why had he ended up there? Who did those items belong to? Eventually he stopped running to catch his breath and cursed himself as he did, "Damnit! Why is it all I can do is run?! Why is it that all I can do is be weak?! Mikhail is fighting the darkness as well and look at him, he's winning! Me...I'm just an empty shell of who I was." he fell to his knees and leaned against the rock wall.
M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D "I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU ENDED UP SLAIN BY ONE OF THEM."
Darkness. All things grow in darkness, and all things eventually end in darkness. It is quite an interesting thing to talk about; it holds the key to life and death. Darkness can bring happiness and joy but also sadness and sorrow. It is certainly an unpredictable thing and one isn't able to choose what to get. After all, someone has to win and someone has to lose.
A bright light shone truth on the role of darkness; without it there couldn't be light. Mikhail Rutherford had finally realized that he had to face his shadows rather than hiding them away. His dark demons would be able to grow stronger in the dark; he would need to defeat them soon, make them yield before it was too late. He needed to make peace with his shadow side at last, and he -was- succeeding.
But his everlasting fight against the darkness would have to wait some more. He was far too busy taking care of Antique, who still remained weak and frail after her awakening. She had recovered most of her strength, yes, but the pyromancer knew she shouldn't be left on her own for long. The girl was a curious one and she was known for meeting... unappropiate people.
Fortunately, the girl was fluttering in dreamland, and Mikhail was now given the chance to walk outside for a short stroll. Now that he thought of it, Traverse Town hadn't changed much since he first arrived; life in the world of night had become a routine. New people arrived pretty much every day, yes, but their stories were all too similar; heartless plus homeworld equal nomming of the heart and world going kaboom.
And of course, he was not an exception to that rule.
Rutherford turned right, walking into a deserted, narrow moonlit lane. He wandered around without a defined destination; he knew it was quite late to be roaming outside, judging from the amount of closed shops at each side of the street. But the pyromancer didn't mind; if someone or something attempted to sneak around him, he'd know.
Mikhail's curiosity led him close to an alleyway, where not even the lamplight caressed his face. Fitting his hands in his pockets, he intended to continue forward until he heard a voice.
It was quite a familiar voice.
"Mikhail, looks like you won after all huh?"
"What makes you say that?" In other circumstances, the younger man would have simply grinned before approaching his old friend, glad that he was alright. However, Rutherford knew this was not the case; there was something troubling the man, something unpleasant. Mikhail didn't even need to read the energies he emitted to notice this.
Offering a look full of concern, the pyromancer stepped into the shelter of the shadowy alleyway. For a moment, he was unable to see through the thick sea of darkness before him as he attempted to find the older male within. For a moment, he expected him to try to send him away, using similar excuses to those he himself had used months ago.
For some reason, their roles had been inverted.
M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D "MAYBE I'LL TAKE YOU THERE... SOMEDAY..."
"What makes you say that..." a familiar voice said is if on cue. Maverick lifted his clothed and weary head and saw Mikhail coming towards him. Normally he would have been glad to see his old friend; to see that he was doing fine. Maverick wanted to send him away but he couldn't bring himself to do it, he needed help and he knew it. The bone manipulator only sighed as he brought his gaze back to the stone floor as he spoke.
"Hard to say what I mean exactly. Just look at me, hiding in an alleyway just so I dont have to face the truth. I'm just...too weak." Maverick sighed once more as he went through everything that had happened since the Hades Cup. Back then life was normal, if not that than manageable. Maybe it was just that, being around the God of Death that opened Maverick up to the darkness. That would explain why Elaeus had taken such a keen interest in the boy from the start; plunging him deeper into darkness in its own realm after.
"Mikhail, do you remember the Hades Cup? The Heartless that were there? I...I have to confess...one of them gave me an offer that I couldn't refuse. I was close to death and he offered me a way out...so...I...well you can connect the dots." Maverick held a hand over his heart in annoyance. If he could have saved himself he would have but it was beyond his grasp. He moved his gaze once more to Mikhail and said with begging in his voice.
M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D "I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU ENDED UP SLAIN BY ONE OF THEM."
Fortunately he was able to catch a glimpse of Maverick in the darkness; the older boy looked so weak... so fragil and so faint. Mikhail couldn't help wondering what had just happened to his friend. This wasn't the male he had befriended ages ago; no, this Maverick was quite different.
"Well," The pyromancer began, taking another step forward as he began his attempt to comfort the bone manipulator. His brows knitted as he briefly curled a hand into a fist, taking a deep breath before proceeding once more. "I was in the exact same situation as you a couple of months ago... hiding from society, trying to escape the darkness when I was actually letting it consume my heart little by little."
"And then you came, Mav. You found me and you offered your aid and you helped me walk out of that dark phase... and it worked. Thanks to you I managed to avoid making a big mistake... I owe you." Mikhail offered him a faint smile as he looked at him once more, slightly biting his lip with doubt. Seriously, he had never expected to be in that situation. More precisely, he had never expected Maverick to be in that situation.
And then he spoke, telling the pyromancer about his fall to darkness for the first time. Maverick's words seriously shocked Rutherford; had his friend been -that- stupid? Had he -willingly- and -knowingly- accepted help from the Dark XII? A soft sigh escaped his lips as he turned to look at the white headed male once more. He had to admit he was quite disappointed, but he wouldn't show it. Maverick didn't need to see that.
"I know someone that can help you. I fear that most of the damage caused by that... offer won't be gone but I believe she'll be able to help you find your way back to balance. Darkness is nothing more than a weapon and we must not let it take control of our minds. We must be strong enough to submit it."
Mikhail extended his right hand for Maverick to take.
"Will you let me help you?"
M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D "MAYBE I'LL TAKE YOU THERE... SOMEDAY..."
"A...weapon? How can you say that?!" Maverick screamed and stepped back from Mikhail, shocked at what his friend suggested. Mavericks entire life had been utter hell because of the Darkness; it craved him, destroyed his mind at one time and almost claimed him whole. And now his friend was wanting him to use it as some kind of...tool for war?
"E-even i-if we control it...is there even a guarantee it will stay down...is there...I don't understand..." Maverick grabbed his head and slumped against the wall and slid down to his knees. His mind racing, breath rapid, hands trembling. The bone manipulator was frantic, could Mikhail be right? He did seem to be in control instead of a shell of who he was like Maverick is. Perhaps...Mikhail was right.
Maverick bashed his head against the stone wall a few times, tears falling down his cheek, and blood running down his neck from the bashes. His gaze fell upon as he spoke.
"Even if I could...c-control it. Do I deserve to? Do I deserve salvation for what I've done...the people I've hurt...perhaps killed..." Maverick stood up and walked to Mikhail and took the extended hand and gave a small smirk.
"...I'd like to find out myself if you'd be willing to help me through it all.."
M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D "I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU ENDED UP SLAIN BY ONE OF THEM."
He should have foreseen the male's reaction.
For one that had been constantly attacked by darkness and its users, Mikhail's words couldn't be farther from the truth. How could such a thing be controlled? And if possible, why the hell would someone want to wield and bend such an abomination? It had brought misery and destruction to the innocent far too many times, savagely taking with it every single thing they held dearly.
However others would think that taming the dark could possibly be a plausible option to keep the element at bay, and Rutherford was one of these people. One needed to keep their friends close, yes, but their enemies even closer. After all, how could someone be expected to defeat something they don't even know about? This was practically why he had accepted Lady Jadis's training; if he wanted to defeat the Dark XII, Mikhail would have to meet the element face-to-face and welcome it with open arms.
"If you just believe, you'll be able to do that and much more. Even in the deepest darkness, there is light, and this light shall show you the way. Whenever you feel like giving up as if there's no other hope left, remember this."
"I'll support you, Maverick. You're my friend and I won't leave you alone now. The first thing you have to do, however, is forgiving yourself. You obviously still have some anger toward your own persona and it all has to go." The pyromancer helped him up, offering Maverick a warm yet serious look for a moment. Mikhail then pulled him toward him, giving the man a hearty embrace.
They were both in this together.
M I K H A I L R U T H E R F O R D "MAYBE I'LL TAKE YOU THERE... SOMEDAY..."
He wanted to scoff, to dissuade the entire situation. For all he knew Mikhail was not even here and he was under an allusion from the Darkness; fitting for a lost child who kills. Maverick smirked, his friend wanted to cling on to the last bit of humanity he saw in the bonemancer. It wasn't his fault really, Maverick had fucked up his life so far the bottom of the hole was nowhere in sight, Mikhail was being nothing more than a rope to climb on, to depend on.
"It's like listening to a broken record stuck on shuffle. We hear the same thing over and over again, just sung to a different tune. And I must say, " he threw his head back enough to rest it on the wall behind him,"We sure are terrible singers my friend..."
Now, Maverick was taken back by the vague hug he was given but it didn't matter. He knew he needed help and someone was going to place a big risk and drag him out of the darkened void he slumbered in. As much as he wanted to fight fate, it wasn't going to let him go. Shrugging off the hug he stood up and removed the black sash around his eyes. Doing so, it dissipated into darkness.
"Well, Mikhail," Maverick tried to say happily. Yellow eyes flashing at Mikhail.
