Welcome, Wanderers, to another story presented by yours truly, Lennius Reinn-Lasch.
Sorry, that was from another story. I always wanted to say 'humble anonymous writer', but as you could see my name below each post, I wasn't exactly anonymous. Not that it pose any problem for me though.
On another note, I've been using the word "Wanderers" for a while now. I took it from this freeware game 'Endless Sky', where the Wanderers are three meters tall bird-like alien race. Not that any of you would play that game, though. It's Steam-based freeware.
Okay, the title is somewhat lacking explanation of the content, so expect anything from the story of Middle Age Crusader knights facing a pantheon of angry Egyptian gods that teamed up with the Greek Olympian gods over the right to blast a Roman pagan temple off the planet (which I cannot write due to my limited ability), to the army of three meters tall alien cats fighting human space fleet over the ownership of a Whisk*s factory on Saturn's moon Titan (which I can't write either, not yet.)
Anything is possible, for it's another tales of a Reinn-Lasch family member.
What I invented as a random wizard name for random story stuck in my mind, I originally only intended the name for witch Izrdien Reinn-Lasch because I need a last name for her, the first name Izrdien itself created as a random princess' name in one of my past story, before this blog even founded.
This story is marked R-17, for Mild Usage of Profanities, Mild Gore and Graphical Depiction of Violence.
Well, enough small talk. Let the Scribble begin!
Scribble 7: Edge of Eternity
The legend spoke of the immortal magician, who walked through time as easily as walking through various lands.
The legend spoke of the miracle she made, and how she will return someday, to once more show miracles.
The legend spoke of the immortal magician, unrivaled in benevolence and beauty, who held secrets of the stars high up in the sky and far below the earth.
"There was stars below the earth?" the eleven years old I asked innocently, while my grandmother patted my head, smiling.
"Yes, my Reinia, the stars aren't only those that shone in the night sky, but also in the depth of the earth, and of course, the light that was inside the heart of every human. And so, Reinia, you were forbidden from hurting anyone, for every time a heart was hurt, the light inside it would waver and dims, but every time a heart receives love, the light inside it would shine even brighter."
"What is love? Is it edible?" she laughed, while I tilted my head in curiosity.
"That, my Reinia, is a question you must find your answer yourself. Most of it aren't edible, though." she laughed again at my confusion.
[Seven years later....]
I was in a pretty complicated situation.
No, that was an underestimation. I was in really bad predicament.
Fifteen minutes. That was the time limit of my calculus exam. And I hadn't even answered half of it.
"Okay, put these on the bracket, multiply this, do a log operation, which was it again? Right, then integrate everything.... done, moving to next question..." I was working at astonishing speed that my teacher would be really proud of me, but that didn't compensate for the limited time.
I was on your standard gosh-I-studied-last-night-and-fell-asleep-while-doing-the-exam situation, the only difference being instead of studying for the exam, I was binge-watching this detective movie series I torrented the day before. Pretty stupid move, I know. Blame the story writer and the director for making such interesting movie.
"Alright, that's it, you may put down your pen and I will dismiss the class." the teacher, who was a handsome man in his thirties, paused before frowning at me "Miss Reinia Reinn-Lasch? You may put down your pen. The exam is over."
I kept writing. A few of my classmates stared at me.
"Miss Reinn-Lasch, if you keep writing after I said three, I'll scratch your name from the attendance list. Three."
I thrown my pen to the table, my classmates chuckled.
"Yes, Mr. Seid."
He sighed "I used to have high expectation for you. Well, not anymore though. Now I just hoped you didn't spend too much time on your movies."
"How did you...."
"The class is dismissed, check your belongings before you leave and be careful on your way home."
I walked home with confusion lingering in the back of my mind. The only conclusion I could get to was a spyware on my laptop, there was no way he could do more than that, right?
Wrong. He didn't do that. I did a scan with every anti-spyware programs I could acquire, watching the active process list closely. Nope, nothing, nada. I did get 15 adware wiped out, though.
"Well, I could at least believe that he didn't stalk me though." my face turned beet red "What am I even thinking? He wasn't the most attractive teacher, and more than that he was calculus teacher! There's no jobs that's worse than that!"
"Oh, wait until you have to talk to a lawyer. Now that was something worse than a calculus teacher." a woman stood in my room's door, arms crossed. Her white dress gave her somewhat serene appearance, she looks like in her twenties, but I bet my money she was far older than that.
"Wh-who are you? And how did you got here?"
"From the front door, of course. You're too busy crushing over Adam Seid to notice me getting in, though. I'm Ysdarien, by the way, nice to meet you."
"Ysdarien? What kind of name was that? And I'm NOT crushing over him!"
"How rude, that was a name given by my father, you know. And oh, by the way, I'm your great grandmother."
I felt like we were nonchalantly skipping through critical information here.
I stared at her, still dumbfounded, when she suddenly stepped forward and touched my chin. It was a mere touch, as if she was observing an artifact, and yet the simple act brought immense pressure towards my body.
"What-" I could barely breathe.
"To be able to share your love to anyone, and to be able to receive love from everyone without hurting anyone, don't you think it's so beautiful?" her facial expression turned somewhat lonely, as the pressure brought from her proximity had practically suffocated me by this moment.
"I... can't... breathe...."
"Ah, sorry, you're so cute that I can't help myself, ufufu~" she stepped back, and I inhaled as much air as I could.
"Now, Reinia, had you ever heard about the tales of the Immortal Magician?" I felt like we were skipping through a lot of important details, but knowing that this person could accidentally killed me just by touching my face, I decided not to bring those up.
"The one about the immortal magician that produced miracle? And how she would come back someday?"
"Yep. What do you think about that legend?"
"A total nonsense. I don't think magic even exist."
"And yet you're deeply affected by that story, adopting the values of the selfless, ever-benevolent magician over yourself."
"A successful education on my grandma's part?"
"Probably, but would those values deeply ingrained inside yourself if you thought it was total nonsense?"
"What are you implying here?"
"What if I told you, if the magician actually existed?"
"Where was that physics notes, I thought the material would start from fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, but that woman had a habit of inserting classical mechanics on every exam so...."
"Excuse me, I do believe that you are ignoring me." a huge pressure emanated from her being, and I started to suffocate again.
"I... wait..." and then I collapsed.
A few long seconds later, or what I felt like so, heck it could be three days for all I care, I woke up to a soft feeling under my head. And I was pretty sure that was NOT my pillow.
Seeing that the only person in the same room was that self-proclaimed great grandma Ysdarien, I won't be surprised if she gave me a lap pillow outa nowhere. Which she did.
Wait, she did?!
"Huwah!" I sat up suddenly, with deep crimson face, surprising her in the process. "Wha-what did you do?!"
"Just giving you a lap pillow. What, are you the type to get flustered when another girl saw you in your underwear?"
"Of course I am!"
"How did you even survive your PE class?!"
"I, I changed in the bathroom.... wait, that's not the point! Why did I suddenly blacked out, and how long had I been out?"
"I just touched your shoulder a bit, and then you suddenly collapsed for five minutes. Relax, I hadn't molested you or something, yet."
"I was worried about that last word."
"I know. Me too. Anyway, about that legend-"
"Don't [anyway] me!"
And then I fell down.
"Eh?!"
I felt nothing, but I could tell that something was breaking inside me. I didn't know what it is, or even what it looks like, all I could tell is that there were cracks all over it.
"It had begun, huh, I don't think it would start so soon." and then she suddenly kissed my forehead.
"Wha-"
"Relax, I'm just containing the power so that it won't overflow. Back to the legend, the true legend start with the story of Zahara Reinn-Lasch, whom lived two hundred years by acquiring immense magic, and then died peacefully, but her power never burn out completely, flowing onto her descendants. Thus a cycle was formed, every two hundred years, a Reinn-Lasch would be chosen to become the vessel of the power of eternal youth, while the previous vessel would die. During that two hundred years she will never age nor die, even when decapitated, mutilated, burnt at stakes,,,,,"
"I got the point."
"The eternity starts at different age for the chosen vessels, as it was measured from previous vessel's end of eternity. It seems like tonight is the start for you."
There goes my college life.
"Wait, I can't stop aging at eighteen!"
"Really? I thought eighteen was the peak of a girl's beauty."
"No, even so, how should I explain this to my pals?"
"There are another solution, even though none of the past vessel had tried it. The truth is...." she swung her hand, making complicated pattern in the air and pulling a thin knife out of thin air. "Two hundred years is not enough for me. I want to live longer, longer than anyone else, so that I could reach the same magic as Zahara Reinn-Lasch. And do you know how to achieve it, hmm?" she touched my chin with the flat of her knife.
I didn't know what she is going to do, but I didn't think it was a good thing for either of us. And yet her mere touch had my body freezing to the point that even my breathing was obstructed.
"The way to prevent the eternity from flowing out of me," she carved a thin line just under my chin, I could feel blood dripping out of it. "is by killing the next vessel before they inherit the power of eternity." she grinned maniacally as she held my chin with her left hand and pressed her knife to my collarbone.
"I hope we could play a bit longer, but I was running out of time, so I'll kill you right now." the blade is digging onto my skin, I felt like time suddenly slowed down as I saw something like a timer counting down in front of my eyes.
10...
9...
8...
So this is how dying felt like, huh? It felt terribly unreal, the pain in my neck felt so far away as the knife is pushing deeper and deeper onto my skin.
7...
"What are you doing, lamenting your fate like a defeated dog." a voice resounded in my head.
Well, it's not like I could do anything about this.
"Of course you could, you're the proud Vessel of Eternity, pinnacle of Reinn-Lasch magic! Stop underestimating yourself, Magician!" a bright figure entered my field of vision as the timer counted down to 6.
"Resist her. Fight her."
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't? Held your head high, Reinia Reinn-Lasch! Unleash your Eternity!"
5...
Half of the blade had already entered my body, there are no saving me right now. Soon it would puncture a major blood vessels and ensures my death, but my heartbeat is surprisingly calming down.
4... my thin shirt, the one I normally used to sleep, is now drenched in blood. At least I won't have to wash it, huh?
3... 2... 1.... Aah, it's time, huh? Goodbye....
"Seriously, what are you trying to do?"
Eh?
My lips moved, my vocal cord vibrated, my lungs supplied the air flow needed to produce something that was unmistakably my own voice. But it was against my will, as if there are someone else controlling my entire body. My right hand made a gun gesture, the middle finger touched her squarely in her chest, and with a loud explosion the woman who had suffocated me with a mere touch was thrown backward. With nonchalant movement, my left hand ripped the knife from my neck, and the deep wound instantly knitted itself shut.
"Opposing the Vessel of Eternity with a mere conventional weapon is just plain stupid. Didn't you said it yourself, the one who held the power of Eternity cannot be harmed lest the time comes for the Eternity to be inherited by the next Vessel." my mouth smirked. "The countdown of Eternity had ended for you, and now, you're just an utterly normal old woman, albeit with the looks of 25 years old. Do you know what that mean, Ysdarien Reinn-Lasch?"
A fraction of a second later, my body thrust forward in a swift movement, embedding the knife in Ysdarien's body.
"But.. how..?"
"You seemed to miscalculated something, old woman." the knife keeps digging deeper, blood flowed out through her clothes. "Don't worry, it'll end soon."
No, wait, I don't want to be a killer! Stop!
You cannot stop me.
Who are you?
I am the Eternity, the pinnacle of magic, the source of immortality. For all intent and purpose, right now I am you.
No, please! Stop!
I managed to halt my hands. But the body in front of me is already unmoving...
No...
Her blood, my blood, and my tears mixed on the white linoleum floor as I collapsed over her cold body.
My body might not age for next century, but deep inside, my soul was already dead.
My notes for that day, 98 years ago, ended at that sentences.
My mother found me the next morning, caked in dried blood, my hands was still holding to the knife that embedded in Ysdarien's chest.
She was shocked, but still calm enough to turn me over to the police. And in the end, I was declared innocent as I technically killed Ysdarien in self-defense.
But she knows better. I told her everything, and even demonstrated my power, she knows that I'm no longer her daughter by this point, that I had changed at fundamental level. In fact, could I still categorized as human?
I took out my stylus, and began writing at the holo.
Reinia - August 19th, 2104. Aboard the Sapulintang cruiser, crossing the Atlantic.
I wrote this as I looked at the horizon, reminiscing the first day I became Vessel of Eternity 98 years ago. Oh, how I hope that day could end differently, without anyone got hurt, much less died.
But there is no point in regretting time long past. Sooner or later, I must return to the Federation, to rhe Reinn-Lasch family, and finally relinquish the burden of Eternity, even though I was out of contact with the main family 30 years ago. I mean, Ysdarien did came outa nowhere and not even my grandpa know her, so she must've lost contact with the main family for quite a long time too.
Anyway, I'm currently crossing the Atlantic on a huge city-cruiser that was practically a movable island, from the Federation towards the North Chile Republic. I'll write more once we resupplied at next Nexus Port. Reinia out.
The Scribble will now ends.
That was somewhat brutal ending, and I don't like it the least. I always hated killing characters, even when they're a total jerk that deserved death more than anything. And I cannot bring myself to just let go of my characters.
Anyway, see you next scribble?
