Dance With Darkness And Light - Chapter 3 Visit In The Mists

The moment the six guards noticed Bazuul sitting leisurely in the study, was followed by them surrounding him with their swords unsheathed. As the swords were held at his throat, Bazuul glanced at them indifferently and said: “Nice day isn’t it father?” as he looked towards the king.

One of the guards roared as he started to swing his sword: “Don’t you dare speak to his highness imposter”

“HOLD!!” the king said calmly.

One word was enough to envelop the room and the people within it with his kingly aura. Yet, at the same time, there he was, his dead son in front of him and alive at that.

“Ho…How is this possible?” King Varanur III stammered.

“I’m sorry father, I hope my absence did not drag you or mother down,” Bazuul said cunningly, making use of his twelve-year-old body and the king’s emotions as a father.

At this time, the king’s face seemed to be made out of stone

As the day went by, the passing ceremony was canceled and it was announced to the public that the prince miraculously awoke from what was thought to be death. The people themselves thought that the announcement was vague, but then again, nothing truly would change in their daily lives, dead prince or not.

~~~

A week passed since the Prince had been reinstated as alive. The Queen came by a few times and so did the princesses, his brother’s on the other hand, made themselves as thin as air. Which in fact, was rather to Bazuul’s liking. In this week he had read almost half of the books Bram brought to him. To be honest – at times – due to the new environment, it was rather hard for him to stay composed. There were just too many things that an earthling like him would stir to the core.

For example, the world in itself was called Tiamat by the majority of the populous, nothing special right? The names of the continents, on the other hand – or as they would call it, realms – were as followed.

Ytolan, Agatha, Aroi, Mu, The Emerald Valley, and Atlantis.

The last one, of course, triggered an immense surge of curiosity in him, but he first had to focus on the Ytolonian continent. Since it, in itself, was already vast enough. Also, there might be the possibility he won’t even have the chance to see most of those places.

So he focused on the matter at hand, learning the ways of the royal court, trying to find out who killed the former Bazuul, and if this person was still around.

Then, there was this darkness within him, the matter with the Magister, his rebirth and the lord that identified itself as a servant in the afterlife.

He also started to realize the differences between Tiamat and Earth. To him, it felt like the elements and he himself were connected, rooted and one with this world. A touch on the stone ground with his bare feet and he could sense every vibration in the castle for an impressive distance. Where a breeze could sweep his mind away from his body and into the air, the waters enclosed him deep into a world of his own. And the fires – subtly, with every flicker – whispered to him.

It was late into the night and candlelight still flickered in the study. Bazuul just finished his latest read.

He rubbed his eyes, put the book back into the shelf and went to bed. Reading that much in this amount of time strained his eyes a lot, thus he joined the misty land of dreams within breaths.

But this night, he did not ease into his dreams the way he did into his sleep. It felt like he was being flushed through a tunnel filled with voices unrecognizable. Once he passed the tunnel, he landed in a foggy bright-white empty space that felt like a dream, but not completely.

“You’ve made it.” A voice arose out of nowhere.

Bazuul looked around trying to find the source of the voice, but everywhere he looked it was all white.

“Who is there? Show yourself!” He yelled.

He heard a voice come into existence as a familiar figure materialized in front of him.

“I am, as always, a servant…but, it is true, it is time to introduce myself.”

“You!!” Just as he was about to roar and jump him, the servant made some hand signs that locked Bazuul’s body completely and then went on and said.

“My name is Velamar, lord of the underworld. I..eh…My task is to administrate the logistic difficulties that arise through a constant stream created by Samsara’s wheel.”

Bazuul still enraged and full of hatred towards the servant actually laughed inwardly at the servant’s problem to describe his “task”.

“Bazuul, is it? You think this is funny, do you? Your unwillingness caused you to be reborn into a world and body that were not prepared for you, the consequences of your rebellious nature are once again…unforeseeable.”

As he realized that this servant named Velamar could actually hear his thoughts and since he himself could not move his body, he simply started to constantly “lalalala” in his mind to annoy the other one.

Velamar himself at first frowned, but then his lips curled up and a mocking light shone in his eyes as he said.

“You’re still as unwilling to accept who you are, as you were before, good thing it didn’t harm HER right?

I won’t bother you anymore, but remember what Takuan once told Musashi:

You are free to do as you wish since your fate has already been decided.

So, hide who you truly are if it makes you feel good. Fall if you wish, but in the end, no matter how many masks you wear, you will always be you.

You cannot hide from the light within you!”

Velamar pointed two fingers outwards and light started to cover the tips of those fingers. Then he touched Bazuul’s forehead with this light and said.

“This is the key to Akasha, there you will find all you need.

Begone now!”

Bazuul was shocked about a few things Velamar said as he was flushed through this tunnel once again, and then, suddenly awoke finding himself in a meditative position.

After the initial shock subsided he started to contemplate on the things this Velamar mentioned.

“So I was reborn into a world I wasn’t supposed to…what did he mean with the consequences are once again unforeseeable? Once again?” he thought. Then the memory of her entered his mind, and his oldest demon started to arise within him once again, regret. Once more the darkness inside him grew, trying to find a way out as he gave in to the rage.

Only to realize the differences between the basic Laws of this world and Earth once again. This darkness in him, where on Earth it was merely an emotion affecting him and maybe the people close to him on a spiritual level. Here, on Tiamat, on the other hand, this darkness was alive – trying to leave his body, and looking back to the magister, able to affect the outside world more than just spiritually.

As he still sat there in the position he woke up to and started to understand this notion, he simply remained unmoved for the rest of the night. Thinking about his past life, only this time, from the outside looking in. He realized that apart from one or two matters that affected his life, the rest was all his fault.

It wasn’t that there were no people trying to give him a hand after what had happened. He also never denied this helping hand but instead destroyed it. In order to destroy himself.

At this point, his mind traveled through a lot. But in the end, it would land where it always began each day he woke up and ended when he went to sleep, her.

One, two, three, four tears rolled down his cheek, he could not see a lot but what he could see was her hair in the wind, those sky-blue eyes, so kind-hearted yet sharp like a knife at times. Her light, soothing and hopeful light like the moon in the darkest of night. He once was the sun and she once was the moon – symmetry created by the heavens destroyed on Earth.

A smile appeared on his face paired with a light chuckle. She died fifteen years ago, yet he still loved her and still held on to her memory like there was no one else. Because to him, it was so.

As the darkness in him kept growing, deep within, enveloped in this darkness, a grain of light appeared. Slowly growing in size ever so slightly, creating a pool inside of him with two separate sections, one apparently for the light and the other for the darkness.

Similar to the Yin and Yang symbol on Earth but slightly different.

“Prince, my Prince are you…what happened to you?!”

Was what Bazuul heard as he was jerked out his meditative state back into his room, and saw Bram with a frightened expression.

“I’m fine Bram. What’s with this unsightly expression of yours?” Bazuul said with a light smile in his eyes.

“Young master, your face, it’s all black! Everything is bla…what is this stuff” Bram said as he looked at his Master.

What Bazuul, didn’t realize, was that after reaching a point of enlightenment the body would reorganize itself into a better state too. So as an aftereffect the body will push out a certain amount of impurities out of all orifices. Thus the black ooze all over him.

His life-vein may not be completely healed, but at least the rest of his body improved.