Long Ago.
"Honey, you've never done this before, why now?" She asked, stirring a pot over the fire.
"Yeah, Dad!" the two young children chimed in, their voices light and squeaky, eyes wide with innocent joy. "You always stay with us, even after work!"
E.K. let out a deep sigh, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Am I not allowed to celebrate just this once?" He walked over to his wife, playfully pinching her nose. "We finally won the war."
Turning to his children, he crouched down to their level, his voice warm. "I beat those Hangeleans, didn't I? So now, you can play without a worry in the world."
The children giggled. "Yeah, that's true, Mom!"
She chuckled, shaking her head. "Alright, alright." She walked up to him, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Be careful," she whispered.
"Of course." E.K. hugged his children tightly, pulling them close. "I'll see you all tomorrow, alright?"
They nodded, and with a final wave, he donned his coat and stepped outside, feeling the cold raindrops as he dashed towards the city. Passing the "Welcome to Mesir" sign, he squinted as a brilliant flash of light suddenly appeared, blinding him. The light radiated warmth, a deep calm that filled him, until he stumbled right into a tree, landing face-first in the mud.
"Ah, damn!"
A familiar laugh echoed nearby, loud and infectious. E.K. rolled over to see his friend Ljoran, clutching his stomach, doubled over with laughter.
"There's only one man with such a vile laugh," E.K. grinned, getting up and, without a second thought, rubbed his muddy face against Ljoran's shirt.
Ljoran pulled back, feigning outrage. "Hey! This shirt is new!"
Now it was E.K.'s turn to laugh. "Sucks, doesn't it?"
Ljoran held a straight face. "Just like when you fell off your horse and almost got blown up by those mines during the battle of Merïen!" E.K. stopped laughing and became somewhat serious. They stared at each other for a second until they couldn't hold it in anymore. They burst out in laughter, loud and carefree, letting the rain wash over them.
After a few moments, Ljoran caught his breath, his laughter fading. "Ahh... So, what are you doing out here so late? I thought you'd be home with your family."
E.K. shrugged, glancing back toward his house. "Heading to the bar tonight."
Ljoran's jaw dropped in mock shock. "What? You? Going to drink?" He shook his head, laughing. "Mr. ______ Himself is finally going to break his dry spell? It's been, what, twenty years?"
E.K. smirked. "Yep, but we won the war. That calls for a drink, doesn't it?"
Ljoran clapped a hand on his shoulder. "That's the spirit, my friend! Can't wait to see the look on your face when you try some Gahali!" With a shared grin, they broke into a run toward the city center.
------
He opened his eyes, drifting weightlessly through The Threads, the invisible strands binding all things: beings, realms, every facet of existence. This was Aal's creation, the fundamental fabric, the thing that binds all that exists. Although he'd passed through here before, he'd never truly appreciated the beauty of it: emerald-green threads glowing with a strange, otherworldly light.
"These connect us all?" The words faded into the endless void, swallowed by the silence.
After a timeless moment spent marveling, he shook off his awe, snapping back to his mission.
"Kek must've thought it funny to send me through here instead of teleporting me directly," he muttered, irritation creeping into his voice. "Fine. I'll handle it myself."
With a thought, he crossed the infinite expanse between the threads and Desolace's distant orb, materializing in an unfamiliar part of the realm. Before him stood a solitary tree, its bark rough and ancient, radiating a faint sense of life. He ran his fingers over it, feeling the coarse texture beneath his gloved hand.
"A beautiful tree, is it not?" a soft voice murmured.
E.K. pulled his hand back, his expression hardening. "I have no time for this," he replied tersely, scanning his surroundings. He extended his senses, searching for any trace of life. But Desolace stretched on infinitely, vast and silent; it was possible no one was within trillions of kilometers.
The quiet unsettled him. E.K. was unaccustomed to such stillness.
"Why not?" The voice drifted through the silence, soft yet invasive, accompanied by the ghostly sensation of fingers brushing across his cheek.
He froze. His breath hitched. "Stop it."
"Why?" The voice lingered, familiar in a way that twisted his chest, yet distant enough to feel unreal.
E.K.'s muscles tensed, his hand twitching towards his sword hilt before he forced himself to stop. The blade was too dangerous here, a threat not just to the world around him but to everything holding it together. Instead, he turned his frustration elsewhere, slamming his fist into the tree. The bark splintered under the force, and reality itself seemed to ripple, threads of existence shimmering like broken glass.
The sensation disappeared.
He stepped back, eyes locking onto the empty space where the tree had stood. It wasn't destroyed, it was erased. The void beyond stretched infinitely, silent and oppressive. It felt wrong. It felt like... absence.
"Damn it," he muttered, his voice thick with an emotion he refused to name. Raising his hand, he moved it in a slow, deliberate circle. The air shimmered as time rewound, weaving the tree and the world around it back together.
"This didn't happen," he whispered, the words hollow. With a sharp exhale, he willed the moment from his memory, burying it deep alongside countless others.
But as he turned and began to walk, the faintest echo trailed behind him, soft and almost inaudible.
"Don't go..."
E.K. quickened his pace, his jaw tight, his thoughts shutting the voice out. Or trying to.