3 Running Through the Light

"So who are you truly?" Lilith asked while Aster and herself walked through the forest. It had been three months since she had saved him but she still knew nothing about him besides his name. No matter how far he walked, no matter where he turned to, she would be following behind. He was a mysterious guy which had brought her that much more drawn to him. The more he wished to hide his past the more she dreamed of the answer.

"No one," His answer was blunt and held a tone of annoyance. She would seriously never leave him alone no matter where he went. He had walked out into the forest to calm himself but Lilith was step by step with him with her ever glowing smile. Others in his situation would be filled with both jealousy and envy but if you asked, Aster would trade places with them any day. All he wished for was silence but with this talkative blond with him, that was a fading dream.

"Come on. Is there any need to lie to your best friend?" She stated while blocking off his path. He paused in stride looking down at her. He saw that her eyebrows were tilted down in annoyance and her lip was pushed out into a pout. This was all disregarded as worthless information.

"Best friend?" He questioned how she ever came up with such an absurd idea. He didn't even consider her as a friend so best friend was totally out of this realm. He only has put up with her this long because she saved his life and that is a debt he can never repay. This world is unforgiving so being gifted a second chance is worth any sort of pain.

"Of course, since there is no one else in your life that makes me your best friend." She beamed. If given the choice between dying or being with this talkative blond, he may have chosen to be dead.

"Fine. Whatever," There was no winning with this girl. If he continued his arguing she wouldn't allow him to continue exploring the forest.

"So who are you then?" Once again following him in tow.

"I'm Aster Curtail."

"I already know that but who is Aster? Judging from your characteristics you are exiled from the family. Why?"

"Not every question has an answer much like every beginning doesn't have an end." Philosophy something, he always hated during his travels. He had hoped this would confuse her enough to where she would stop questioning him though. If he were describing the sun he would say it stands alone illuminating the sky. A philosopher would say the sun hangs alone in the sky breaking through both clouds and trees shine down on their walking path. The profoundness of philosophy is disregardable.

"No man nor woman is immortal for their beginning come to an end."

"Life isn't the only existence in the world."

"Everything comes to an end for if it does have a beginning it holds an end. That is how the world remains equal."

"Infinity by definition has no end. It is not finite which is why it is the dream of mages." Every mage and non-mage dreams of infinite power. Aster at one point dreamed of it too but soon threw it up to be a childish dream. Infinite power is a power against the gods and the equilibrium of this realm. The One magic is another dream of mages; Aster had once unlocked the beginning of its secrets but knew it was something completely out of his reach even at his peak.

"Infinity has no beginning for only no beginning can have no end." (1)

Aster paused mid-step, the words reverberating through his head. Having paused mid-step Lilith had walked straight into him rubbing her forehead as she backed up. She seemed confused as to what had caused Aster to have such a reaction. The reason for his shock was that the line she spoke was the first step to unlocking the One magic was understanding that exact phrase.

"Where have you heard that line before?" Were the people of this realm that much more experienced with the One magic that any person knew that line?

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said teasing him as she ran ahead holding back a laugh. The rays of light danced all over her fading body. Seeing her vanish from his sight Aster sighed in both relief and shock.

"I simply overreacted there is no way she could know about the One magic at her age. I had long passed my peak before I only learned of its existence." Not bothering to walk any further he sat under a tree watching the leaves move with the calm wind. The simple things in life were objects he never got to enjoy. He never got to enjoy the rising sun without the world already being soaked in blood. Never got to indulge himself as the stars illuminated the night sky for the stars had long since been purged from existence.

He was once the greatest power in existence feared by all those who heard his name. His life was full of silence never a moment of voices except for dismay. Because of their fear they hated his existence, for greed leads to horrible mistakes. Peak experts challenged him time after time, their own pride making them unable to admit their own faults. They all fell just the same their bodies had charged him full of both vigor and childish dreams. By the end, he had left a trail of corpses behind him. The only way to prove oneself to be unrivaled, he has to create a pile of corpses as a statement. He became unrivaled among mortals so he traveled further. He had met fey which would in another life be called fairies. A new pile and legend had been born, from fey was to demons, and then from demons to dragons. Dragons were considered the strongest beings besides the divines. Yet just like all the rest they had fallen to Aster's hands. So the pile continued to grow till he could rival the divines. A tower sways in the wind, a mountain erodes with the rain, a pile of corpse lasts as long as their killer.

He had made a pile to the heavens and become a threat to the standing gods. So with new challengers came new deaths. Divines weren't even his match as the pile continued to grow. As the pile grew, he dreamed of new heights but there was nothing higher, there was no new challenge.

Watching the leaves in the wind reminded him of all of this. Reminded him of the person he had created himself into. This moment of being able to sit still while listening to the birds' chirp and feeling the cooling breeze was foreign to him. The air wasn't filled with the heavy scent of blood but of nature. Filled with flowers and trees, foods and animals, life, an idea that fades when surrounded by death.

A small but genuine smile made its way onto his face for what seemed like the first since he came to this realm.

"So you can smile." Not far in front of him stood Lilith her ever beaming smile still evident as always. The glow of the sun shined from behind her giving her a divine appearance. The moment Aster noticed her his face went back to its normal expressionless self. Lilith slightly laughed into her hand giving her eyes the look of two large crescent moons.

"You should smile more it looks better than your normal self." She commented suppressing her laughter.

"I'll pass," He replied standing up and dusting off his pants.