247 Origins

[Emilia's Perspective]

When he finally left, I let out a sigh of relief. It was getting increasingly harder to maintain this...false image before him now that he's slowly recalling. When I am in his presence, I cannot help it but have the desire to get closer to him. Before...it wasn't like this. Ever since...the seal has been lifted, these emotions...just started to flood out. Was this...what Ralus had been enduring the whole time?

I glanced over at Ralus, seeing him standing idly with a lonely smile on his face. The memories that had slowly faded back into existence elicited a...rather peculiar emotion from me whenever I see him.

"Like old times, right?" Ralus glanced over at me, smiling in a teasing manner. "We would do that when we were kids, sitting next to him..."

"..." I remained silent as I gazed at the ground, slowly recalling the days in the past...

[The Beginning of Time | Emilia's Perspective]

Who am I? Why am I here? Those questions plagued my mind as I opened my eyes, taking in the blue sky overhead while laying on a field of grass surrounded by fruitful trees. Nearby me, there was a being that was similar to me, yet there was something about this entity.

"Finally awake?" a soft, gentle voice said, and for some reason, I could understand it.

I searched around for the source of the voice, and soon, I happened upon its owner. Even though he was the first entity I've seen aside from this other being next to me, this larger being was the most beautiful and attractive creature I had set eyes on. Wearing a long, white flowing robe, he slowly walked up to the two of us, kneeling down, and placed a gentle hand on our heads. His hand...it was pleasantly warm to touch.

"Don't worry," he said in his soft voice. "I won't leave the two of you on your own."

This...calming figure, his very existence seemed to be the epitome of safety and security. With him nearby, the awful and frightening creatures hiding in the forest encircling us would never dare to approach, and even when the large orb of fire dies at night, with him nearby, the darkness was never frightening.

We called him Messiah, as that was what he said his "name" was. I wasn't sure as to what he meant at first, but after he explained the concept of it to the other boy and I, we were both intrigued. Soon, Messiah gave us names, with mine being Emilia Eve, and the other one's name being Ralus Adam. He taught us a lot, teaching us to walk, teaching us to speak, and teaching us the other basics of life. It was a long process. In the beginning, both Ralus and I were able to be carried by him in his arms, one in each arm. However, in the end, he is only able to carry us one at a time. Often times, Ralus and I would argue to be the one that he carried.

In this very plain we had woke up in, Messiah built us a cabin using the materials taken from the nearby trees. He would have us watch when he did it, and I would see Ralus imitating his movements. Ralus and I would often offer to help, but Messiah would never allow us to do so.

"You're still too young," he would say in his calm and soothing voice. "Maybe in a few more years, but not now."

"What are 'years'?" Ralus would ask. Ralus was the one who usually asked the questions about unfamiliar concepts and terms, and Messiah would never be annoyed by him. Messiah would always have a pleasant smile on his face and respond.

"A year is when the sun rise three hundred and sixty-five times."

"Why?" Ralus continued.

"Because that is when this world we live in, this planet, makes a whole cycle around the sun."

"How do you know that?" Ralus questioned in his childish voice.

"Well," Messiah chuckled. "Let's just say it's something I just know."

If there were questions that Messiah would never answer, it was questions like that. He would never tell us where he came from, who he was before meeting us, and how he knows so many things. However, that did not bother Ralus and I, as we were more concerned with living happily with his pleasant existence.

After the cabin was built, Messiah would begin making what he called a "bed". By taking wool from creatures that grazed the grass nearby, he would stuff the wool in cloth that he knitted from plants. The end result was the softest and most comfortable thing to lay on.

At night, we would have dinner that Messiah prepared using cut up parts from freshly dead animals and plants he gathered. He called the parts from animals "meat" and the plants he gathered "vegetables". He would then prepare food in several different ways, but they all involved fire, the magical and warm thing that Messiah starts by rubbing intensely a wooden stick against another thicker one.

After eating and gazing at the stars for a bit, we would return into the cabin that Messiah built. Using a small sustained fire burning on what Messiah called a "lamp" to provide light, we would hide underneath the warmth of the bed covers on Messiah's large bed while he told us stories.

"Messiah," I asked him. "Are there other people beside us?" At the time, he had told us a tale of a brave young man and a beautiful woman.

"Not as of now," Messiah responded. "But one day, there will be plenty of people."

"So how did you come up with these stories?" Ralus added in.

"I imagined it," Messiah would respond.

"What does 'married' mean?" I then asked about the unfamiliar term Messiah mentioned at the end of the story.

"It is when beings vow to spend the rest of their lives together," Messiah said. "It usually leads to the married couple having children."

"I want to marry you, Messiah," I smiled and said to him.

"I don't think that will work," Messiah chuckled. "Because, who you're destined to marry is Ralus."

Messiah looked over at Ralus.

"I don't care," I complained and hugged onto Messiah's arm.

With a soft smile, he placed his gentle hand on my head.

"Sadly," he said with a lonely expression that made me feel sad as well. "I won't be able to stay with the two of you forever."

"Why?!" Ralus and I asked.

"Would you die?" I questioned him with a trembling voice as I thought back to the cold and still body of a small wolf we had kept as a pet a few years ago. When I saw the pup laying still and not breathing, I felt devastated. It was as if a hole was dug out in my heart, and I cried for a long time. I don't know how much worse it will be if that happened to Messiah.

"Hmm..." Messiah stared into the air and thought. "Something like that..."

"But you didn't change at all from we first met you," Ralus pointed out. "We became older, but you remained the same."

Messiah simply smiled at Ralus's comments, not answering it but simply acknowledging it in a gloomy manner. After a while, he softly sighed.

"One day, I won't be able to be with you forever," he said in a sad voice. "The two of you will have to live on without me."

"But how?" I felt tears forming in my eyes at the thought of waking up one day and not seeing Messiah. "We lived our whole lives with you."

"It will be difficult," Messiah nodded and placed his gentle hand on both of our heads. "But I'm sure that the two of you will be able to do it. Alright, time to go to sleep. Go to your own rooms now."

Even though Messiah had ordered us to retreat to our own beds, neither of us budged. Instead, both Ralus and I hugged onto his arm, with Ralus hugging onto Messiah's right and I hugged onto his left.

"Fine," Messiah sighed and softly chuckled.

He seemed rather amused by this scene, but Ralus and I weren't. We didn't share in his joy as we were plagued by fear. We were afraid that he would disappear if we don't hug onto him tightly enough...

Years passed and our body size began to resemble that of Messiah's. Soon, the conversation from that night faded from our memories, leaving behind simply a pleasant dream and warm memories. Gradually, with our bodies now capable of more things, we began doing things ourselves. Gathering food, building things, we did it all as he watched us with nods of approval.

"The two of you have really grown up," Messiah said one night at dinner.

"Of course," Ralus responded in a proud manner. "It's been numerous years."

"Yeah," Messiah nodded, and for a second, there was a glimmer of...melancholy on his face. But, that look quickly dissipated and was replaced by his usual calming smile. "It's getting late. It's time to sleep."

Right after Ralus and I got up from our seats, we were stopped by Messiah. He walked in front the two of us and simply studied us, gazing at us for a long, long time. In a surprising and almost forgotten gesture, he brought an arm around each of us, taking us into his embrace.

"Messiah?!" Ralus and I were both rather embarrassed by this sudden gesture of affection, but we both returned the gesture subconsciously... After that, we went to bed.

When we woke up the next morning, Messiah was no where to be found...

[Present Day | Emilia's Perspective]

"He said he would never leave us on our own..." I muttered as the memories flashed by, frowning as a wave of sadness swept over my world.

"He didn't," Ralus whispered.

I looked up and into his determined eyes.

"He watched over us until the very end..." Ralus continued. "So it's our turn. We're not leaving him on his own..."

For some reason, I was rather touched by his words, sending a shiver down my spine. I could feel some tears forming in my eyes for this unknown and mysterious reason, but...I know that it must be something that resonated with my existence wholeheartedly.

"Right..." I nodded.