The Past. (1)

**Isaiah's POV**

Malum turned and stared at me. I didn't show it but I could tell he was powerful. Probably the most powerful being I'd ever met. Hell, just his size alone was stifling! He had to be at least 7 feet tall and was built like a warrior! Those muscles were built from blood and war! Birger trusts him enough to call him brother so I believe I can trust him as well even though he scared the absolute shit out of me.

"Alright. Don't freak out about what you see in there, okay?" He said with a frown. "Birger has changed a lot since then. He hates himself for this… chapter in his life. That's why he asked me to block the memories from his head."

"So I will see his memories?" I asked in a whisper as I looked at his sleeping body.

"Yes. It will be very painful. For you. Birger will not feel a thing but you…" Malum sighed. "I will help stabilize your mind. You will be experiencing his emotions and pain but I will cut them off by a hundredth of what he truly felt."

"A hundredth?" I asked as I tilted my head. "That shouldn't be any problem then?"

"No…" he shook his head sadly. "It will still be excruciating. It will be the most horrific experience you've ever had. You are a werewolf, yes? You have broken bond so I will compare it."

I nodded at him to continue. I remembered when my first mate- Russo's mother- died. I literally felt death as she had. It was like millions of needles jabbed all across my body. My eyes, my ears, my chest, my arms… everywhere. I had almost died from the pain, though I had no wound.

"A fraction." He muttered as my eyes shook. "The pain you felt was but a fraction of what he felt- feels."

I dropped my head in my hands. "Fuck."

"Fuck, indeed." He said sadly. "You can back out if you want. I wouldn't blame you and neither would he."

I laid next to Birger and shook my head. "No… I need to know."

"Very well." He said with a sigh. "I'll start you off slow."

I felt my surroundings warp before I fell into a body. I tried to look around but couldn't. It was an odd feeling. The body I was in was moving on it's own- walking through an endless darkness. I felt his emotions or rather, lack of emotions. I heard Malum's voice enter my head.

*Welcome to my old home, Isaiah.*

*Your home? It's a fucking black abyss!*

*Abyss? Close. We called it the Void.*

*Void? Why?*

*Because when we lived here… We felt nothing. We had a void where a hearts were. We felt nothing at all…*

*So… you and Birger are blood related?*

*No. We are sworn brothers. Blood brothers.*

*But… you lived here? Am I seeing through your eyes or Birger's?*

*Birger's. He stayed here for thousands of years. He wasn't trapped like us.*

*You're saying he willingly stayed in this… Void? Why?*

*You'll understand soon.*

I felt my- Birger's muscles tense for a moment. My vision shifted and I saw… Something? It was casting a red glow amongst the endless darkness. I felt my body move towards it before grasping it and my vision shifted again.

"Hello." I heard Birger's voice come from my mouth.

"What are you, creature?" A voice asked in a monotone rasp.

"That is a wonderful question."

"Do you feel pain?"

"Not at the moment."

"So you are like me?"

"No. I am not trapped."

"Then… why? Why stay here? Why suffer through the Void?"

"It's comfortable."

"Can you… take me from this place, creature?"

"Why?"

"It's uncomfortable."

I saw my finger lift up and snap and my vision shifted again. This time we were in a garden. I walked to the center and sat down on the edge of a fountain.

*Brace yourself, Isaiah.* Malum whispered in my mind.

*Brace for wha-* I felt it. Indescribable sadness. Despair. I wanted to die. Why would I want to live like this? Nothing is worth it. I felt a mental slap as my psyche was plunged back into darkness before coming back to the garden.

*W-what… was that?* I asked as I felt myself wanting to shiver.

*You will experience his emotions… That is what he is feeling in full effect during this current memory. I've cut it down to a hundredth of what he felt now so it will be better.*

*A hundredth?* I asked as I watched my eyes shift to a being that formed infront of my eyes. It was… pure rage incarnate.

*That would be me. Before I met him.*

I was about to respond when the old Malum screamed in anger.

I felt my mouth open. "Silence."

The old Malum looked at me. "You dare to silence me, creature?"

"Yes. You are loud." I replied in a monotone voice.

Malum grinned at me and spoke quietly. "I will become their doom! You have freed me from my shackles and I WILL-"

My vision shifted before I saw Malum fly from my vision as blood flew in the air. Birger just… teleported and punched Malum?

"Foolish." Came from my mouth.

I looked towards Malum as I saw him stand back up.

"Foolish? Me, foolish?! I will absorb your flesh unto my own, creature! I'm the god-slayer, the world-ender, I am doom itself! How can a mere mortal creature like you defeat someone like me?! You're nothing but a pathetic fool, and you're wasting my time!" He said as he charged at me with a sword that materialized out of the air.

I grabbed his sword and crushed it with my bear hand. "I am not a mortal. Creature? maybe."

Malum stood there in shock for a moment before looking down at me. "Not mortal? Than are you a god?"

"No"

His face contorted into an angry scowl as he screamed. "Then what are you!?"

"Worse." I said. I could almost feel the pain in his voice and I wondered why I couldn't feel his emotions right now. I was honestly thankful I couldn't. The beginning was enough.

*Your soul is nullifying the pain. Soon you will feel it again. Think of it as a form of adrenaline.*

"Worse than a god?! What could possibly make you better than me?! Is there something more powerful out there?! More terrible than me?! Tell me! Show me! Prove yourself to me!"

I reached up a single hand and snapped my fingers. I saw Malum drop to the ground- dead. Birger had enough power to kill something like Malum?! Like that?!

*Yes. He didn't just kill me- he sent me to a place everyone fears. Even God.*

I didn't respond as I lifted my hand again and snapped once more. I looked down and saw Malum's eyes shoot open and stand up in a panic.

"Wh-what did you do?! That's impossible! You can't just kill me, I'm immortal! This is all a trick, isn't it? You're just playing with me, aren't you?" Malum was scared. Malum was the most powerful creature I've ever felt. Hell I'm pretty sure he was a god and yet he was scared of Birger!

I heard him laugh in my mind. *I am a god.*

"Do you know who I am?! Who we are?! We are gods! Kings! Lords! Demon lords! The most powerful beings alive!" Malum screamed in a panic.

I felt my lips curl into a disgusting grin. "There in lies your weakness. The fact that you are alive means that you are destined to die. The concept of life and death has no meaning to me, for I am eternal."

*Eternal?* I asked.

*You will understand soon.*

His teeth clenched loud enough for me to hear. "So what if you are eternal? Are you saying that because you've lived forever, you have some sort of superiority over us… mortals?"

My hand reached up like lightning and struck his jaw. I heard it snap. "Yes. Just as a human has no need to explain to an ant why he is above them. I also have no reason to explain to YOU why I am above you."

Malum grit his teeth together tightly as a scowl appeared on his face. "Fine then... If that's how it will be, so be it... But don't think for one second that this makes you any better than us. Because deep inside, you still hate us. Hate us for existing."

I tilted my head at him. "Make no mistake, Aatrox. I have nothing but compassion for your kind. The gods were wrong to subject you to such a fate."

His fists clenched and unclenched, ready to strike out at Birger again. "What do you mean by 'wrong?'"

"I mean it was unbecoming, rude, disgusting, and everything in between."

I felt saw scene in front of me pause.

*do you have questions so far?* Malum asked me.

*Your name was Aatrox? What is this place- this garden? Why did Birger take you from the Void? Why do you have so much anger?*

He laughed as he spoke again. *In those days it was the Time of Gods. We constantly fought each other. I was on the side of light- fighting against the darkness. I was betrayed by the very mortals and gods I had sworn to protect. Cast into the Void for Millenia- or so I think. I don't have any idea how long I stayed there. Feeling nothing for so long made my rage fester. As for why he took me from the Void? I don't know. Maybe he saw himself in me.*

*So… Aatrox? What were you the god of?* I asked hesitantly.

*I was a god without a legitimate title. I was known as the Darkin Blade. God-Slayer. Doom-Bringer. World-Ender. The list goes on, however none of it was kind. I was a monster.*

*Shit…*

*Shit, indeed.* he said with a sigh. *shall we continue?*

I gave a mental nod as the scene started again.

"What is your wish, Aatrox? Tell me, Darkin."

"My wish...? To end all life on Earth once and for all. That way, there would be nothing left to stand in our way. No more weakness. No more impurity. Just pure power. Pure darkness."

I had a mental shock at hearing this coming from the man who showed such love to his children barely five minutes ago.

*I told you.* he spoke with a sad voice. *I was a monster.*

"no… that is not your wish… speak from your heart. not your rage." Birger's voice echoed with power. It felt compulsive to respond to him. And so, Aatrox did.

Aatrox looked like he had been torn apart. He spoke with an almost pleading tone. "My heart tells me that I must fight against the light. Against goodness itself. For if we continue along this path, eventually, everyone will fall victim to its clutches."

"You once said you would have stood for a noble cause but the gods imprisoned you. Tell me, darkin. Would you have a second chance?"

his face contorted with rage again, and he pulled Birger close to him, his voice a low growl. "No! You will never understand, creature! The gods are our curse! They have turned our world upside down. You cannot comprehend the depths of our pain and suffering."

I heard a sound come from my lips. Birger growled at him. "Make no mistake, Aatrox. I understand pain more than you could ever know. You think your time spent wandering the mortal plane- unable to die- was long? I've been here… FOREVER!" His voice rose to a scream as it echoed across the garden we were in. Petals and grass flew into the air.

he stared back at me blankly, seemingly taken aback by your words. "Forever...you say? What do you mean? How long have you lived? And why haven't you died yet? Are you immortal or something? If so, who gave you eternal life? Is it the gods themselves?"

A scoff escaped my lips. "Gods. I was here before them. Before the gods. Before the universe was created."

"But you will die, no? You cannot simply BE."

"I will not die. Dying implies life. Life implies birth, death, and change. I am none of those. I do not change. I was not born. I will not die."