A promise, A Story

Crack* Crack*

All that existed was the voice of something crumbling, a valiant struggle to hold the cornerstone of the world in place. But the odds were not in this wall's favour, which stood towering in that void, filled with a piece of land that extended into the darkness which no naked eye could peer into, sky devoid of star and anything that can light up the area but strangely the whole void was lit up by silvery light of the moon, yet no moon was in sight, strange.

The cracks, like relentless spiderwebs, crept all over the wall. Even a mere whisper of the wind threatened to bring it down.

Sigh* 

A sigh echoed and, with it, ceased the formation of the cracks, even going as far as to mend them. The wall, not boasting a flawless facade, displayed the marks of its struggles. It stood there, a stoic presence, like a mountain braving the winds that could pulverize even a celestial being.

Sigh*

Heard it once more, but this one did nothing other than tell about the presence of a person who appeared in front of that giant wall and finally gave an estimate of how tall that wall was. The person, wearing a robe, covered their whole body as they stood before it, their back a little hunched, 5.9 (1.79 m). Even with that, they must have been strong and full of vigour in their prime. The wall, over 150 meters tall, made the old man look like nothing but an ant; its grand yet fragile nature made one wonder whether it was a miracle or a disaster waiting to happen.

The person, an old man with grey hair and a face filled with wrinkles, but there was a strange attraction to it, must have been very handsome when he was in his prime, but the merciless blade of time also struck him. Leaning against a walking stick that carried his weight as he walked closer to the wall.

Strangely, his steps made no sound. He strolled, one step at a time, and it seemed like he had all the time in the world. 

After walking next to the wall, he stopped, looking upward, and his eyes finally became visible along with something more strange; his grey hair had some silver ones in the mix, and his eyes were blue as the clear sky and deep as an ocean.

Sigh*

He put his hand on the wall and sighed once more, closing his eyes while using the other hand to pull the hood back on. 

"Keep sighing like that; everyone will think of you as an old man, not that your features are giving it away."

A voice came from behind, and along with it came a person of lean build, wearing a black robe that strangely had its end on fire. 

The person seemed almost hitting his 30s, floating in the air as he closed in the distance with the old man. Unlike the old man, he was not hiding his face, and his blue hair and golden-coloured eyes were very visible. His every action seemed to be carried with a poise and grace, seems like someone who treats himself like a royalty.

The old man turned toward the blue-haired person but said nothing. 

"Good to see you too, old man."

The blue-haired man said as he waved his hand. Two stools appeared, one near the old man and one in the air, above the ground where that person had sat. The old man didn't stand at the ceremony as he sat down; this time, he looked at the other person.

Silence…

…. followed for a while, where both said nothing and stared at each other for a while, but that also ended when…

Roar*

A roar echoed in that place; everything started rumbling, and the earth trembled, sending tremors out. It looked like something so giant that it could stop the world for a moment with its steps just by moving around.

After seeing a giant lizard-like creature that made even the wall seem tiny, the old man turned toward the mage, who was still looking at the old man.

.

.

.

The only sounds in that area were the earth screaming with each step of the monster, and the stones and pieces of the wall crumbling slowly because of the monster's frenzy.

Roar*

It roared once more, its savage and extreme expression telling the world that it was free and would soon rain down like hell on the people. 

It walked on its four legs, closing in on the wall; it could feel the wind of freedom calling for it, and the redness that its slitted eyes showed was evident that this monster was no mindless one but one with intelligence.

Haah*

The blue-haired man let out a deflated sigh when he saw the lizard, with its iguana-like eyes, closing in on them. Its eyes were still on the wall as the 200-meter-long and 150-meter-high giant ignored them. To it, the two humans weren't enough to fill the gap between their teeth. 

It would think about it: if over a million of them were here, two would not cut it and it can get as much as it wants when it scaled that wall.

Roar*

It warned the two to get out of its way as it charged toward the wall.

The blue-haired man put his hand in his hair and ruffled it, his expression annoyed as he looked at the incoming monster.

"Even this tiny fella is being contemptuous toward me now."

After this, he moved his other hand…

Snap*

A snap voice sounded, after which followed.

Psshhh*

A river of blood that flowed like a dam was broken, and a horrific scene ensued. The titan monster, looking at the wall with excitement, couldn't do so any more. It was missing its head along with its frontal legs. Its organs and blood were spilling all over. A cleanly chopped cut was visible over its body like some sort of machine took a clean bite into it, but instead of a saw, it used razor-sharp blades.

"Shouldn't have done that." 

The blue-haired man said as he looked at the aftermath, his eyebrows creasing a little as he snapped his finger once more, with which everything related to the monster disappeared, posing a question maybe there was no monster to begin with, but only the giant crater in that ground gave it away.

Satisfied with his work, he turned back, only to see that the old man was not even paying attention to what had occurred. He kept quiet, looking at the old man, his hand on the giant wall, lost in thoughts.

After hearing nothing for a long time, the old man listened to a question, "Why?"

He paused, opening his blue eyes as he turned toward the blue-haired man whose eyebrows were creased, and seemed to frown while looking for an answer.

.

.

.

The old man opened his mouth for the first time in a long while, and after a long time, this world heard a grating, yet heavy voice.

"A promise and a story."

The blue-haired man waited patiently for the old man to continue, who didn't for a while, then continued.

"A promise of Eternity."

The blue-haired man seemed to know what this promise was about. He was waiting for the old man to tell about the story, who once more kept his mouth shut. 

He knew he wouldn't get an answer from the old man, so he let it go as he floated in the air for a long while.

The old man tended to the wall. Time passed like that until the old man suddenly paused and turned toward him. First time in what seemed to be an era long, his eyes finally rippled as he uttered, "You…" voice still grating like someone was using a metal to screech.

But couldn't complete his words as the blue-haired man smiled slightly and said, "You noticed."

He held his hand forward, which looked a little transparent; one could see through it an opaque object slowly losing its property.

"The earthlings will soon be welcoming the era of great peril."

He then looked down at his hand and continued, "It seemed like I was not meant to be the last one, old friend."

He then looked at the old man, his expression showing pain as he looked at him, wondering how his friend could endure the loneliness; who would be waiting on him when he was gone?

The old man, eyes focused on the blue-haired man, not uttering a word, looked at his friend slowly fading. The other person slowly turned transparent until one could only see through him faintly.

"I'll be waiting for you at the promised table, buddy."

The old man, 5.9, seemed to have become 5.7, his back hunched a little more, something on his mind and maybe heart too. After a pause, he spoke, voice grating like usual: "…. I'll be sitting next to Saf…."

"No chance." 

The blue-haired man rejected strongly, not giving him a chance to complete. They locked eyes for a moment, and then a smile crept up on his face.

"Don't be here for too l-long now."

The blue-haired one spoke, his voice gentle, stuttering and trembling. He knew his old friend would hold on as long as he could, but he didn't want him to.

The old man said nothing in return, his gaze focused on him. 

"Hah… It seems there's no helping it."

The blue-haired man said as he let out a hallowed chuckle, wanting to stay with his friend till the end, but even a mage like him could do nothing about the end of his time.

"Goodbye, buddy." 

The blue-haired man said as he felt his consciousness fading slowly. His eyes barely able to see his friend's visage, just as his consciousness was about to completely fade away, he heard a voice, possibly belonging to the old man, who said, "I-it's a story of a Lie…. A t-tragic death of Compassion."

With the remaining ounce of strength, the blue-haired man could only utter, "Ahh… hh… that sad…"

Following this, he completely disappeared, fading away from existence, promising to meet his friend at the table, and they promised to do so.

The old man stood there, looking at where his dear friend was a while ago, with no remorse in his eyes or on his face. He knew they would definitely meet again, no matter how much time had passed.

He put his hand in his robe pocket and took out a small orb, the size of a tennis ball, Emerald coloured, stared at it for a long time, when at that moment.

Rumble* Rumble*

Crackle* 

The night sky that filled the void suddenly became filled with thundering clouds. Even the world reported the loss of its favourite one, and soon, it started crying. Heavy downpours slowly filled the crater and creases, drenching everything, telling everything how big of a loss it was.

"I-I don't know how long I can h-hold any more."

The old man said, trembling. Drops fell on the emerald orb. Maybe rain, or maybe it was…