The Origin

[So, where should I start?]

"How about at the beginning?"

 [At the very beginning? Hmm, alrighty then, weirdo… Okay, listen up! When the previous Almighty Originator created this universe and started the current cycle approximately 14 billion years ago…]

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant!"

 [What? Oh, you meant my beginning? Okay! Okay! Just be clearer next time so it doesn't happen again...]

"For Heaven's sake!"

[Let me think then… Um… Do you want the story before or after the resurrection?]

"…"

[… After? Sure, I can do that.]

"I didn't even say anything…"

[Alright, alright, now shut it and listen! Back then, when Gerald just lost his life after a tragic and hard-fought battle, the great powers of…]

"Umm…"

[What is it now?! What?!]

"Why are you-"

[What do you mean why I'm addressing myself in the third person?!]

"But I thought…"

[Yes, this is indeed a story about me…]

"But then-"

[What?]

"But you-"

[No! Gerald back then and I now are nothing alike! For My sake! I even shed my mortal vessel eons ago! We are completely different! Back then I was nothing, had nothing, and knew nothing, well, relatively speaking...]

"Let me speak! And stop reading my mind, please! It's so annoying!"

[… Are you done? Can I tell my story how I want it? I swear to Me, if you don't stop complaining I'll devour your Soul like the rest of them, special privileges be damned! Is that clear?!]

"…"

[… Good, thank you. Ahem! So, as I was saying...]

***

The verdant forest was illuminated by the light of the sun high above the clouds in the bright blue sky. The trees stretched beyond the horizon in every direction, with a few hills strewn about, disrupting the green carpet-like feeling the lush green vegetation provided.

Birds sang, and small creatures darted across the forest floor and lush emerald canopies. The environment was safe, alive, peaceful, and beautiful, with no sign of intelligent life anywhere. However, one part of this vibrant forest was not like the others.

It was a raging inferno. Flames devoured the land and spread outward, leaving blackened soil and ash in their wake. Tongues of fire erupted in defiance of nature, destroying everything in their path.

The ancient trees creaked and cracked, splitting from the heat, their thick trunks on fire, each one a bonfire in its own right. The blaze was a scorching wound on the land in the midst of the lush greenery.

Hours passed, with the glowing inferno showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon when something unexpected happened.

The flame tongues stretched outward and expanded before quickly turning around and congregating back toward the center. The culprit of these hellish flames was a red gem, glowing with power, at the heart of this destruction.

The gem, however, was damaged and cracked. The fiery blaze it was spewing out was weakening by the second. Its power was nearly depleted.

The wild flames slowed their growth and returned, forming a fiery tornado around the red gem. But then, another was uncovered as it sat there, amidst the swirling blaze and ash. A gleaming black gem laid quietly beneath a cage of cracked and blackened bones.

The two moved towards each other, red and black, before beginning to orbit around the other in the eye of the firestorm.

The two spun around in the middle of a pillar of flames that rose to the heavens. They were getting hotter and brighter as they went faster and faster. Any creature capable of detecting magic fled the area long ago, as the storm's origin was anything but natural.

Massive amounts of energy were being drawn towards the center, where the two gems had now melted and begun to combine. Sparks flew as red and black merged into one, with red and black streaks of molten crystal intertwined within the other.

As the molten rock-like substance bubbled and popped, shrinking to the size of a cherry, white sparks of impurities flew about and mystical forces demonstrated their strength at that time.

For carbon, they pulled charcoal and ash. Hydrogen and oxygen came from nearby water. The pure sphere of molten jewels attracted air for nitrogen, rock for calcium, sodium, and many other trace minerals and elements.

They were added on top of one another, one layer at a time, heating up and starting to glow before melting and combining into one.

Layer after layer the sphere grew, and as minutes turned into hours, the blob took the shape of a massive egg.

Its outside layer was made of molten rock and stone, with fissures and cracks in some areas, revealing its molten inside. The process of being immersed in flames for hours on end was so drawn out that a new day had already begun. The flames finally subsided when the first rays of the morning sun appeared, and the shell eventually broke.

Previously about two meters in size, the egg cracked open to reveal a creature inside. It was in the shape of a human in a fetal position, all burning and hot, akin to an iron sculpture forged in fire.

Its skin hardened and became black as soon as it came into contact with the crisp morning air. It now resembled a rough figure of volcanic rock after cooling down further. It lay there still and cold like a block of stone, cold and unmoving before it came back to life and opened its eyes with a snap!

***

Gerald had one bizarre dream. Well, perhaps his interpretation of bizarre was in fact normal, and he just went insane after everything that had happened, but that was beside the point.

In his dream, he saw himself dying over and over again... Burned to ash after being pierced through the heart and skull.

Then he was reforged in flames once, twice… After ten times he stopped counting as both his body and Soul were rent asunder. Torn apart piece by piece, purified, and recombined, like a rough piece of iron, he was hammered into shape, smaller and denser, but stronger than ever before.

The pain he was feeling was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He wanted to end it all as it was too much. But no matter what he did, he could do nothing but suffer. He felt like he was shackled, unable to move a single muscle no matter how hard he tried. Only his mind was free, free to feel the pain!

Everything that made him who he was, was severed, suppressed, or buried deep within his mind. His consciousness quickly became muddled, and he became tired. His train of thought became disorganized and shattered, like broken glass. Then, he fell unconscious.

***

So warm…

Sometime later this one thought was born in his quiet mind. He felt so safe and protected, like a baby in its mother's womb. But then his safety bubble suddenly popped, and the cold seeped inside. The icy winds of a cruel world.

The shell cracked, spilling the golden liquid on the ground, burning the earth while turning black and hard and cold. His body shivered in the cold air as his skin froze and became rock-hard... well, rock.

The icy chill suddenly woke him up from his dream and he abruptly opened his eyes and looked around. The sun, of course, immediately stabbed him right in the eye, forcing him to close them once more.

As a low grumble escaped his throat, and as he tried to roll over, he could hear a bunch of sounds of fracturing stone. It was his skin. The rocky outer layer of his body cracked and fell off in big chunks, making him gawk at his own body. He carefully removed the pieces that still stuck to his flesh, revealing pristine and healthy skin underneath.

[What…] That was all he could say. Around him was what looked like a giant rocky shell of an egg, as well as a now-hardened puddle of molten stone. And he was standing in the middle of it, with a rocky layer of his skin peeling off.

It didn't take a genius to understand what had just happened.

[I…] He touched himself all over, even pinching his cheek to confirm he was truly awake. And it hurt.

[I'm alive?] He gasped. Immediately his hand found its way over his chest where his heart was pierced. There was no wound. Then his other hand touched his face where a blade pierced his skull and turned his brain to mush. It was completely fine as well.

[I… He suddenly realized something and opened his eyes wide with an ecstatic smile. [I… I am… Ahaha… AHAHAHA! I'M ALIVE!] His roar of happiness shook the ground as tears nearly fell from his eyes. "I'm alive…" He fell to his knees, his voice now quiet and trembling. He was blessed with a second chance at life!

He would not waste it!

After calming down from the emotional roller coaster, he took some time to figure out a few things. But first, he waved his hand above the ashes, blowing them away with a slight breeze, until a small ring came into view. With a single thought, the beauty flew up and landed in his palm.

[My precious-] The words remained stuck in his throat. The priceless artifact was broken, its purple gem shattered beyond repair. The flames… It could not sustain itself despite surviving the initial explosion of Phoenix flames it seemed. His clothes, weapons, armor, and even his hair, all turned to ash.

And now the ring, containing all of his belongings, was ruined as well. To make things worse, the treasure shattered to pieces as he gripped it harder. It was gone, completely, and with no hope of repair. And above all, he was now bald, naked, and unarmed in an unfamiliar forest, on an unknown land.

He was completely helpless and with nowhere to go.

He had to quickly figure out where he was and find shelter or some people. Surely that couldn't be a difficult thing to do, especially...

The thing that disrupted his train of thought was the sound of hooves quickly approaching.

[Humans?] He guessed and quickly turned around. They weren't. Instead what meet his eyes were three scary figures, some sort of mutated deer, or what he subconsciously blurted out:

[That's some ugly Wendigo-looking motherfuckers!]

They looked somewhat aggressive and hungry for blood. Their gaze didn't sit well with him, and a conflict was the last thing on his mind right now.

[I don't have time for this!] The space around him twisted and his body rose towards the sky. [Some other time perhaps, fellas!] He shouted at the deer. [We'll play some other time!]

Hundreds of meters in the air, he turned around and looked at the greenery in every direction, free from obstructions or worry. [Now, where should I-]

His monologue was cut short as a flash of light suddenly streaked across the sky and struck his back. There was a spray of blood as his body suddenly lost control and he spiraled towards the ground, his mouth open and face contorted in a pained, but silent scream.

The mutated deer down below opened their mouths, revealing sharp fangs in anticipation of a tasty meal.

Then the sky flashed five more times…