Old Endings, New Beginnings

Ancient, priceless tomes scattered on the floor, disregarded, as if punished for their lack of knowledge to collect dust. Accompanying them, hundreds upon hundreds of papers, filled with arcane symbols, burying the floor 3 inches deep below them.

Walls, filled with arcane calculations and sigils, as if this once glorious laboratory was nothing more but the canvas of some mentally degraded.

An old wizard frantically jumped from wall to wall, from sheet to sheet, searching and correcting errors in this seemingly unending spell formula.

"Where? Just where is it!" the old wizard mumbled to himself, as his crooked fingers dexterously flipped from sheet to sheet, skimming them with a burning gaze, in search for his finally piece in this gigantic jigsaw of the arcane arts.

"Not much longer my dear friend," whispered the wizard as the found what he searched for, "With the last correction in my calculation, we will succeed! Finally!"

*Rumble*

The whole room shook, dust clouds puffing from every direction.

"Hahaha, just in time, yes, yes!"

With the final correction done, the old wizard took a step back and channelled his power through all these sigils, engulfing the whole room in bright, piercing blue light, as every single sheet of paper started to levitate as the pulse of arcane magic passed through it.

"Oh my dearest friend, we are writing history as no one ever before!" cried the old wizard to himself, "After all these centuries, after everyone failed," with a flick of his wrist all symbols left their surface, hovering in front of the old mage, forming an intricate spell-matrix.

*RUMBLE*

The walls started to shake fiercely, bit by bit breaking apart.

But the wizard wasn't distracted by any of it, ignoring everything else besides his spell incantation.

"Oh you devilish, beautiful snake," hissed the wizard as the sigils slowly merged together, forming what seemed like an archway or blue light, filled with rippling waves of magic. "We managed it!"

As the spell gate stabilized itself, the old wizard pulled towards it towards himself with but a gesture of his hand, "I will tell you all about our tales together on the other side," cried the wizard a last time, as tears continuously rolled down his face, "My dear Ouroboros!"

And with that, the large portal devoured the frail mages body, leaving nothing behind.

----------------------------------------

Earth, 2018

Deep within a summer night a young man suddenly jumped up from his sleep.

Heavy, rapid breaths.

I can't believe it, looking around I saw my old room, no, my current room.

A hysterical, but short lived laughter escaped my lips as I couldn't believe that it actually was a success.

But with my excitement came a headache, more of a torture then anything else. A throbbing pain as if someone were piercing my head continuously with a blade, almost rendering me unconscious again.

It took a while until the pain subsided, and my thoughts were mine again.

Instinctively, I grasped my phone; August 21st, 10 pm. "Huh? Seems like it wasn't a perfect success." I giggled to myself.

Instead of transporting myself completely into my younger self, before it all happened, it seems that my personalities clashed and merged, the one victorious? My younger self, this time-lines true me, as seen by my new, old reflexes of checking everything with just my phone…

My thoughts wandered, trying to remember what happened, what will happen, my awful life, full of regrets, but I couldn't remember almost anything… on the other hand, I can clearly recall that I was celebrating with my friends and family just earlier this day, my 19 birthday.

I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, but not only do I seem to have a second chance in this hell that is to come, but I regressed into a younger, innocent, version of myself, slightly tainted by my future eccentric and somewhat cynical self.

Another chuckle escaped me, realizing that this might be the perfect jackpot I didn't even knew existed.

Well, I should start to prepare for the hell that is to befall us in just two hours.

Taking my phone, I messaged my soon-to-be ex-girlfriend, and broke up with the most heartfelt message she deserved; "Its over, don't bother me ever again, in disdain, yours truly".

I only had to wait but a moment to see the indication that my message was read, so with a swift tap, before any sort of reply came, I did what everyone would do, block her number, and delete her contract.

Remembering that in this time of age, one had to be thoroughly in such situations, I changed my Insta-Bio back to single and quickly informed my friends through our lovely group chat "poor but sexy" that I left that she-devil for good.

Which got a tidal wave of "thumbs up" or silly memes that they seemed to have had in stock for such a situation.

Well, thinking back, they knew something was not right with her, but I never listened. What did I get for believing in her? A dagger in my back, and poison in my blood, as she tried to kill me just months into the apocalypse, what a lovely girlfriend indeed.

Now with the most important task done, I still had almost two hours before I could do anything truly productive.

*Ring Ring*

My phone continuously spasms, thanks to the tidal wave of messages and notifications.

– Within "Poor but Sexy" –

J: Haha you did good @Me

Beast: U guys saw the screenshot, right?

Beast: savage!

J: utter destruction!

Beast: perfect, just perfect!

King: how come @me u don't understand how birthdays work?

J:?

Beast:?

Me:?

King: It is YOU that should get the gift, not us <3

J: +1, I second that!

Beast: +2, count me in!

J: ofc, our king knows just the right words

King: Lord Stark, winter is coming!

Beast: More like winter came, and left Tiffany freezing in the night!

J: Haha

King: true true!

Me: you guys, a bunch of lunatics and idiots!

J: uhh, the wicked tongue of our soul-less lord …

King: We only follow your lead, my lord

Beast: for we only follow the king in the north!

J: King in the North!

King: u guys forget about something?

J: Oh, my royal pain in the ass, what is it?

Beast: lmao

King: you peasant, don't u dare talk back to me!

…

– Back to reality –

*squeak squeak*

*swoosh*

With alarmingly fast steps two hungry trolls stormed my bedroom, both holding their phones tightly in their hands.

"You serious!?", the on the left cried out, "You savage, you beast!", his copy on the right added, "Teach us!"

I chuckle as my little twin brothers bug me about my now seemingly well-known savagery when it comes to relationships and their endings.

"I only wrote her my truest feelings, not one lie. So what exactly do you want from me?" I defended myself, "It's not like I cursed her, or wished her something ill, right?"

"There it is again,"

"Defending himself with words and trickery, while the whole world sees his true colours."

The twins said, while gesturing as if their life depended on more emphasis.

"You have to teach us!"

"Yes, or else, how should we survive without such wisdom!"

Both nodded frantically, causing a big, warm smile to creep onto my lips, just as I saw someone else in the doorway.

"You two, if you shout one more time, I swear to god, I'm going to murder you both," said the demon in my doorway, as she slowly walked towards us.

"Just what in gods sake did you idiots think when you started shouting so late in the night," with every step our beloved older sister came close, the more terrified these idiots got.

"We are so sorry, dearest sister, it will never happen again" Dave, the twin to the right, and self-proclaimed older brother of these two, tried to sooth her.

"We just saw what Dan did, and had to confront him!" Alex added, helping his brother out in saving their asses from some whooping.

"Both of you," Sophie said, "go back into your room, I ignore it just for today, as it is Dan's birthday."

With that both twins nodded and looked at my sly grin with disgust in their eyes, as they retreated to their bedroom.

"Haaa, thank you Sophie, you truly saved me from headache!" I sighed as I looked at her, still grinning from ear to ear.

Eyeing me suspiciously, "You are not much better, dumping your girlfriend like some heart-less monster"

"Soul-Less, if I may", I corrected her.

With a deep sigh she turned away, exiting my room, while glancing back, "Well, you did the right thing, she wasn't good for you." And with that she closed the door behind her.

Oh my dear god, how I missed them all.

Checking on my phone; August 21st, 11:50 pm. Just ten more minutes until it begins.