The War of Shadows EXTEND: Lords of Shadows

Time spins, twists and turns within this darkened shroud, this blackened mass – as vision of things most violent and heinous flash across my eyes. I am quickly becoming to know things as they were always meant to be known, this very reality has began to crack and crumble before my very eyes as I have now begun to see things from their point of view – those who dwell so much higher than me across this place, those that have been beckoning this entire time. As I am slowly whisked away from this bloody and tarnished battlefield I can feel the presence of one that I had felt before, not of the legend that has returned, but instead, of something much closer, yet at the same time much more separate.

The mass that has removed me from this war that we have lost now whispers to words to me of Lords. Guardians of sorts that have long since beckoned over this seemingly vast and infinite place since the dawn of this advent. For not only have they come to bear witness of the birth of this advent upon it’s taking place, but soon, these lords that dwell in shadows only – shall over see the death of the very same advent. For they now speak of me of the greatest fall I shall ever know, one that shall take place after the remaining of the fleeting moments of duality cease, with there being nothing left but me. Alone once again within this vast place. They speak to me knowledge of all that I am, triggering the darkness within to begin to move, to stir and spin. What I have come to know is inevitable, for according to these Lords the time has come to initiate the end of this fall – as fires much more sinister and much more violent than anything I have come to know await me upon the expiration of the eras that will follow the ending of the sands of time.

I know that there is no escaping this at this point, for with each moment that I close my eyes I can see the lines merging into one giant and muddled mess – for time is now beginning to become undone, coming out of order, just like before. There is a sense of calmness in all of this, a sense of acceptance, and a fleeting sense of solace and peace as these moments quickly begin to fade.  In the time that shall follow this final moment of duality will be a time before the expiration, a time before the raging fires begin, a time where the dark will integrate, a time where I will come face to face with all that I am. This war of shadows is now over, for while the shadows and echoes alike still hold threat to this land – I know now that their wrath was inevitable from the very beginning, that their presence was always part of the process.

I have lost faith in us as a collective. In this war that we face during this moment in time – all has inevitably begun to crumble before us. We have lost in this battle, and not only this war – but countless lives that once stood at the sides of the pure shadows have now been washing away with the echoes. It is in this time that the blackened mass that spreads it’s darkened wings across the scapes of this place whisper words of truer hollow, darker hollows. A place within a separate moment in time that has forever longed for me to become what I have always felt to me, a place that yearns for the fall to not be solely discovered again – but in fact to take place again. I know that with this very loss that stands before me now, the fall must always have been part of the process. For while I have staggered, and while I have stumbled – I have never truly fallen throughout this all.

“This is the fallout.” It hisses to me as a winded black mass strips away the rusted and worn stainless steel from my hand. I can see the blade spinning and turning, much like my mind, in an chaotic fashion before finally piercing it’s way into the muddled ground below. My weapons are no longer required in this war I have been waging all this time, for now it seems as if my services are no longer needed in this place – as what remains of this army of shadows is whisked away in a shadowed breeze. “There is no saving what is left.” This mass states, as even I feel that those who once fought beside my have surely chosen their path – such as I have all those many ages ago.

I can see the violent force of shadows and echoes combined ravaging their way across the lands now, I can see it all beginning to cave in, I can feel what was left of love and hope begin to fade rapidly as the sister moon from above beckons with a sort of sadness, but also acceptance. I can begin to feel the weight on my chest getting stronger and stronger – for my once quickly beating heart from inside has also begun to slow in this moment, as it also can sense the eras beginning to fold in on themselves as soon, Fates like none other will be carried out onto this Advent and those who dwell along it’s lines like. Those who choose rapport with what will become of me during these fleeting moments will be met with the only state that is allowed to exist within these times, the state that I have always known I was destined to meet since the dawn of my time. This acceptance grows firm within me, as integrals of this mass begin to surround me slowly, drifting me off in some strange dark and barren sleep – as what remains of my dwindling sight is nothing but the rolled eyes of fallen soldiers down below, and the settling in of the cold night air.

During these fleeting moments in time within this war, I am witnessing the last of many things. The tides have changed in this battle in way’s I could never imagined, or perhaps we were destined to lose to begin with. I am seeing arrows soar across the skies once again, piercing the innocent skin of forces around me, forces that too wish to live to see the dawn of a true light, the dawn of a new light once more. But it seems clear to me now that they know all to well that while that may be what we are fighting for, we may never see it, we may never bear witness to it. 

In these fleeting moments in time, the grounds and skies alike have begun to open up, the darkened shadows which cloak the darkened corners of the moon have begun to descend upon these lands – forming a mass like none other, washing across these landscapes like a tidal wave. This mass whispers words to me, it whispers words of a fleeting moment in time that is now, a window that can now be seen through – clearly. It is through this window that I can see you, a wanderer, one like I. You are searching out the last of the light to claim it as your own, before setting ruin to it all, before washing it all in darkness. It is in my quickly beating heart that I know what you must do is true, it is in my heart that you will find the freedom that you seek – but perhaps not in the way you had always intended.

It is in these fleeting moments that I grasp my blade tightly and run into the depths of despair, the core of this fight that will surely engulf me into this mass. And as I run with rage into the beckoning shadows and echoes within, I can see more and more bodies fall from around me, with each and every second. They are exhausted, eyes rolling and breaths fading – acceptance growing, as they know they will never bear witness to this new dawn that we have all been fighting for. The lives that we live are not the same, we were born to wage wars with the light and dark, and with ourselves. We were born to watch this plane suffers into the depths while out last and every attempts at changing the lines fail. It is in this moment, that war no longer holds a priority for me, it is in this moment that I now truly embrace the role of a warrior of shadows, it is in this moment that I now oath to use the last of my strength to bring about the only change left for me to bring. It is in this moment that equality fades for the last time this advent will ever know. It is in this moment where I can finally feel a sense of duality, coming forth.  

In the event of this maddening and violent war, I have solemnly become reclaimed to my senses, in a way. For with danger lurking around every corner in this place, and death striking behind each and every blade – I have long since learned to be weary of the subtle movements around me, and more. But now, I can sense something different all together. A slight crossing of lines that I had never thought to be possible, a moment in time where I can sense your rage, you weariness, your fate. You are not here, but at the same time you are close. It is as if you are cloaked by some strange and mysterious force that still remains unknown to me.

My eyes are wandering now, and not in the direction that they should. For while comrades fall to their knees from all around me, my eyes are fixated above, as I cannot help but notice the large dark and shadowed masses that have begun to sweep across this place. It is eerie in essence, however I must hold no fear in this fight, for more than just myself is at stake at this time. I can feel your presence through these shadows, or so I believe. It seems we, in fact, now share the same vessel of sorts – with the shadows as a lone catalyst. But while you head towards something inevitably much darker, I still stand here fighting off what I know deep down inside is inevitable; as this beckoning mass from above slowly makes it’s way across this place.

In essence, we are not the same, nor have we ever been. For once, I stood at the side of light in hopes of finding the salvation and hope that I have always sought. However, now that my knowledge grows with each passing day, now that I am able to clearly see the false light that I have been lead to believe as true all this time has long since turned me on the darker path, a shadowed path; for may prove to be of great worth when the time comes. A time that will lay at the edge of this hyper-reality, a time that will teeter on the edge between life and death, a time that will see the inevitable death of this dying advent.

This war is on-going and while it is true, my blade and sword alike remain active for the side of shadows- I have regardless begun to grow weary of it all. For die by day and even during each passing hour, I can feel the cold begin to settle in, along with a new darkness that puts my title of warrior of shadows to shame. This darkness is far off in sight, but has brought upon it’s precursor. A beckoning planet of both light and dark that is said to house the forces which we are all fighting for, the forces we have been slaving for all along. I am no fool to the opposing force that is at hand right now in this moment, the echoes with shadows seek to devour all that is, but with echoes now in this moment, consuming – I cannot yet afford to fade away.

With each passing moment, the air grows more and more thick, hard to grasp, hard to breathe – with the stench of decay and rotting corpses at the forefront. Blood spills around every corner here, and it has become the very norm to see lights leave the eyes of beings, who like me, have taken up the mantle of shadows in hopes of finding their place in all of this – but to no avail. Despite the countless lives lost, both those that I have taken, and those that have been taken from me – I can feel a void growing stronger, and a force growing nearer, I can feel the changing of the tides as this moon beckons from above – it’s beams now providing me light, revealing the lines that remain across the skies.

I know that surely, this conflict cannot last forever, for our forces are dwindling and our hearts grow more and more tired. For despite the consultation, and despite the solace and peace we seek from deep down inside of ourselves, this war as a whole shall not offer any of it, and with the violence spreading across this vast and seemingly infinite space with each passing moment – it would seem that we are all but safe from this coming tragedy. I am now laying more sword down in hopes that this force that beckons above can speak wisdom to me in terms of what may follow. For I too, am now lost in all of this, and while I will still fight with the remaining ounce of strength that exists within me, I know all to well that I am no match for what is coming.

This conflict, this strife, this war between the forces of Shadows and Echoes alike has began to extend beyond anything that I could have ever imagined. We have begun to suffer, in a sense, and now we are left here with no other choice but to continue the violence – to continuing warring on. The war-songs that were once a vibration coursing throughout my veins, has now quickly become a piercing and painful sound to my eyes, it’s frequencies blur my vision and exhaust me to the core, but I am powerless nonetheless. I have been summoned to this fight because I have taken on the darker, for my years of chasing false light have now come to an end – and now this darkness has become a very integral part of me.

I am a warrior of shadows, I erase the light that is fading and replace it with the cold and darkened force that is blackness and emptiness – but despite my efficient work, I still cannot help but feel as if I am doing someone else’s bidding in this all, that this war in it’s entirety is something much greater than what I have come to know. Our battle is like of the shiftless tides, while many warriors of our side fall and collapse, never to move again; with every death we push stronger against the echoes in hopes of winning this great conflict.

The air, that was once burning from all of the fierce violence from all around, has begun to cool, and now a chilling touch remains part of it. This touch, so chilling that visions of poisons and much darker nights have begun to infiltrate my all. I can feel something stranger changing, like a new kind of darkness from below, seeping it’s way into this line. I can feel this chaos expanding, like a sort of entropy – or some irreversible void. And while my skin continues to be met with stainless steel, whilst the eyes of fallen soldiers slowly roll and fade to white on the unforgiving earth beneath my shins – I know that something much more sinister is afoot.