The Dark Lord Awakens.
Little did I know, that while I was a young and innocent child, the Dark Lord was somewhere deep in his cave — awakening.
The dark lord awoke from a long slumber. He had been asleep for thousands of years. The last time he walked this planet, he walked with other gods and goddesses, as well as mythical creatures with magical abilities, and large beasts who ruled the world. Now, the gods and goddesses had all gone into hiding, the mythical creatures and large beasts had gone extinct, and human beings ruled the world. Just beginning to harness the power of technology, they had yet to discover electricity, but were well on their way.
The dark lord recalls his life before he chose to go unconscious. The other gods and goddesses were far from perfect — unlike their ultimate Creator, they were flawed. They did not understand him or welcome his darkness, they feared and ridiculed him, forcing him into isolation.
The dark lord tried to change himself into someone he was not, he tried to be a free spirit and let go of his need for control. He attempted to blend in with the rest, joining in on the drinking festivities and lavish parties. Being accepted by others meant more to him than he was willing to admit. And soon enough, a beautiful goddess fell in love with his facade.
It was his exterior that she adored, and he was skilled at being the best actor. But it was a matter of time until his true colors showed and he could no longer hide his darkness like before. The truth always comes out eventually. She began to see beyond his fake smiles and forced laughter, she began to feel his intense yearning for something deeper than what they shared. She saw that he was unlike any other lord, he was a dark lord, and that scared her. So she ran away.
Not only did she run, she turned the entire village against him. She told everyone that he could not be trusted and that he was dangerously disturbed. He was stranded to be an outcast, overcome with loneliness like never before.
The dark lord’s pain was so intense that he could no longer face anyone — not even himself. He found no point in living if there was no love. However, as an immortal God, death was no option. So instead, he opted for a spell that would knock him out for an extended period of time.
With the spell finally wearing off, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, followed by the slow and creaky movement of his muscles. He subtlety slid his legs off the cold rock he had been laying upon and cautiously put weight on his feet. With achiness, he pressed his palms against the rock and lifted himself while aiming his chest towards the sky.
The dark lord let out an enormous roar as he stretched out his stiff body.
He creeped out of his cave, squinting his eyes as the sunlight blinded him. The world certainly looked quite different. Standing on one of the highest mountains, he could see nearly everything. There were much less trees and greenery. And something about the smell and texture of the air felt unfamiliar.
The dark lord returned to his cave and pulled out his crystal ball to see what he had missed. He examined all the changes of the world, the many bloody wars, the greedy takeover of human beings — the most invasive species he had ever witnessed.
To his shock, the gods and goddesses had all fled, not too long after he chose to go into hiding. The humans who first worshipped them, and then began interbreeding with them, soon turned against them. They had no choice but to take safety.
The humans were quite fascinating to him, especially those with divine blood. It was not evilness that made them so horrible, but ignorance. There was a great sense of innocence, purity, and hope among the humans — that the gods and goddesses lacked. As soon as they caught on that the pain and chaos of the world was due to the fault of the gods and goddesses, they fought against them, rather than working together with them.
The world was once perfect. It was Paradise. And then the gods and goddesses came along, and with each passing generation, they became more and more wicked — jealous, greedy, hungry for power. Some were kinder than others, but all of them made many mistakes.
As the humans evolved and gained awareness, they were amazed at how magical the gods and goddesses were, and all their incredible abilities. They called on them for help — everything from building shelter to making someone fall in love with them. They were praised like celebrities, sucked up to, granted endless favors for.
But it didn’t take long for the humans to see that the gods and goddesses were actually quite flawed. Many abused and manipulated the humans for their own benefit. Eventually outrage broke. They became frustrated with the gods for failing to solve all their problems. They became aware of how power-hungry they were. And they were appalled with how miserable the world was, all due to the carelessness of the gods.
Gods and goddesses became overly involved in human affairs, wrapping themselves in their dramas, forming love triangles and cheating scandals with one another.
There came a point when the gods and goddesses realized they were causing more harm than help. And if they really wanted to help the humans, they’d have to do it from a safe distance, where they could remain in secret.
While these immortals could not die, they all remained hidden — up in the mountains, deep in the forest, beneath the soil of the earth, through the depths of the ocean, and some had even traveled to other planets in outer space — where no human could find them. All of the gods and goddesses were now terrified of human beings. They were frustrated with their actions, repulsed by their arrogance, and terrified of their vengeance-seeking nature.
However, just like a trashy reality TV show, or a devastating car crash, the gods and goddesses just couldn’t look away. They still watched them from afar. And some of the very benevolent ones even offered secret help.
The dark lord was pleasantly surprised by this New World he had woken up to. He had no intention of reaching out and reconciling with his formal peers — still hurt by their harsh and shallow judgment. Instead, he was happy to sit back in the safety of his cave, and watch the humans tied up in their petty wars and conflict for his own entertainment.
The next few decades flew by like it had only been a mere few weeks. Every morning, the dark lord arose, made himself comfortable in front of his shiny crystal ball, and see what type of drama the humans were involved in today — scandalous affairs, scheming and deception, competitions, love triangles, and so on. It gave him the most joy and satisfaction to watch someone perform a bad deed, and then righteously receive their bad karma through suffering.
So closely observing the humans, he noticed no difference between them and the gods and goddesses. The only difference — less intuitive powers. But with their steady progression of technology, they were halfway there!
Some days, when he was feeling brave and wanted a closer look, he emerged from his cave and ditched the crystal ball in order to get a front row seat. He turned himself invisible and floated upon the clouds. It was exhilarating. And no one had a clue that he was right there, watching.
The more he watched the humans, the more he realized that love was not for him. He remembered the pain of his former goddess, who ran away from him in fear and could never accept his true darkness. Every couple that he watched coming together, was always bound to fall apart and deceive one another. The was no such thing as love, he concluded.
And then came his witch. He found her roaming a stranded forest, gathering a basket full of flowers and herbs. She was delicate, yet fierce. She was cautious, yet determined. And she was beautiful — and that was that. He couldn’t help but observe her. And the longer he observed, the more attached he felt.
The witch he was watching, with hair as orange as the sunset — that was me.
Crystal Aura Gaze 