THE SHADOWVERSE

The Return

500 YEARS AGO

There was only darkness. A darkness he could feel. This world bathed itself in an energy he had never sensed—an energy never released for centuries. Until now. Throughout his life, he had been unable to follow the codes of his own species, but now his name and the world he left behind would perish where he had deserted it: the past. And if it be left to his will, that place would rot. Now, he abandons the name and past he despised so much to become someone new: Solis. 

His cloak flapped in the ferocious wind, while only a bruitsh, black mask covered half of his dark purple face up to the eyes. The machine, made up of hundreds of interconnected wires and metal plates, roared like an engine. It was time—time at last.

"And now," he said, "I shall resurrect the true hero."

A rumble. Another. Soon, the area, a desolate wasteland on a planet long forgotten, was subject to an outpouring of black, murky mist, lightly coupled with a polychromatic, wispy energy. Its power focused on a single point. A horizontal vortex formed as the wind accelerated. The golden irises of Solis's eyes searched frantically for any sign.

Solis braced himself as the point widened. The vortex punched a spherical hole into the very fabric of reality. Thunder resonated like alarms and a demonically black lightning emanated in all directions. It was quickly becoming too much to bear. But yet, he had to withstand. For him. The hole grew more pronounced with each passing second.

Through the storm, he heard a voice. A deep, firm, reverberating voice. "Who calls me?" it asked. "What is transpiring?"

Solis gulped, yet spoke through the storm's fury. "I am Solis, and I am here to resurrect the one who brought so much to this reality I was unfortunately born into!"

"Where is Sonovan Lung?" the voice bellowed, frantic for a revelation.

"He will be of little consequence soon," Solis answered flatly.

"I feel . . . free."

Solis prepared himself for the arrival of a being of old, a ruler of worlds who had been dethroned, murdered, and banished back to the alternate universe he had originated from—the Shadowverse—five-hundred years prior by an immortal warrior named Sonovan Lung and three of his compatriots, Orslon, Venarian, and Zydok, known by their code name 'The Shadows.'

"Then free yourself, my lord!" Solis beckoned.

"So be it."

Energy swirled everywhere, threatening to knock seven-foot Solis off his feet. Then, he saw them. Fingers, grasping the edges of the rotating sphere as the lightning flashed and thunder boomed. Subsequently, something else appeared in the hurricane—menacing, crimson eyes. Solis could see the form now—all nine feet of him. So close. "Get through!" he shouted.

The figure growled monstrously. "I never thought I could make it back, but now . . . I am here!" it roared. And, just like that, he was. In a mere instant, the storm abated.

Solis could not believe his eyes. He had done it—his highest goal achieved. The naked being—skin white as snow, a bald head, and eyes burning red—sank to his knees on the gravelly terrain. He breathed in a long, drawn-out breath lasting seemingly forever.

"I'm free!" he boomed in an exhale, his voice echoing for miles. "I'm free!" The being stood and turned to Solis, eyes like daggers, as if boring into his very soul. "Who are you, and how have you accomplished this feat?"

Instead of an explanation, the cloaked Solis ambled towards the giant and knelt on one knee. "My lord Titan, I have done this so you might again bring pure justice to the universe. I resurrected you. They took everything from you. But that could never stand the test of time. My only request is that I may be by your side throughout the journey. I am Solis, savior of the Titan."

The being, formerly known as Titan, placed his hand on Solis's shoulder. "Rise, my Solis." As if on cue, Solis rose like a medieval knight to look Titan in the eyes. They were far more vibrant than legend had described. "You shall be my Voir. On this day, it commences."

"My Lord Titan, thank you," Solis said, his voice quivering. "That is all I ask."

Titan stomped past in only two strides. He gazed out towards the desolate, desert-like wasteland before him. In that moment, he realized they would begin the quest he had started all those ages ago, and that now, the universe was more open than ever. "We shall bring the Justification."

~~~~~~~~~~

Note: The Justification obviously does not mean "the bringing of justice" but has a more religious defintion—to Titan, at least. He will be explain it himself later.