How Destiny Dreams (Ch. 4)

Soundbytes: Three Days Grace - Wake Up

Keeping my Joyeuse at my side, I nodded. “Quite kind of you actually. Thank you muchly.” Something is wrong with this picture, I thought to myself. Most often, I could estimate an opponent’s skills and feel their power with a look in their eyes, but this being was impossible to gauge!

“I’m I'tedaal, Keeper of Balance.” As black silken locks fell from under the helm, the voice softened as well to a soft feminine tone, “And that would make you Guan, who is about to travel to the realms of Vana'wrap." She put away the scythe and smiled, though there was something deeper to it. It wasn't a welcoming smile or a greeting, it was a knowing smile. TOO knowing.

"Vana...'wrap? I think you fell on those lovely dark tresses of yours, dear, this is Vana'DIEL, and well, I'm already here, so no need to get further here." I smiled in return, and guided my blade back to my side as well. "But anyway, I'..Ite...m'lady. What does you being a keeper of balance have to do with the urge to swing that farming tool towards my head?" I suddenly had a not-so-random craving for a chicken crunch wrap from Taco Bell. Gee, wonder where that came from...

"It means that I'm here as a messenger of the One, the master of the universe."

"He-Man!?!"

"No, you moron, the being who created all that is."

"Oh, you're preaching that Altana and Promathia theory again...?" I sighed...apparently I didn't pay the priests well enough, or else I'd committed some sort of unspeakable sin.

She suddenly laughed out of nowhere, the lilt carried across the mountains and I wondered if that was her meaning of balance...anger then peace, spite then compassion, hate then love. "Ah my dear boy, they are but young ones compared to the One. They're my children, nothing like what you'll be working with now."

"Maybe sane then psycho should be added to that list," I thought. I nodded, and bowed to the crazy person, "Then I think I should really be getting to work, take care, and see you again!" With that, I quickly cast warp, and found myself in front of a very familiar Mog House. "Enough insanity for the day...time to get a nap before heading up to duel Byakko and Kirin," I mused, heading inside to rest.

"Welcome to your Mog House, kupo!" The chipper moogle beamed at me.

"Any new deliveries, Kapo? You wouldn't believe the weird event that just happened," I started to explain, reaching to grab my reraise earrings from the locker where I'd left them. "And do you know what I did with my earrings, I could've sworn I left them in the locker yesterday."

"Yesterday, kupo? This is the first time you've been here, Master. I was about to explain how Mog Houses work to you." The moogle's antenna drooped as it seemed confused. "And I'm not Kapo, I'm Kipipu."

Just as I was thinking it was going to be a long day, a voice spoke inside my mind. "You may not have believed I'tedi...I'tedo... the Keeper of Balance, but maybe you'll believe me. I was the jar of marmalade that spoke to you earlier today as well."

"Damn you tasted good, hate I dropped you, sorry about that." I threw away the thought of a crunchwrap in hopes of a marmalade sandwich now.

"No..I wasn't the..." The One sighed, "Never mind. What's important is that you are to be my messenger of Love. And no, you won't have a specialty like some of the other messengers, because love needs to be able to adapt to the person it needs to help. You could be all things, you just have to prepare yourself. That is why we wanted to choose a red mage."

"So you drag me off here to randomly go around finding people and helping them live happily ever after or something?? That is mighty cliche of you."

"We offer a good benefits package?"

"Oh, for feck's sake..."

"I'm KIDDING, you know, haha? Gods can joke too you know, just ask Genbu."

"You sure you didn't mean BE a joke?"

"Well, you have a point. However, my point is that you're not just to make them live happily ever after. Sometimes you'll have to do the harder things, like help them deal with reality when all they want to do is hide away. You have to know TRUE love. To be kind is sometimes to be harsh. Such why I sent... Balance to speak with you. This is a step beyond the destiny I created for you, if you will accept it. Love is dying, her last messenger fell to the deceptions and mistrusts, and no others would step forward. Will you help her?"

I sighed, sensing the desperate times in the world, and merely nodded my head. Alright, look, what do you expect me to do when the one who created the one who created the ones who created us asks for help in keeping the world together? Love isn't such a bad thing, maybe I'd even find it for myself one day.