The cosmos above the void shine brightly; stars align in a heavenly rhythm. Peace unfolds to the being who lays their eyes upon the view, but in that peace is something cold, something unsettling, something beyond.
Something all-powerful but something miserable, something that could not be seen but felt. It felt as if it was not something new but something that was there from the beginning, something that wanted to watch.
And then the void shook as it felt as if the Cosmos spoke itself, "Valen Veridian, the fated one, Sing the song of your tale and let the beings from beyond judge you.
As soon as the unknown finished speaking, Valen looked above him, frustrated and angry. He exhaled. He started to remember his tale, the tale of the blind torchbearer.
Valen started to remember his end and the sword that drove through him; the sword was the "Tenebrist".
But Valen couldn't remember whose sword it was that drove that sword through Valen.
"Why, why, why can't I remember that bastard's name?" He pointed to the realm above and spoke in a desperate yet angry voice. "You, the gods above, tell me who it was who betrayed me. I want to kill him."
But then a sad realisation dawned upon his mind: he was dead, so how would he avenge himself?
Then the void shook once again, but the skies were silent – no light, no view, just darkness.
A humanoid figure emerged from the darkness, his black hair and blood-crimson eyes creeping out of the full white mask he was wearing. His presence was neither unsettling nor comforting. His black robes were as plain as the realm of time, but still they looked as if the gods themselves had crafted those pieces of beauty.
Then the being spoke, "Sing the song of your tale. "Fated one, and you shall see your ender before your eyes, then you can avenge yourself. What do you say?"
Upon hearing his words, Valen started to think about the offer; he started to remember his every suffering, every moment of happiness, every death, every creation, the doom of his loved one, and the glory of winning.
Then Valen could remember every moment of his life but the last year; he knew what killed him, but he did not know who killed him. The only thing from that year he could remember was the sword driving through his chest.
Then Valen started laughing. "Hahahahahahaha, you are one funny moron. You, you really think that I would speak of my life. What song? What tale?" My life is nothing but suffering wrapped in God's cruellest joke. Why would I tell about that cruel joke? Do you really think I would tell them about the murders, sexual assaults, and genocide that happened in front of my eyes, yet I could only avenge those instead of preventing them? Do you really think I would tell them about how I killed all my siblings by my own hands? Does my life, my suffering, look like a joke to you, you bastard?"
Upon hearing his words, the being spoke once again and said, "Easy there, Valen Veridian. It's already happened; you can't challenge the unbeaten tide of time. Besides, you see, you are not the only one who suffered. There were some who suffered more than you – not some, but I would say there were quite some individuals who suffered more, like the Godslayer. Oh, but I forgot, you can't even remember one thing about him. You see, fated one, the life without suffering isn't a life at all. Even the beings from beyond who want to watch your suffering suffer too. Suffering is the thing you can run from, but it's just always in front of you no matter how much you run. Won't you make some use of it by telling your tale?"
Hearing his words, Valen realised that he couldn't change the past now, but he could avenge himself, and he wanted to do it at any cost; he was desperate.
Then Valen agreed and gave a nod to the being, then the being sighed and said, "What a pity, revenge is the one bloody water everybody wants to wash their hands in."
Then Valen turned to the beings from beyond who were busy reading the novel and said, "Then judge me if you dare, beings from beyond."
End of Chapter Two