THOMAS' TRANCE - REVEAL OF THE TRUTH
Thomas blinked as the staff's energy pulsed in his hands.
The world around him blurred, twisting, colors melting into gold and black.
His vision sharpened, revealing a scene far away, long ago.
He was no longer in the ruins of Lenon.
He hovered above a battlefield between two titans, golden chains against black claws, the sky split in fire and ash.
A voice echoed in his mind, calm and distant, yet compelling.
"See the truth... see what is hidden."
Thomas' vision focused on Kashrun and Zerxes, two towering beings, half of the world under each of their control.
The Betrayal
Kashrun spoke first, calm, deliberate.
"Zerxes... your power grows too dangerous.
The world cannot survive you unbound."
Zerxes' form twisted in rage.
"You dare betray me?! After all we built!"
The camera of Thomas' mind pulled closer.
Kashrun's golden aura flared.
He reached forward, separating a fragment of Zerxes' essence, binding it in a chain of pure light.
Zerxes roared, blood-red energy erupting from his form, but he could not touch Kashrun.
"I cannot destroy you, Zerxes... but I can restrain you. Until the child comes."
Thomas felt it, the weight of prophecy. The Child of the Seal—Frederic—was central to balancing the divided power.
"The world cannot survive if the seal is broken prematurely..."
Kashrun whispered, almost mournfully.
Zerxes' Rise and the War
Zerxes, furious and fragmented, spread chaos over his half of the world.
Villages burned, forests bled, and creatures twisted in his image.
Thomas' vision shifted, landing in a small village... the Wilsons' home.
They were ordinary, happy, unsuspecting—but Frederic was near, still a child, the rune of the seal latent in his bloodline.
Thomas saw a shadow detach from Zerxes' fragment, a spirit of instinct and hunger, black and formless, senses keyed to Frederic's power.
It moved like smoke through the village. The Wilsons screamed.
Thomas tried to cry out, but his voice was trapped in his trance.
The spirit did not discriminate, acting purely on instinct.
Its claws and energy tore through the house, targeting the nearest sources of Frederic's latent power:
The father tried to shield his family, ripped apart.
The son, too close, consumed.
Claudine, Frederic's mother's friend, cornered, could not escape.
Thomas' stomach churned as he watched the horror unfold.
"The Wilsons... were collateral," the staff's voice whispered in his mind.
"Not killed for spite... but for proximity to the seal's power."
The Child of the Seal and the Necklace
The vision shifted again. Frederic, glowing faintly, holding the necklace.
The staff spoke directly to Thomas:
"The necklace is the key to restraining or unlocking Zerxes. Alone, it is inert."
"Only when connected with the life essence of Frederic's family can it influence him."
"That is why they were targeted... why the Wilsons were doomed."
Thomas watched Frederic, small and confused, clutching the glowing stone as the spirit recoiled, sensing him as the "child of the seal."
"He is not the destroyer... he is the seal. But choices must be made."
The Final Truth: Kashrun vs Zerxes
The vision split, showing both Kashrun and Zerxes side by side.
Kashrun: golden, chains glowing, trying to protect balance, restrain Zerxes, preserve the world.
Zerxes: monstrous, wings spread, black energy flowing, craving freedom and revenge.
Thomas felt the weight of it all.
"Zerxes was never evil by choice. He was betrayed, restrained, and driven by instinctual rage."
"The world's suffering... Frederic's family... the Wilsons... all consequences of a power struggle beyond their understanding."
The vision faded, Thomas' body trembling.
He then arrives at a city. Lenon, partially destroyed.
Smoke rised off the ground. Bodies and fire everywhere.
There stood a golden figure, feet hovering off the ground.
And Zerxes stood at the opposite end.
In the middle, there stood Thomas,
with the necklace.
Thomas watched as the two gods charged towards the necklace.
Zerxes grabbed it while Kashrun's chain did.
They wrestled until the necklace glowed again.
And a huge explosion happened.
All Thomas could hear was a loud scream from Frederic.
...when the blinding light cleared
There knelt Frederic, cursed... like he had absorbed both gods.
The rune glowed in his forehead.
Two figures stood in front of him weakly.
A man and a boy... they looked drained and skinny.
"Frederic..." the man called.
"Dad! Frank!" Frederic hugged both of them... they hugged back.
....
Until they suddenly felt limp.
Frederic realized... and knelt again.
And began sobbing.
Thomas wanted to get closer... to comfort him...
But he couldn't.
He could only watch as the boy rose his head to the sky and started screaming.
His scream were almost high-pitched, similar to Zerxes.
Tears flowed from his hollow and golden eyes.
...
Thomas watched him for minutes until
The world around him started to fade.
End