Rotating The Hourglass

The sound of the waves in front of him shattered his will to live, frankly.  It tore at his very soul, his strength, his perseverance.  And as each shred tore away into nothingness, leaving him an empty shell without confidence, without belief in himself, he knew he had to step in.  It was so long ago when he had first emerged from these waves on the opposite side of this strange, violent ocean.  It was Truth, and the waves crashed with a phenomenal power, the kind of power that destroyed lives.  Water was life-giving, it was life-sustaining, and in many cases, could be life-ending.  These waves were such, clawing at the sand, each time nearer to the bottom of his feet.  “Come in,” they said, coaxingly, “I hold everything you want in my depths.”  Crash.  Crash. 

It was sunset again, but this time the sun was behind him.  It beat at the back of his neck, threatening to burn if he hesitated any longer.  His eyes moved back and forth across the horizon, looking out to see exactly how long the water went on.  It was pointless, however, for he already knew the answer — infinitely.  They never ended to those that had the will to keep on swimming, but he had another destination.  The Infinite Sands.  For in that direction waited the Abyss, and sitting on its throne the Darkness.  The malevolent genius that had broken the code to people’s souls, and taken them apart piece by piece.  He was certain that the Darkness was waiting for him, taping his long nails on the blade of his bloody sword, plotting.  Hoping.  Praying.

He looked down at his bare feet.  He wouldn’t be seeing them for too much longer…once he crossed into the Abyss he would change again, as he had so many years ago, and so many repeated times.  Another reincarnation whose name took the place of his own, whose actions and words were guided by the only other two entities in the Abyss…Darkness and Light.  There had to be a third.  Himself.  There was no other way — there needed to be that third part that stood between the Darkness and the Light, trying to destroy one while trying to attain the other.  The Abyss needed a Hero.  The Hero to Sins and Shadows.

It was difficult to tell whether the sudden tap at his back was the wind from the waves moving the Sword or the Sword telling him it was time to go.  He knew, of course, but something was holding him back.  He stared, and stared endlessly into the water in front of him, as though he expected something to rise from its center and give him more of a clear purpose than he had currently.  No such sign would come; he knew that for sure.

Was he ready for this again?  Could he sustain himself in the Abyss like he used to?  There were so many question marks sitting over his head, like a cheap cartoon.  What trials would await him this time?  Was this a good idea at all?  Why didn’t he stay in the world that others called “reality”, why did he have to throw himself into the waves a second time and face his own destruction.  He remembered distinctly laying on the ground, bleeding from the abdomen, and looking up into the face of the Darkness before.  He still had the scar.  Did he have the stamina to suffer such a wound again?  Damn it all.

He kicked sand into the ocean.  The sea laughed and spit it back at him in the next wave. There it stayed, a worthless mound of dirt at his feet.  Crash.  Crash.

Fine.  He thought to himself.  I never really had a choice anyway.

In he dove, head first, into the oncoming torrent of the Ocean of Truth.  There was no going back now, but that was alright.  Onward he’d swim until he got to the Infinite Sands…and there he’d make his mark on the Abyss once more.  His confidence was slowly coming back to him, and as he looked up around him mid-stroke to see where he was, he grinned mischievously, and thought nostalgically to himself,

Well, it’s only a stone’s throw away.