Role Reversal

The Explanation

"Once, a long time ago, monsters and humans lived in peace. Surviving and coexisting as one people, often helping the other in both medical, and technological advances. But over time the humans took notice of how advanced the monsters were in magic, and how little the mages actually had when put up against their skills. Fearing a future of enslavement the humans attacked the monsters, sparking a war that lasted years.

The humans barely lost their own in numbers, it was lower then that of how many the monsters lost, as the slaughter continued the mages trained and practices in the shadows, forging a plan to rid of the monsters for good... seeing no end to the war the king took shelter up the mountain, deeming it safe and dense enough to deter the humans from approaching, months of safety and healing and the monsters accepting the forest and as their home, but that acceptances turned to despair as the mages attacked them, driving them further up the mountain and into a large cave.

The cave, it was a cage, and the mages sealed off the entrance trapping the monsters inside, no one could pass the barrier, no monster was strong enough to even try. Wounded and in unfamiliar territory the monsters pressed forward into the cave, they walked for days, but no sign of an exit... just more rocks and darkness.

The king deemed it time to give up and make the cave their home. So he ordered those strong enough to build homes and start making light sources. Over time the monsters had created their own civilization inside the cave, the palace was set closer to the barrier, the civilization stretched all the way to the RUINs of a forgotten people that they assumed lived in the caves long ago. The monsters had once again accepted their fate and grew use to the caves.

But then, one day a child fell in. Hurt and scared they called for help. A monster child found them and brought them home, The monster child was the prince of monsters, son to the King and Queen. Seeing the hurt child they instantly took them in and helped them. As they child rested the prince stayed by their side and kept them company. The child grew to admire and adore the royal family, asking if they could stay, the family agreed.

Upon announcing their adopted human child, hope grew in the monsters. Hope that maybe humans and monsters could coexist once more, hope they would get out of the underground and walk on the surface once more.

Over the years the family was perfectly happy, but one day... one day the human child grew sick, it was sudden and the King and Queen were unsure what it was...

They had their royal scientist inspect the child, but even he couldn't say for sure what the sickness was. As the child took their last breaths they spoke of a field of flowers that grew near their home village just down the mountain a ways, they spoke so fondly of it, the prince wished for them to see it again... as the King and Queen left to talk about what they were going to do, the child passed and the prince absorbed their soul...

For a monster to take in a human soul they become a god, or at least close to a god. The prince took on a powerful form and carried the child threw the barrier, that was the first time a monster survived passing it, he carried the child down the mountain to the village they spoke of, and soon found the flowers they mentioned. He laid them in the bed, and mourned them.

Just as he was to leave a scream ripped through the silence and he was suddenly attacked by humans who thought HE had killed the child. But the prince didn't attack... instead he picked the child up and stumbled home with them, he deemed the spot unsafe for them to take their last rest. He fell back into the barrier and was met with his worried parents, upon seeing his state the rushed to him and tried to help, but as they healed him, he turned to dust in their hands.

The underground wasn't the same after that... having lost two children that day the King and Queen took the loss differently. The King... the King thought it time for monsters to resurface and take the underground from the undeserving humans, claiming any human spotted in the underground to be killed on sight, their souls harvested and brought to him, he would use them to break the barrier.

The Queen, seeing the change in her husband left the palace and took to living in the RUINs. Few monsters followed her and neither her, or them were heard from.

Any human that fell was killed, and brought to the King as requested... the Queen would often try to stop them from leaving the RUINs, wishing to care for them, and keep them safe within the RUINs... but they all eventually left only to parish at the hands of a monster.

With 4 humans souls in possession the King grew afraid... he didn't truly wish to hurt humans. He didn't want this responsibility, not really. He wished for things to go back to the way they once were, when the monsters were ok with being underground... when they didn't wish to see the real stars... seeing his Kings distress the royal scientist swore he would find another way to break the barrier... find another way so the king would't have to give up his sense of being just to free the monsters.

The years grew, and fewer humans fell, with only one human soul needed the scientist worked day in, and day out to find a better solution, failure upon failure clung to him as he worked. He was losing what hope he had left, growing as distressed and desperate as his King, he tried one more experiment... but it to was a failure. Deep in his despair and broken from failure, the scientist gave up... and threw himself into the core as another human fell into the underground. The human possessed something no monster knew about, a soul of pure determination, something no monster can ever have or live through having.

As he perished to the core, he was ripped apart, torn to shreds and forgotten through unsure means. It was like he never existed at all... those who once new him, didn't remember him, a new royal scientist was appointed and time moved forward as the human made its way through the underground, as if nothing happened.

But one person remembered... one person noticed he wasn't around, or that no one remembered. The human had made it all the way to the palace... a battled raged and the monsters were set free... the human lived with the King and Queen as their adopted child grew to be the ambassador to monsters. All was peaceful, for the most part. Yes... peaceful till one day... something happened and the monsters awoke back underground.

It seemed like they didn't remember ever resurfacing to begin with, as if all memories of being on the surface once more were taken from them. It kept happening, the same human would fall and free them, then it would repeat. And endless loop, the same monster that remembered the first royal scientist was the only monster to remember the loop. Trying everything to fix it, trying to fight and stop it... but nothing worked. No matter what was done to stop, it all failed.

The loop always happens, and no one else remembers and any progress that is made... is erased with the next reset."