the garden within the wasteland

The Canvas

Two days have passed, and the third is on its way. Only moments before its sun would rise, the alchemist had rejoined the crowds of that shanty town as their endless celebration echoed on. He was in between the crowds of people, entranced in a dance, his own footsteps radiating the music, when the musicians grew tired. But as another two pairs of footsteps reached the town, the music stopped as the alchemist halted, and off he was to greet them at the center.

"Dearest Uriel, Sir William Codex! What a pleasure to see your face again. No one in the palace has seen you since...well, Saint Michael's death."

"Do not concern yourself with our visit." Uriel interjected as he scoffed, more so as he coughed in response. His clothing still shone in its noble hue of gold and finely crafted cloth and silk, yet his entire form seemed exhausted and worn out, from flesh to cloth.

The hooded man smiled in response, a smile wider than the one he received them with. He relaxed his posture and lowered himself in an attempt to meet Uriel eye to eye.

"Making some last-minute preparations? Please let me help you."

Codex shifted his gaze to Uriel, wanting to read his thoughts before he acted, and as Uriel returned a glance, Uriel took a step forward.

"We wish to grab some valuables, anything' shiny, and then we'll be out."

"Now that's a wonderful idea!" The alchemist clapped and chuckled. the clap signaling shivers to run down both of their spines

Codex returned his step and leaned towards Uriel to whisper.

"Shall we switch plans? You know this guy's deal."

Uriel simply sighed as he turned his gaze downwards.

"I've seen how selfish man can be; we proceed."

"Allow me to recite your thoughts; tell me if they're correct." beyond the waves of this island. We know not what or who is beyond it! So we must prepare for all troubles. "Am I incorrect?"

The alchemist chuckled as he turned his gaze around, noticing the rising sun.

"That is a terrible impersonation of me," remarked Uriel, a slight chuckle leaving his lips. All evidence of his stress appeared to have melted as he grew more relaxed, resting both of his hands on his hips as he looked upwards.

"Hold on, lad. What's your stake in this? thought you'd stop us by now?" Confronted, Codex glared at the alchemist, and Codex's fingers slowly slithered from his jacket's coat towards the hilt of his blade.

"What blasphemy! I hold no stakes in anything. I simply do what's best for my children."

The sound of a liquid spilling echoed throughout, a smell filled the air, all of it radiating from one spot, and the smell of paint filled the town. A single white line appeared to the right of the trio, stopping all conversation yet causing no panic. and a single pale hand reached out. Many of the townsfolk began to appear, first to investigate this unpleasant aroma and then staying to investigate this unpleasant distortion in reality. That hand itched and clawed at the sides of reality, slowly and gently tearing it open till it resembled more a gap. The entity that had walked out of it was stumbling on its feet like a child learning how to walk. Its skin was a true clear; it reflected all light. Its shape, a shape that mimicked the shadow of a human, was only recognizable by where the sun was reflected and where it sank and disappeared. Next to its "head" was a collection of hands, hands of pure white and marble, excellently sculpted with more detail than is capable with the human mind and without flaw. The hands jittered and floated around the hand, seeming restless and incapable of fidgeting no matter how much the hands wanted to. It instantly began to lose its balance, struggling to keep it on its feet. The thing was now surrounded by the townsfolk and their endless murmuring until one of them stepped up, brashly and impulsively retrieving a small blade and cutting it near where its throat should be. The entity began to stumble backwards before falling on its back.

"Let us finish quickly; I have grown a distaste for these gruesome massacres." Uriel lamented as he turned his gaze away from the stumbling thing. Uriel's voice had gone dry and filled with despair, his form seeming to sink as he spoke. If not for Codex's reassuring pat on his shoulders, he might've continued as such.

"Alas, no matter how much I wish to help you, these fools are poor and foolish enough to not maintain any gold. Be truthful. Are any of you surprised that Saint Candace had sent that thing to deal with them instead of knights?"

The entity propped itself up, lying on its thighs, and it covered its face with its hands. or whatever poor imitations it had instead, it mimicked the movements of crying, the shivers, the shaking, and the rocking, yet it felt none of those things. It produced no tears; the hands quickly rushed to its side. comforting it at first, then pinching, then gripping, then clawing and tearing at its shell, ripping and molding and forming and redesigning its entire being, then the hands began to produce tools, molded and manifested out of the air around them as they continued to overhaul and tinker with the entity till it found the strength to stand once more on both feet. Its shell had a shiny glint to it now, the same shine as steel, and it began to stomp towards the man that had harmed it. The man in quick response slashed again only to produce a ting, a clashing sound as if the entity's shell was now formed of full metal, and the entity reached its hand backwards and slashed in an identical way to the man, though the man's throat had not produced the same ting and sound; instead, a scream and blood were produced from the man's neck. The entity paused and stared at the man, curiosity having consumed its featureless face as it stood, confounded by the actions as the rest of the townspeople descended onto the beast with their blades and tools.

"That's the canvas, isn't it?" mumbled codex as he kept his eyes on the massacre growing within the shanty town

"First time you see it in action?" the alchemist asked a one-sided question, knowing a response wasn't expected or required, as his gaze was now fixed on the canvas as it tore and cried and distorted and reassembled itself with each attack.

"Any further time spent here is wasted time. Let us head out, William," Uriel grumbled as he kept his sights away from the canvas and began to walk to the left, Codex letting out a small grunt instead of words before following him.

After a few moments and the disappearance of the screams and horrors of that newly formed ghost town was confirmed, Codex spoke once more.

"I do not understand how you can be so relaxed around that thing," he grumbled.

"The canvas? I've seen it in action many times; it is nothing new to me."

"Not that Uriel, the alchemist," Codex said, his voice failing to hide the anxiety growing within him, as he put more than enough necessary force into every step as he kept changing speeds and constantly adjusted and dusted his coat".

"Ah—" Uriel stopped for a single moment, contemplating how to express his reasoning before recounting his path.

"The alchemist will never fight; he is incapable of it. He is as stubborn and sturdy as a silver wall. The pun was intended, but to meet such a force with outright aggression shall bring only stress and wasted energy on you."

"So the best way to act is just to be super friendly?" Cooed Codex, part of his fidgetiness appearing to deform and reconstruct into a more relaxed posture yet still rigid in stance as he walked, struggling to maintain the same speed as Uriel.

"Just revert to your natural self — your default, in a sense. Your real 'self' will be much different from mine, buried under layers of past, blood, and expectation. But in truth... I believe I already met him."

William sighed — a sigh that carried all the worry that had incubated in his heart and mind moments before. Then a small smile formed. He wrapped his left arm around Uriel's shoulder, finally matching his pace.