Pieces of Time

Ch 2: Apologies

Deep within the forest, not far from where Kali was found were ruins - ancient, crumbling, deserted.

It is said that years ago, long before the Hero of time and the King of Evil, a tribe of people lived and worshiped a God.  They made this God their leader, their shaman, their healer.  It is said that this God possessed a power that could not be seen, heard, or even felt unless you were moved by it. 

In these legends, this God was challenged by a stranger with unusual clothing that nobody had ever seen before, nor were his ears pointed to hear the voices of the Gods as the tribespeople had.  The clever stranger fooled the God. He wielded a dark dagger that held a powerful aura emanating from the scriptures on the blade and thrust it into the back of the God.  The God's body faded to dust, his power absorbed into the blade of the dagger. 

In a desperate attempt to possess the same power as the God, the man thrust the dagger into his own heart.  It had burst as the power surged within him, and his body couldn't bear the intensity of it.  The strange, clever thief collapsed, and died. 

Centuries later, the tribe became extinct without the guidance of their leader.  The sanctuary where their God once lived became a ruin. 

At the same time that Kali had become a part of this world, there was a shift between the two dimensions.  This shift couldn't be felt by just anybody, but the pulse of the connection resonated within the corpse of the thief, deep within a hidden tomb within the ruins.

His heart – still holding the aged dagger – didn't beat as his veins rushed with the old God's power.

His flesh was rotted with age, and his face ugly with death.  As he pulled himself from his tomb, bit by bit, the power was already regenerating his old body. 

"Finally, the time has come." The ancient sorcerer rasped.

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A jolting chill shook Kali's entire body, ripping her exhausted mind from unconsciousness.   Her eyelids shot open at the crack of thunder. She flinched as a fat raindrop slapped her forehead.  Her cloudy vision cleared as she slowly recalled everything that had happened. 

At first, she thought that maybe everything that happened was a dream, but when she pulled herself to a sitting position, she saw that she was wrong.  The odd clothes clung wetly to her cold body.  How had she managed to sleep through the rain? 

'Must've been exhausted.' she thought, feeling her heart dip a bit. 

An overwhelming ache of loneliness spread from her chest, all the way to her fingertips.  She sat for a few moments before realizing.... nobody was here.  Not her mom, her dad, her family, what few friends she had back in her world, not even her boyfriend from home. 

Just thinking about him felt like a dagger to her heart.  Kali shivered hard and swept away her soaked, matted hair; frustrated.  She was hopelessly, miserably alone with no clue as to how to get home.  And it was her own damn fault.

Lost in her misery, she nearly missed the figure lingering in her peripheral vision.  Her muscles jolted alive from the numbing cold and she stood, braced for a run.  The figure chuckled, it was a man. 

"There's no point in running." he crooned.  

That cool purr of words sent alarm bells ringing in her head - nobody good would say something like that.  So naturally, she did exactly that - began to run.

Before she could even take her first step, a hand shoved her in the opposite direction.  Someone had been standing on her other side, knowing she'd flee.