The Story Of Night

Chapter 21

Night's P.O.V.

"Night. I have something to tell you." Moon beckoned me away. I followed. We left the castle, winding to the trees.

Moon sighed. And suddenly, she looked tired. Her young face, which could have belonged to a teenager, suddenly looked haggard. Looking pained, she closed her eyes, not looking beyond her eyelids for a long time. Finally, she looked straight at me.

"I don't know how to break this to you. But the world is going to end." She said quietly.

I laughed nervously. "Very funny." I expected her face to light back up, for her to say 'just kidding!' I waited for proof that this was only a joke. I waited for it to be alright again.

But instead, Moon just looked at me sadly. "It is."

"What are you talking about?" I couldn't stop the disbelief from seeping into my voice. The world is going to end? Why? How?

"Do you mean that- that we'll lose and die?" Not giving her a chance to answer, I cut in. "Don't worry! We're going to do this."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then explain." Suddenly, I was mad. Really mad. The world is going to end? Hello, excuse me? How do we stop it from ending?

It isn't too late for this to be a joke. I thought, as if Moon could somehow hear me and tell me it was.

"Look, Night. I never told you this because I didn't want you to freak out. You're doing great, as a general, a friend. I barely ever tell you that, but you're perfect in your own way. I'm really glad I got to know you." Moon's voice broke and she stopped for a moment before taking a breath and continuing.

"This isn't your fault. You see, the world is kind of a living thing. It lives it's life, hits it's prime, and..."

"And?" I inquired.

"And has its death."

I couldn't process what I was hearing. Moon kept going.

"The world will die, taking everything with it. And another world will be born. There is only one way to save the world, and no one has ever done it before."

"What is it?" I would do it. I'd have to. For myself.

That was a little selfish. But I would do anything to survive. It's what these years have made me into.

"It's a spell. There is only one reason why no one had ever done it- because they didn't know. They didn't know the world would end and no one was left to tell them that it would. No one there to guide them on the magic."

"So how do you know?" I asked. If no one knew, how come Moon was the exception?

"Because I'm a special case. You see, I tied my life force to a rock. A very small piece of rock. When the world exploded, the rock did too. But the matter was so small that it made it to the new world. And settled itself on a bigger rock which now floats in what the humans call Space."

"But how would that work?" It just didn't make sense. I mean, I was happy that Moon survived, but why would that particular rock make it through?

"You see, I come from the last world. One full of magic. Magic rocks lay in every nook and cranny. Now, none of those magic rocks exist anymore." Moon's eyes became wet. "I miss them. Everywhere you went, there was magic. Humans have their own magic now, but it just isn't the same. They use their intellect to make magic, but they just don't know the feeling of channeling the world's force into your body... and making it respond to you, to be part of you..."