Alpha And Omega

A majestic and profoundly resonant voice echoed behind William. He turned slowly to see who it was—but instead, his eyes met two unsettling red irises staring at him from within the pitch-black darkness.

"Welcome, William Gideon, the Mage… or should I say, the Silent Jester."

William swallowed hard, his hand trembling slightly under the sheer weight of the presence before him. He tried to speak, but the words were stuck in his throat.

"W-Who are you? And why am I here?"

The mysterious figure closed his eyes slowly, as if mimicking the gentle fall of raindrops, then reopened them with eerie stillness. His voice echoed again—deep and distorted:

"The greater question is: What do you want from me? Not 'Who are you?' or 'Why am I here?' Your questions are trivial."

William's expression sharpened slightly, his tone now edged with anger.

"A mysterious being I don't even know drags me into this pitch-black place—with nothing but a mirror in front of me—and I'm not supposed to ask what the hell this is?"

The red-eyed figure glanced to the side, then replied in a calm, deliberate tone:

"Don't think I brought you here just to show off. I brought you here to give you certain… future insights that might help you survive in this strange world you've found yourself in."

He continued, the sound of his finger tapping against something echoing unnaturally:

"Magic. Sequence. Insight. Things that were never meant to be combined. Yet, ancient entities did just that—to showcase their might before mankind. And they succeeded."

William partially closed his eyes, then responded, his tone thoughtful:

"You're trying to say… that delving too deeply into these elements will inevitably lead to clashes with other entities?"

A mighty clap echoed from the shadows. The voice returned with strength:

"Exactly what I wanted from you—to think, to reason under pressure, even when surrounded by total darkness."

Then he continued:

"But intelligence alone won't save you. You'll need to find paths—deeper ones. Ways to understand this world… but don't fall too far, or madness will claim you."

William stared into the red eyes, his thoughts drifting through the depths of his fragmented memory, searching for anything meaningful.

This body… it has a strange, missing past. The only thing I clearly remember is his brother…

Then William spoke aloud:

"There's a name—a strange one. It's tied to ancient kingdoms… old roots in this world. But the king who conquered all of them—his name… it's still hazy."

As his thoughts raced, his eyes widened—and then, like a gambler casting his final dice, he uttered the answer with absolute confidence:

"The great and mighty king who ruled over all kingdoms, whose chaos still echoes to this day—Eliph Moonlight."

A mysterious smile shimmered through the darkness. The void shook violently. William glanced around slowly—until a table appeared, flipped upside down. The walls were made of planets, and the ceiling revealed swirling galaxies above.

William now sat on a tall-backed chair, pure white and regal. At the other end of the table was a girl—blindfolded and bleeding from her eyes. She wore a long black dress, her features both beautiful and terrifying.

I didn't expect it to be a girl… maybe because the voice was so distorted, William whispered to himself, stunned.

"Eliph Moonlight… the just and the unjust king," she spoke in a mysterious tone. "I was waiting for you to mention that name… or a few others. But you went straight to him."

William placed his hands on the table, his eyes trembling as he stared at her.

"How could I not? He's one of the ancient legends—the one who fought dragons for countless years."

She placed her hands on the table and responded with strength:

"Are you saying… that because of his war against dragons, there's still a lingering force in this world? What pushed him to do that in the first place?"

Tsk. I figured you'd ask that… but I still can't remember the real reason, William muttered to himself, eyes fixed on her.

After a few seconds of silence, the mysterious girl tapped the table once—and then spoke sharply:

"Not everything will be handed to you freely. You must dive deep, or visit places tied to this world if you want to know its truth."

"So… what you're saying is, there are hidden places that'll let me traverse the same world, but in ancient eras?" William asked, beginning to understand.

A powerful smile formed on her lips.

"Now you're thinking clearly. These hidden places will let you explore the vast, dark world that surrounds you."

She continued:

"You have many tasks ahead. But the most important one now—is to kill the Jester."

"It's all starting to make sense now," William said, leaning forward, pressing his ten fingers onto the table. "Are you connected to that mysterious figure I met in the mirror room?"

The girl chuckled softly, her voice sly and cunning:

"That question has clearly been burning inside you. But there's no need for me to answer… Just complete the mission, and move on to the next."

William leaned back in the chair, extending his hand forward. His tone was firm:

"And what's in it for me? Money? Power? Influence? A boost to my magic?"

She replied with a cosmic tone:

"I really like that question. Each mission you complete will open up entirely new realms of missions—letting you uncover parts of this world you'd never find inside the Academy alone."

Then she added:

"When you complete your first task—killing the Jester—you'll inherit his traits. The most powerful among them… will be madness. And you must embrace it."

"So, aside from becoming insane in a terrifying and mysterious world… will my Insight increase?" William asked, voice low and shadowed.

"Yes. Your Insight will grow. But like I said—you'll also inherit madness and the essence of the Jester. That trait is already becoming visible in you. When you looked into that mirror… you saw him. Didn't that strike you as odd?" She placed her palm on her cheek and smiled eerily.

William's eyes widened in realization, and he murmured to himself:

Is it because I'm obsessed with solving the Jester case… that I'm slowly becoming him? That's terrifying. This body… it seems to adapt to things beyond cosmic understanding.

"There's something I need a clear answer to," William said. "I'm just a magic student—still a beginner… and now I've been given a task of moderate difficulty. How am I supposed to complete this looking like I do? Everyone will recognize me."

The mysterious girl clapped with a wide smile on her face, then answered:

"This conversation is finally starting to reach some real depth. The answer, dear William, is simple: you must completely change your identity."

"My… identity? But how?" William replied, doubt echoing in his voice.

"You'll find out how. All you need is to learn a certain, very specific kind of magic. But keep this in mind: turning into someone else means losing a part of your humanity… and gaining more Insight. Do you accept that?"

William looked up at the galaxies, his gaze sinking deep into their vastness. He raised his hand toward the sky, near the hollow nebula, and began speaking to himself in a low voice:

"Every experience comes with risks, and every risk demands a heavy price… Humanity doesn't belong in this bleak world. It's fine to become a demon—if it's for my own benefit."

He placed all ten fingers on his face and continued:

"Everyone has their own deep thoughts… and if they're given the chance, they'll become something greater. Opportunities don't come neatly wrapped."

William turned his cold eyes toward the mysterious woman and spoke with complete confidence:

"Who needs humanity in a world ruled by the Great Ones from behind the scenes?"

He went on with the same tone:

"I'm here for my own sake. I want to understand why I'm here—and I'll do anything to get what I want."

The mysterious woman smiled quietly and said to him:

"You speak with such confidence and grandeur etched onto your face… Do you really think approaching the Great Ones is easy? They are on one side of the scale, and you are nothing more than a grain of rice in the other."

William placed his five fingers on the table and responded with certainty:

"It doesn't matter… If I'm ever tasked with killing a Great One during a mission, I'll do it. For my own sake."

"Such overwhelming confidence…" she replied, drawing a finger slowly across the table.

"But diving into their world might get you killed—just by looking at them, or by hearing their language."

William looked at her, then spoke to himself:

"She's right. Crossing into the domain of the Great Ones is like someone trying to kill themselves by jumping off the highest peak."

He smiled calmly and answered:

"Rushing into the beast's lair will only lead to your death. But planning and preparation… those will let you slay the beast before it even knows you're there."

she said in a quiet tone:

"But keep watching the beast's den again and again… it might be hungrier than ever before."

She stood up and walked toward William, slowly. She stopped right in front of him and spoke in a mysterious voice:

"After this grand and enjoyable conversation with you, will you dive into the madness of this world—or retreat to a corner and cry?"

William didn't take long to answer. He looked at her with those cold eyes and said with absolute confidence:

"If you want to live in the madness around you… you have to become mad yourself."

Then, with a mysterious smile, he added:

"I will become the Alpha and the Omega of this world."

"I will be… Mr. Enigma."

The mysterious woman smiled and then slowly walked away from him. The ground began to shake violently, and everything started collapsing. Just before it all vanished, she spoke in a cold tone:

"That final line proves how deep your thinking truly is… Until we meet again, William Gideon, the Silent Jester."

The world collapsed into total darkness… until William woke up, sitting on a chair in his room, staring at the dim moonlight.

Then he heard a strange voice near the door say:

"Hello, William."