Since Ancient Times, People Have Called It Love

Awakening

As always, Sky City was changing and its eternal walls were reflecting a vision of conquered eternity. Nonetheless, too many years had passed and just a few souls remembered the origins of the last haven. Some of them didn't even want to acknowledge the obvious truth - if they wanted to survive the coming days - they had to reconcile with humans. Most surely, shortsightedness leads only to decay and the old ways must be forgotten... The eternal city was very much alive, as was the majority of the beings that called it home. On the other hand, the Old Ones were something completely different. At first, humans were afraid of them, but never wanted to leave their side for reasons that were kept secret for centuries, if not forgotten. Undoubtedly, the wheels of uncertainty have started to unfold...

In time, humans got accustomed to the sleepy presence of Anant Kaal and the eternal glow of its coils. Of course, first they had to make peace with the beings that were so very different from them. But, one night, when the city, all glossy from neons and holograms started to bleed, everything changed. The sole awareness that somebody could kill one of the Old Ones had shaken the foundations of all human knowledge. The investigator who got the case was Aldon Estira. He was one of the Old Ones, but as he wanted to help humans, many years ago, he parted from his kind. To his brothers he said that the human awakening was inevitable, and that he wanted to be nearby at that specific moment. He also knew the city would reveal all of its secrets when the time came. Or everything would crumble to dirt... Who knows? Maybe that was preordained for this last fortress, which had possibly already had its share of glory days. At the moment, it represented the last light and the last footprint of life in the Universe.

"Again I see you here?" - said the human patriarch Isakov.

"You know that everyone has a place for clearing the mind," - Aldon replied gently.

"For some reason, we have chosen the same. Is it possible that similar questions burden our minds, or hearts?..." - Isakov replied sincerely.

"Haven't we already confirmed that?"

"One of the Old Ones is really... dead?" asked Isakov with obvious fear of the possible answer. "That conflicts with all of our teachings, young one."

"Maybe it's time to question those teachings!" Aldon answered with a touch of bitterness in his voice.

"I hope that you won't use those words in front of the Council. I very much doubt they would take them as lightly as I do."

"I am not concerned with the Council, but with the fact that among humans I don't see a leader, someone who is ready for the upcoming challenges."

"You know that for many you are the leader,"- said the old man hoping to get a clear answer.

"Isakov, I believe that humans will need a person whose eyes look much farther than mine. That is the reason why I am worried so much."

"In that case, I hope that you will soon see a face that will have all of the answers. But doesn't the old law speak about the Great Shift? Maybe it has already started with this death. I'm almost at the end of my journey, but I would like to see a trace of some better future before I leave this city. Sometimes, it feels like someone is hindering our evolution. And, you will forgive me for these words, but I think we can do much more."

"We must, Isakov. But time is no longer on our side," Aldon replied and his eyes were already looking towards the distant sky.

"Do you have any leads about the perpetrator?"

"There shouldn't be a being like that in this city. And something in the way this crime was committed brings back some, let us say, too old memories."