Chapter 2 – The Deterioration

Nobody could believe that Strider and Elrond were once close friends——probably the closest ones in the Illumina world. They often went on small adventures in their childhood and didn’t come home until rather late at night. Seldom had they been apart, and Elrond was to Strider what water is to fish. And yes, Elrond was once an Illuminant.

At the age of 11, they entered the same class in the same school, where they learned the light power initially. Together, they took the first and second place of the class, and had a good command of light power. However, a gap was gradually brought out between the brothers. Elrond, who was second only to Strider, was greedier and wanted to get more power, so as to be preeminent above his elder brother, while Strider, diligent and humble, always tried to help his younger brother with study by every means, without suspicion. Not only wasn’t Elrond grateful to Strider for helping him, but also he regarded it as a kind of insult, yet Strider was not aware of it at all.

Until one day, Elrond raised his hand in class, and said, with greedy eyes shining with maroon light,

‘Professor, I’d like to know the dark power.’

The effect of the words was immediate. Gasps of horror came out of everywhere. Strider fixed his eyes on Elrond thoughtfully, and soon convinced himself that it was only an academic question.

As did the professor, who cleared his throat and the noises faded at once,

‘Don’t you worry lads, Elrond is simply curious about the unknown. And what is unknown, should be learned.’

He cleared his throat again, and all students leaned forward attentively, especially Elrond.

‘The dark power is cruel, unstable, yet powerful, while the light power is warm, beloved and controllable. Those who chose the darkside were cold-blooded, but their dark power protects us from invasions. Those who remained to be Illuminants were warm-hearted, and always ready  to use their light power to help others to find the way.’

‘Long ago, when the Illumina world came into existence, there were no Delluminants. The Illumina world was bright and always sunny. The night was as bright as the day and the sun never set. Plants and animals grew prosperously and the Illuminants lived happily on their own.’

‘But as time went on, the population of the Illuminants surged. The light in the world grew stronger and stronger. The flowers withered. The trees burnt. The animals were turning into skeletons one by one, due to the extreme heat and lack of water. The Illumina world, once prosperous, green and bright, became a dead cemetery with nothing but smoke, heat and sand.’

‘That’s when our ancestors decided to seek the power of darkness.’

‘Darkness and light are well-matched, and the only way to make the world balanced is to create darkness, and cut down light.’

‘Which led them to only one option——to deteriorate.’

‘Deterioration, the cruelest and craziest choice in the world, can only be made by killing the innocent and drinking the blood. No one was willing to sacrifice themselves and no one could take the courage and cruelty to take another’s life.’

‘Until she stood out, Cassandra, later known as the Queen of the night.’

‘She was greedy for power and had been seeking a way to master the darkness, and greed is the root and stem of all evil. She stole The Blade of Light, the sharpest and most powerful blade which belonged to the eldest ancestor, and beheaded one of our ancestors with it. She scooped up the warm, golden blood with her left hand, while the other was holding the blade shaking. Everyone was frightened and astonished, but praying she would succeed, and save the world from over-heating.

‘Cassandra knelt down in the blood, and slowly, slowly did her mouth approach her hand. Her body shook, and lips grew white. Sweat was all over her thin, beautiful but pale face. She hesitated, took a deep breath, looked around to enjoy the sunshine for the last few seconds of her life as an Illuminant, and then opened her mouth widely, pouring a handful of the holy blood, and stood up.

‘The effect was immediate. Cassandra knelt down for a second time, moaning, with her face covered in her hand. The spilt blood on the ground was draining away from her knees in blood and absorbed by her slowly. Meanwhile, the bright glow around her, which all Illuminants have, was gradually fading. She trembled, and lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Her body was going through extreme changes——The Blade of Light in her right hand, once bright and sharp, was suddenly rusty and bleak; Her white robe, once luminous, was darkening into the color of a crow. The air became freezing and suffocating, and crows were flying out of the forest, croaking hoarsely. The sunny sky was covered by dark clouds coming out of nowhere……’

‘The deterioration succeeded.’

‘Cassandra rose up on her feet, took her hand off her face. And the Illuminants can never forget that face——stretched, burnt, paler than ever, with a pair of maroon eyes and a tongue like snake’s, yet still beautiful. She looked at the sword, which was hardly recognizable. It was no longer The Blade of Light, but a rusty, aged and eroded piece of metal. She cast it away, and stretched her arm into the cold air. A huge, dark crow landed on her long, thin finger. She seize the crow in her hand tightly and pulled out all its feathers. The dark, glossy feathers reshaped and revolved in the air, slowly formed into a sharp, tenebrous blade——The Blade of Night.’

‘The Illuminants was frozen and dumb as wooden chickens. They could not believe, nor did they realize what had happened. Only when Cassandra turned around, and pointed the sword towards them aggressively did they realize what was going to happen.’

‘“RUN!” roared one of the Illuminants. Almost all of them threw away their weapons and fled, but a few brave warriors stayed and fought with Cassandra. They picked up a rust sword lying on the ground, held it together in their hands, and, with great effort, stabbed it deep into the ground. Cracks of light split the world into two halves, separating Cassandra and all Illuminants. Somehow, Cassandra and her crows could not get over, as if there was some kind of invisible force. Then they realized at once, simultaneously, that the sword the picked up was the exact same sword that Cassandra had cast away——The Blade of Light. Cassandra turned back into the forest with the crows, and finally did the warriors breathe a sigh of relief.’

‘The crack has been turning wider and is now the boundary between Delluminants and Illuminants. The forest Cassandra lived in is now called the Dark Forest, which no one dare go in. The Blade of Light is now lying in the Phoenix Palace, and, from then on, the Illumina World became agreeable, but never peaceful.’

Owls hooted softly outside the window. Everyone in the classroom was deeply immersed in the story of legend, longing to hear more. Only Elrond, staring blankly at a crow standing outside the window, seemed to be lost in thought……

高二10班 TonyWang

责任编辑：周韩晨