We've all dreamt about imaginary worlds or countries. We've all made a special language between friends, and had precious moments of battles, quests — the indestructible heroes of our stories.

In the end, we grew up. We adapted ourselves into what we viewed as "reality". We were too busy for such imaginations.

I have heard, read, and seen many stories of unfamiliar worlds, but these, unlike yours, were real. See, I am a sort of "traveller", as I like to call myself, but unlike those from your world, I travel through worlds, through universes, exploring the stories and diversities each world offers me.

I've crossed many galaxies until I came across the lonely planet called Earth. It was amusing to see how human scientists considered the Earth "unique", claiming it to be the only known planet with a source of life. Little do humans know how big this universe is. Earth is not the centre of the universe despite what the humans dwelling upon it may think, but I pity it and its inhabitants, hence I write the story of a character who is unforgettable to me. The story of a planet from years ago, and sell it here on Earth, so that I may be able to spread a little magic to the Earthlings, even if they won't believe the contents of this story to be real.

In all my centuries of travelling, a place I'd often visit was a planet named "Imperium" (translated in the English language). I had seen the planet form before my eyes, and I watched it grow, watched it go through both sorrow and joy. I loved it so much that I never interfered. I watched, letting its destiny unfold. Well, that's what I hoped for, anyway.

What immediately made me interested in this planet was the peculiar way it was formed. Unlike most other planets that are made when clumps of rocks fuse together through gravity and eventually form round planets, (of course, the actual process is much more complicated, I have only simplified it), "Imperium" was made purely of two powerful opposing forces; Light and Dark. When the planet formed and cooled, I saw two creatures standing on the newly formed crust.

One was a female, with glowing white skin, blue eyes as deep and bright as the sky above them, and a waterfall of silky white hair. Her dress was made of such smooth silk that it looked as if it was flowing like milk, and her beauty was so magnificent and ethereal that my breath was simply taken away. Her skin reflected the rays of the newborn sun, so much that she almost blinded me. She looked so delicate and doll-like; but that would not fool me, for I could sense the overwhelming power she held in her small frame.

Beside her was a man with an opposite vibe. He was dressed in black robes that nearly covered every inch of his skin except for his face and hands. The ends of his robes whipped about as if it were made of the blackest shadows. But even his saggy robes couldn't hide his muscular frame. His head peaked out from his drooping hood and I saw a pallid face, with hollow cheeks and dull-hooded midnight eyes that seemed deeper than a black hole. This man was intimidating and made even someone like me feel fear.

This was not an unfamiliar scene. In fact, those of my kind have seen it countless times. A new planet born. Then the first pair of inhabitants was sent down to each planet, a male and a female, who then started a new world. As I've travelled through the universe, I've seen planets die and planets born, sometimes even reborn. Yet, there was something about this pair that drew me in, that wanted me to stay. My story senses were tingling.

It was already different from the start. A planet made of the forces of Light and Dark, which I had formerly thought to be impossible. Well, since the universe is so large, I suppose nothing is exactly "impossible". At first, neither acknowledged the other. They looked at their soon to be home, currently completely barren, the yellow sun looking down at them with a smile.

They finally faced each other. It was the man who broke the silence.

"Evelyn.," he said, his voice deep and croaky, sounding as if he had awakened from a long nap.

"Adelard." she responded, although in an abrupt, robotic sort of way, as if just getting used to her voice, "We've been sent to help this land grow. This is... Imperium. It was born from Light and Dark. And now, I hold the Light of Imperium and you hold the Darkness."

Adelard groaned. "How do I already know all about your annoying personality, even though this is the first time we've met?"

She smiled, and her stoic expression softened. "We were born like this. Can't you feel it? We aren't an hour old, but we already know everything."

With these words, she bent down and pressed her palms on the ground. Light pulsed from her arms and almost immediately the once barren land erupted to life; the ground they were standing on became lush with green grass. Further away, snow-capped mountains sprouted out of the ground, giving way to rivers that went downstream to make lakes, oceans and seas. The trees grew from the ground, their branches spreading until whole forests were made. The sun shined brighter overhead, and flowers grew, facing its brilliant rays.

It went by so fast that I could barely take it all in. Before I could even get used to what I was seeing, Adelard sighed. The sound of his deep sigh shifted my attention to him. He spread his palms on the ground like Evelyn did, muttering something. Just like the mountains that had sprouted out of the ground, different kinds of creatures erupted out of the ground from different directions. First, the animals. Some were similar to those on Earth, like lions, giraffes and other things I've forgotten the names of. There were also other creatures, those you don't see on Earth, but I'm sure you've heard of from many legends, like unicorns, pegasi and nymphs.

Adelard pressed his palms even deeper on the ground and grunted with slight pain as more creatures sprouted out. Sorcerers, witches, wizards, necromancers, dwarves, goblins, centaurs, fawns, and many more whose names are unknown on Earth and I can't find a word in English for them. As they came into existence, they yawned and stretched. Then they almost immediately started working. They built houses while the animals ran off towards the wild.

Evelyn glanced at Adelard.

"These creatures... they'll bring chaos and war here. They'll ruin the landscape of this place and make it a living hell for the weaker ones."

He shrugged.

"As if the landscape won't ruin itself over time. Besides, it's what I was told to do, so I had no choice but to bring them here."

She frowned.

Without looking at her, he raised his arms, and the moon rose and the night took over. It shined brightly as it reflected the sun. The new people watched in awe at the moon and stars overhead, but soon they felt drowsy, and Adelard helped them to bed.

After all of them were sound asleep, he joined Evelyn, who was waiting for him on top of a mountain. When she saw him, she smiled brightly, and he scowled back, but she knew that was his version of smiling. They held hands, looking proudly over the new world.

Light and Dark.

❋ ❋ ❋

Evelyn and Adelard helped the people learn for years, how to survive, how to control, how to speak, and how to think. All too soon they grew, and became more independent, just like children growing into adulthood.

It didn't take too long for Adelard to realize that Evelyn was much more likeable among the people than he was. She was kind and caring; he was menacing and moody. She was beautiful; he was ugly. She shone, he darkened. She smiled, he didn't.

He hid deeper behind that scowling mask, and although he cared, he never showed an inch of it on his face. The only one who he felt truly understood him was Evelyn, and even she felt far away now.

Years passed and as he became more isolated as Evelyn grew popular and Imperium prospered. He sunk deeper into his cave and shut off everyone from his life. The same people he brought into this world and tucked into bed every night now looked at him as if they were looking at a monster.

He became lost in the cave, and thoughts continuously haunted him, sensing he was alone and vulnerable. Anger swelled in his heart; Wasn't I the one who brought them from the depths of hell into this land? Wasn't I the one who taught them how to fail so they could get the motivation to succeed? Wasn't I the one who patiently made them go through pain and sorrow so that the taste of happiness could be more joyful? Am I not the one who brings them the moon every night so they can rest their tired bodies? And yet, after all I've done for them, in their eyes; Light is good and Dark is evil.

After years of living in isolation, Adelard decided to meet Evelyn again. She had tried on multiple occasions to talk to him, but his cave coldly rejected her. He felt guilty for it. It was not her fault. They had promised each other to make this world wonderful and happy together. He would change. He'd get out of this cave.

He waited for her on top of that very mountain she had waited for him all those years ago. From the top, he could see a small village in the distance. What he saw surprised him. There he saw Evelyn, dressed beautifully and smiling warmly, gracefully greeting the villagers. He looked on as the eyes of the villagers practically shined as they landed on the radiant Evelyn. The same pairs of eyes that looked at him with fear, disgust and even hatred, were looking at Evelyn with euphoria. It was these eyes that isolated him. It was these eyes that continued to haunt him in that wretched cave.

But when he saw Evelyn smiling happily and dancing with the villagers, his heart ached. Did she really not care about him? He was suffering for so long, but here she was, looking perfectly alright, without a care in the world. Resentment engulfed him whole. Did the lack of his presence really not affect her at all?

What about our promise?

He cried. For the first time in his life, he cried with pure pain and hurt. He had never felt so vulnerable, and he clutched his chest. He wanted to scream and wail to show the world how much pain he was in, to beg for help —

Something in him snapped. He stopped crying, and a cruel cold replaced the aching emotions in his heart. He stood up and left, falling deeper into his cave.

He tried to use his magic in that cave, hoping it would provide him with some sort of comfort. All his negative emotions fueled the first man he built with his shadows.

As Adelard's own shadow of negativity grew larger, he built more and more of these men, these mindless shadows that fulfilled his every command. He became obsessed with creating them, to find his salvation, to create his own version of happiness — all in vain.

When he finally left his cave and faced Evelyn again, he was a different person. He had truly become the fearful monster everyone had made him out to be.

Evelyn ran forward and hugged him, exclaiming, "Adelard, you're back!"

But the hug felt cold and distant. Trembling, she looked at Adelard, her arms still around his waist. He looked back at her with blank, soulless eyes. She shuddered.

"Why...?" Evelyn started, but then he smiled. A cruel, bitter smile.

"Why are you pretending you've cared all these years?" he snarled, pushing her away, the coldness of his voice constricting her throat. "You looked fine without me when I felt like I could've died."

"No, you don't understand!" she screamed, finally finding her voice, "It was hard for me too! Please, Adelard —"

She stopped. Her eyes widened as she now noticed the army of black shadows behind him. One of the shadows was carrying a sorcerer who laid limp in his arms.

Her blood ran cold. A chill swept over her.

"You... you killed —!" she screamed. A shrill, haunting scream of pure horror, "You killed him!"

He didn't reply. His expression was apathetic. She grabbed his hood, glaring at him with mad eyes.

"What about our promise?!"

"You broke that promise a long time ago," he said sadly.

"What...?" She was so confused she loosened the hold of his robes.

His hand caressed her cheek, and she looked at him, but couldn't recognize him anymore. He smiled a smile that made her whole body shake in fear. Her legs turned to jelly.

"We'll meet again," he said before he vanished.

❋ ❋ ❋

Evelyn knew she wouldn't be able to defeat Adelard and his army of shadows alone. She called her closest and most trusted friends; Esmond, Alexus, Skyler and Meredith. She gave each of them a fragment of her Divine Magic, a fragment that was strong enough to rip a planet to shreds.

They were the Keepers of Light.

I watched as a war between Adelard's army, and the Keepers of Light broke out. Millions of shadows fought against the mere five of them; Evelyn herself, Esmond the Guardian, Alexus the Archer, Skyler the Keeper and Meredith the Healer. They fought valiantly against them, and the bodies of the shadow men filled up every part of the ground as they walked on, killing ten one of them with one attack. 

Although Evelyn initially wanted to convince Adelard to snap out of it and be beside her again, the old Adelard she loved was gone. She was left with no choice but to fight.

It was then that I witnessed the most vicious battle I had ever seen. Evelyn fought with tears as she defended herself, begging him to stop, while Adelard sent attack after attack ruthlessly, completely emotionless.

When she was about to lose, the Keepers joined her to help, and they locked Adelard into another dimension. 

It was over, but not for Evelyn.

She would cry hysterically every night. Her screams haunt me to this day. Her emotions reflected Imperium, which was now in shambles. It was usually cloudy because the sun couldn't shine the same way it did before. The people were going through eternal winter.

Nights were the most traumatic. Nights reminded her of him. She became lost in guilt, pain, and the lack of him. She finally realized it was she who broke the promise. They promised they would make Imperium happy and prosperous together. But when he was isolated in his cave, she made Imperium prosper alone. Without him.

I want to die.

She had tried. She tried stabbing herself, drowning, falling from a height, anything, anything that could help her end it all, but she couldn't. She was immortal. Even as she swam in a pool of her own blood, she wouldn't die. The only thing she was left in was pain.

She cursed herself to eternal sleep. Although the Keepers did their best to stop her, it was of no use. Evelyn then locked herself in a dimension where she would spend the rest of her days in slumber, but before going, she gave the Keepers a way to lift the curse if she was ever needed.

Two powerful beings, once inseparable, now separated. 

Light and Dark.