How do you believe this world was made? Many believe a benevolent god created this land for us, but that story created hate speech among thousands of innocents. It has no proof of existence. Now, I'm not saying those who believe in said God are wrong, but I have proof of the true creators. The elementals. The elemental I have proof of is Lydia, and I know her as her good friend. A friend of a thousand years, and a million lives. I suppose the true term is a brother of sorts, and I know that doesn't make sense yet, but it will. I promise it will.  

My name is Fabual. I suffered an untimely demise in this story. Lydia is who saved my embodiment. My sister, both by blood and by power. It's probably best to begin at the very start of where she came from.    

Lydia wasn't necessarily born as a normal human should've been. She was birthed from a need to brighten a place in a way that our brother Cinder, the fire elemental, could not. She was an already grown entity when she came into existence. Lydia's embodiment is of a large fiery ball of light with two purple areas to represent eyes. As she studied humans more and more, she became increasingly impressed.

  She made a human form for herself and would never return to her other form for many years. Not unless it was needed. I followed in her steps, creating a human form for myself. We were scolded at times by older siblings for not being "who we were meant to be," so we ran away. Together we built a realm where light and darkness lived together as one being. As time went on, we became more aware of what harm we were truly doing to the world by being locked away.    

I was the first to leave. Lydia was still reluctant, thinking the world wouldn’t understand something like us if we went out when we had. I didn't listen... I wish I had listened to her. I deeply regret the day I left. She screamed and cried for me to stay with her, and I just blew her off... I will forever hate myself for that decision. You see, Lydia did follow me out that week. She was still incredibly weak for her age, especially considering who she was. She got stuck, beaten half to death by a lich lord's guards, attempting her very best to save the village there. I had to step in before she was killed... I'll let her explain this one in experience.  

"Guh.. O-ow..." It was the only word I could sputter from my lips. My face was bruised and bleeding. The stupid guard had broken my lip. As I began to attempt pushing myself off the cold ground, the smell of death wafted to me. The lich stood above me, putting his foot on top of my back, shoving me back into the dirt. It stung... My whole body stung.    

"Good luck young lady, it's obvious you'd need it. Too bad you'll die with all that pretty little magic first." He hissed into my ear. I hated it. I wanted him to get off me.    

"Screw off you skeleton under lord!" I heard being yelled from the gate. Fabual...    

"F-fabual run away! I can do this m-myself!" I screamed with as much energy as I could muster, before being shoved back down to the ground. I was being held there, being forced to watch as this lich and my dear brother fought viciously. I was screaming, but I didn’t know what I was screaming. I couldn't hear myself over the sound of my brothers scythe clashing against the sword of the lich lord's guards. I closed my eyes, trying to muster whatever energy I could to help, when suddenly I heard a sharp inhale of pain.  

I forced my eyes open as the lich lord held up my brother’s lifeless body in a cage of light, blood pouring out of his body as he stared blankly at me. I couldn't believe the sight. I screamed out, a rush of adrenaline forcing whatever held me down off of me. I ran towards the cage, before being thrown into the gate. A dark mist covered my eyes. I couldn't see anymore. It was just dark. I felt like I was floating for a moment.  

Did you know I had blonde hair? I did... it was just like my powers, bright and beautiful at times. However, when I awoke, my hair was the same color as my brothers. A deep brown. My body was seeping the black mist. I couldn't control it. I didn't want to control it. I couldn't handle it. I just wanted to run away screaming, mourning over my brother like a normal family member would. I couldn't do it. I knew I had to wake up... something was telling me to wake up... Wake up Lydia. WAKE UP!    

I woke up in a cold sweat. My eyes flew around the room I was in. It seemed like a cozy village home. Nothing too big, or small to be frank. A kind woman was taking care of me. I can't see her face anymore. It's all so blank to me. I can't see anyone... Am I blind...?

I stumbled around, blinking a bit as my sight soon returned to me. However, things looked so different. I didn't just see the bright parts of the world. I could see the darkness in people and in the world now. Was this what it was like to control the dark? It felt like suffering.    

“Excuse me, ma’am?” I spoke. My voice barely a whisper as the words crawled weakly from my throat. The woman turned and smiled.    

“Yes, dear?” Her voice was a soft and motherly tone. It was very comforting to me, especially now.    

“Do you happen to have a reflective surface of some kind?” I asked, hoping she would, despite being a poorer village girl. To my surprise, she nodded and went up the stairs of her home. A few minutes later she would come back down and set a large glass slate ahead of me, letting me stare into my reflection. My blonde hair had turned to a deep brown, the sleeves of my white and purple dress had turned a tan color, my flower crown had thorns hidden behind the flower’s petals, and my eyes had gone to a purple to black gradient, before fading back to the purple to white. It took me a moment to register this. The black mist continued to seep off my face, legs, and hands. I could feel the blood rush as my face went pale and I felt my hands shake.

  It was only moments before my legs shook and I ended up falling onto the cot behind me.    

“Ah! Miss, please take it easy.” The woman came over to me, kneeling in front of me. I nodded slowly as she rose once again and leaving to the small room next to me. I heard her fiddle with herbs and pots, preparing some kind of drink.    

“Where did you find me?” I asked.  

“You were passed out in the cemetery. You must’ve over worked yourself while defeating the lich lord.”  

I blinked. “Was I the only one found?” I could feel the lump building in my throat as I dreaded the answer.  

“Yes, why? Was there someone else there?”  

I froze as the words left her mouth. It was exactly what I was afraid of, and I couldn’t help but start crying. The lump in my throat just kept expanding. I couldn’t hold down the emotions as the tears poured like two waterfalls in a rainforest. My lungs gasped for air while I hiccupped in my pool of emotions.

A current of water felt like it had taken me under and no matter how hard I swam to reach the surface, something just kept pulling me down, further and further. It was suffocating me. I couldn’t breathe and eventually I couldn’t do anything but scream. I saw what my goal was through the waters ripples high above my head. I reached out and used my last bit of air to scream for help, desperate for him to hear me.    

“Fabual!!!”  

I was snapped out of it by the woman. My tears continued to fall as I looked up at her. I took a deep breath, relieved to feel the air inflate my lungs as the woman spoke. I couldn’t comprehend what she said to me. All I could focus on was the refreshing feeling of the air entering my lungs mixing with the tears as they ran down my face. My mind was still trying to find ways to deny what she had said before. Maybe he was just found by someone else? No, they’d have seen me there, too. My brain scrambled for another excuse. What if he lived and had to leave before he was found?  

This excuse was quickly debunked as well, as he would’ve taken me with him. The sound of the women’s voice brought be back out of my thoughts once again, however this time I could understand her.  

“Ma’am, is something wrong?”    

I shook my head, taking a deep breath. I decided it was most likely better if I didn’t say anything about Fabual.    

“I’m fine, just a bit shaken still.” I explained. The woman nodded. She kept me in her care for a few years, until she passed on. There isn’t much I remember still beyond that.    

Now it’s 2047 and I’m living life as regularly as possible. That was, until I was taking a stroll through the art museum. All hell broke loose that day. It was totally normal, looking at the art pieces and enjoying them, wondering how long it had been since I had last spoken to the artists.

Then people started running and hiding, screaming. First it was one, then two, then two hundred! I had no clue what was happening, so I ran up to a man who had been in the crowd.  

“Uhm... Sir, what’s happening?” I asked.    

“Get down!” He hissed, grabbing my wrist and dragging me into a hiding spot with him. It was at this point that he started to explain.    

“Some guy is trying to steal something from the abstract art section! All I heard was some kind of gunshot, so I ran and if I were you, I’d get out quick!” He went out of the hiding spot and ran around a corner, most likely to get further away from the commotion. I immediately felt that feeling again, the feeling I had when I fought the lich lord. A sense to protect everyone here. I turned and exited the hiding spot, booking it to the abstract art section before ducking down behind a wall after spotting a man. This man was... Unnatural. He was floating and carrying multiple pieces of art with him. I listened in to try and find the perfect chance to make my move.    

“C’mon, can’t you let me run off without any trouble? Just this once?” The floating man spoke, his voice was calm and joking. I felt disgusted with how calm he was after stealing precious artworks.

I also heard gunshots coming from another man. At least, I thought he was a man. I didn’t have time to think about the second man. I manifested a ball of light into my palm and tossed it at the floor, having it go off like a flashbang. This gave me the chance to duck into the light and grab the bust from him, as well as the gun. I didn’t know what the gun was entirely, all I knew was that it was dangerous and that was the last thing anyone needed. I slid back to the hiding spot and stood there with a grin, which soon faded as soon as they both looked at me. The floating man had been wearing a pumpkin mask, which twisted with his disinterest.    

“Get outta here.” He said, raising his own palm and sending a dark colored blast at me, knocking me over and sending the bust flying from my arms. He floated over and grabbed it as the second man yelled.  

“Dammit kid!” The man, who had come into the light by now was what looked like a robotic police officer. I blinked as he dove for the gun then sighed.    

“Don’t call me a kid and I’m not gonna go anywhere, dickweeds.” I said, massive hands of light sprouting from my back. The hands went around in the blink of an eye and gathered all the art, then as I snapped, all the art became transported to a realm of safety that only I could access.    

“So, are you two gonna keep squabbling like chickens, or can we call this a day?” I asked, placing my hands on my hips and letting the larger, semi-transparent hands of light to hover beside me.  

“What the hell did you-” The mechanical cop cannot finish his sentence as he’s trapped in chains, one's likely seen being used in a magician’s set of tricks. The man with the pumpkin mask came closer to me, pressing his masked face close to mine in an attempt to be intimidating.    

“Well, well, you’ve piqued my interest! What’s your name?” He purred, his mask contorting to show a slight mischievous grin.    

“Let the mega-man Wanna-Be go and then we’ll talk.” I replied, crossing my arms, then continued, “I don’t think I was there when you were created, so I’m quite interested myself.” I give him the same grin that he showed me.

I wasn’t going to let this man intimidate me.    

“Ah-ha! Big talk in a tiny frame!” He said, and my light hands immediately crushed him. That’s what I thought at least. When the hands spread apart, to my horror, I see the man who had explained to me the whole situation, dead. I had accidentally killed this man. I felt my face flush of color, but I hardly tried to let the man know. Then from behind me he spoke again.  

“Quick draw cow-girl.” He cackled. I elbowed him in the gut.  

“I’ve been here a lot longer than you, buckaroo. How about we stop the stupid jokes and talk this over like adults, huh?” I replied. When I turned around, I saw what I had elbowed, as a plush doll fell over and exploded into confetti as it hit the ground.    

“Yeah, well, talk later when you can keep bloomers on you.” He yawned. I turned red and stiffened, seeing my sport shorts that went under my skirt on one of the display cases. I felt his laugh echo as he teleported away in a wisp of smoke. As I put my bloomers back on, I heard the chains fall and disappear, followed by the sound of a surprisingly natural voice

“Ma’am, can you please put all the art back on display?” I nodded my answer and snapped, the pieces once again back in their place. I had one of the light hands scoop up the man from earlier, his body resting softly in the palm.    

“I’m taking him with me.” I say bluntly, turning to leave. If this man stayed dead, then the rest of his family would fall apart. I needed to revive him.  

“I’m sorry miss but, the paramedics are here to take him. We need him for the family to see.” He placed a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around as fast as possible, since I’m already annoyed by this point.    

“No. We don’t, because if we DO his son becomes a SERIAL KILLER. Do you want that?!” I snapped at him, growling slightly.  

“W-what’re you talking about?”  

“I CAN SEE STUFF YOU CAN’T- oh my GOD, I hate humans sometimes!” I groaned, putting my head in my hands. I had the light hand put him down and show him exactly what I can do. I press my palm against the chest of the corpse.  

“Ulryta Venmura.” I say aloud, and almost immediately a bright white circle arose from under the body, breathing life back into the man. The revival had put him in the space just after he and I had spoken. The paramedics looked in disbelief and took the man away, checking his health to make sure this really had just happened. I saw the mechanical robot kneel beside me.    

“Ma’am, would you mind telling me who you are...?” He spoke softly. I got up.  

“My name in this world is Lydia, my real name however is,” I spoke in a language I knew he wouldn’t understand, then continued. “I am the youngest of 8 siblings. We are the elementals who created this world and I created light. You’re welcome.” I sighed. Normally, I’d hate bragging like this, but he had made me infuriated.    

He introduced himself as Officer P.B. He works for the Washington police department and was specially made to take on magically gifted criminals.