But the past is the past, unchangeable.
The dark creature looked at Eldrin with pity.
Eldrin noticed but didn't speak; he knew that the shadow creature knew something.
But seeing its expression and contained, but still visible emotional outburst, he decided not to ask.
He had a feeling that it was better not to know; ignorance could sometimes become a bliss.
He shook his head; he already had a lot in his mind, no need for more.
He looked at the castle and then at Michael flying around, marvelling at it with a child's curiosity.
He chuckled.
Michael reminded Eldrin of himself when he was still little, untouched by the darkness and corruption of the world.
Back then, the world was all sunshine and rainbows, a perspective that most children get to enjoy in their childhood. They knew no evil, though of no evil and so no evil, not because it wasn't there but because their minds couldn't comprehend such a concept.
Eldrin's expression soured.
But the moment they finally acknowledge the existence of evil, their perspective undergoes a dramatic transformation; all of a sudden, the world loses most of its beauty, the interactions between people seem to hold secret schemes that they wouldn't notice before, and lies that would have gone undetected before.
And all of a sudden, they could see it, notice the darkness that hides in plain sight, behind masks, behind people that seem all too kind, behind people that at first seemed like saints.
The loss of innocence is far too tragic, especially when it happens way too early.
To be robbed of both bliss and a well-built delusion that kept you going, to be robbed of the most beautiful lie.
That the world was perfect, full of hidden opportunities that would show up no matter what, full of adventure and true freedom, allowing you to live the perfect life.
Eldrin chuckled under his breath.
"Perhaps I could make that lie a truth..Michael"
But Eldrin shook his head.
He knew full well that it was easier to become a god than to create a perfect world; the impossibility of it was despairing, grim, and cruel.
The dark creature suddenly glanced at Eldrin; it could feel the intense emotional fluctuations hidden behind that mask of utter calmness.
It had known for a long time that Eldrin rarely showed emotion, yet that did not mean that he felt no emotion.
Quite the opposite, despite Eldrin's calm demeanor, he was actually extremely emotional, as seen in the past when he fought Hydra.
Emotional to the point that he is actively harming himself, trying to suppress them.
The dark creature remembered that one time when Sebastian told Eldrin the casualties of that war against Thanos's subordinates.
Thankfully, it ended only with Eldrin levelling his wooden cabin.
But the dark creature knew that at that time, Eldrin had snapped; the only thing that prevented him from an attempted genocide against Thanos's subordinates was his fear of another war happening in his absence.
The dark creature shuddered at that.
That irrationality comes from both Eldrin and the curse that binds him. Every time he fails, he becomes more mad, more irrational, because every failure is no different from a stab wound on his very soul.
That was another weakness for beings of both light and darkness.
Each time they failed to fulfil their purpose, there was a penalty.
And that was Karma.
Each failure increased their karma, which is essentially corruption.
It causes soul-tearing agony and madness.
At the start, when Eldrin...Michael had received his purpose from his dying mother; his heart was pure.
Her death didn't taint him, nor did it activate the penalty because she was not innocent in the first place.
But after 400 years of constant failure, his heart went cold, now being half dark and half light.
The creature looked at Eldrin.
At most, Eldrin has 90 more years before his heart becomes completely corrupted by karma.
When that happens, Eldrin will be no more.
Such is the fate of a being of darkness cursed with an impossible purpose.
Back on Earth, there was a tall figure with black wings and wavy, long black hair fighting against an endless army of stone creatures.
The mindless ones.
His figure was a blur, each of his sweeps reaping the lives of thousands of mindless ones.
He was Eldrin, the original one.
His expression was sour but resolute.
Fighting against the endless army relentlessly, holding the back single-handedly from taking another step towards the portal.
But all of a sudden, his eyes widened in pain, and he clutched his chest and breathed heavily.
He grunted from the soul-tearing agony and knelt to the ground.
"Again!?It has been 100 years since this has happened!"
Thought Eldrin with confusion.
This has happened before, but it was an extremely rare occurrence.
His eyes glowed a dark purple as he looked towards his heart.
He frowned at what he saw.
His heart, which was previously half light and half darkness, was now 70& darkness and 30 percent light.
His expression was heavy with concern, and his mind, it felt more still, silent, not the pleasant kind of silence but the eerie kind.
His heart felt colder, his emotions numb.