Michael laughed. ‘Memory loss is normal after what you’ve been through, it’s quite remarkable that you remember anything at all. The power has a way of doing that to us. It’s why there are no records of World War III.’
‘What do you mean it’s normal?’
‘There have been others that have suffered this fate. I am one of them.’
‘What did you do?’ asked Jaden.
‘I almost died, but after I had recovered ... I rebuilt the world, which is what you will do soon.’
Now Jaden had to laugh. ‘Me? I destroy worlds. I can’t rebuild them. It would take a billion years to undo the damage I have done. I wouldn’t even know where to begin! It’s just rock and water up there. I could put one rock on top of another rock and call it a castle if you like, but I don’t see how that’s going to help.’
‘On the journey of life, desire is your compass. To know where to begin, you must first want a destination.’
‘I don’t know what I want anymore,’ said Jaden with a sigh.
‘That is also normal. It is hard to want anything when you no longer have needs. You have become too powerful.’
‘Maybe, but one who can build a world would be more powerful than I am. So how do you still have desires?’
‘By recognising the needs of others.’
‘Everyone is gone,’ said Jaden, bluntly.
‘For now … yes. But once you have rebuilt the world, there will be life again,’ Michael explained, and for a second Jaden thought he heard something walk by him, something with padded feet, as if it were wearing cushions on its soles. When Michael spoke again, it was from another part of the chamber. ‘For there to be a desire, there needs to be a vision, and for there to be a vision, there need to be memories from which one can build.’
‘And if I don’t have any?’
‘Then I will remind you of your origin.’
‘How?’
‘As I mentioned,’ said Michael slowly, as if emphasising his next words as something Jaden needed to understand beyond all else. ‘I have been watching you since you first showed potential.’
‘How will I remember?’
‘You still wear a crystal around your neck. It was used to record much of your life and the events surrounding you, and then I had it given to you so that you could make better use of it. Some things you can't have known have been added to help you understand. I was afforded no such luxury in my time, but I knew you would need to see it all again someday.’
Jaden picked up the crystal that hung from a silver chain around his neck, the faint blue glow inside of it still present after all these years. It had been a gift from someone very important to him, although he could not remember who. It was in a silver, diamond-shaped encasing, and while seeming weak, in all the battles he had fought it had never broken or left him. He realised then while studying it that it had been enriched with technology made from the immortal essence, its molecular structure modified to become a lot stronger than ordinary silver.
‘First you must see who you once were,’ Michael continued. ‘Before everything went wrong. Perhaps with the memories of the people you loved, you’ll remember the needs of others once more. I will show you your personal journey and all that you’ll need to see to understand how this happened.’
Without another word spoken, Jaden lifted the crystal to between his eyes, just as he had done so many times before. He felt his mind propelled into its realm, where the stories of old would come to life, and his dreams would become a reality. He would watch all that Michael had to show him as an unseen presence, unfelt and unheard, a ghost in a world that no longer existed.
Chapter Two
Few moments are as temporary as paradise.
7th January 997 R.E.
Jaden watched patiently as lights materialised in the darkness of the crystal's realm; mountains, trees, clouds and buildings all flashing into existence. Michael was rebuilding a memory from long ago, one that Jaden had thought was lost. It was of his home, the village of Callibra; a tropical paradise hidden in a valley on the southern side of the Aurialis continent. The year was 997 R.E., nearly a thousand years since World War III had almost destroyed the planet, but the world he lived in was vastly different to the one his distant ancestors had known. Cerulean blue rings now encircled Earth and the shapes of the continents had changed dramatically. It was as if the world had transcended all of its prior natural beauty and wonder. A new calendar was set in place to usher in this new age of prosperity, marked with the initials “R.E.”, which stood for “Reborn Earth”.