[b]DAY 21: I USED TO BURN MY WINGS TO THE BONE, THEN ALWAYS GROW THEM BACK[/b]

I come from a dark place. It's a realm that will shatter your dreams and break your will. Naturally, anyone would want to leave a place like that. But such task isn't as simple as one might think. The shadows there will take a hold of you, they will drain your life force and whisper things to your ear that makes you so depressed that you just want to be left alone in darkness or that you just want to disappear from existence altogether. They feed on your misery and it makes them stronger. It's hard to see hope and to maintain your sanity.

The shadow people defeated me way too many times. They made me feel worthless, miserable, alone and that I don't matter. My heart felt heavy and it was weighting me down, deep, deep into the dark waters where I wished to drown. I really sunk into such depths that I thought I would never see the surface again, but I was wrong. A distant light, a light of hope, managed to shine on my face. It was soothing and it gave me strength to go on and so I rose from the waters, ready to fight my way through the darkness.

This miraculous light saved my life. I think I was half dead, but I got vigor that helped me to keep rising like a phoenix. I trusted that it would lead a way to safety, away from the foul shadows. So I gained wings, crimson in color, like blood and suffering. And I flew through the realm of the withered where nothing could thrive, but the darkness was still heavy on my shoulders. It was a horrid burden, something that was difficult to shed. It was so hard to get rid of that I had to burn my wings in order to get it off. And this happened many times. Fire has purifying properties, but when the flames are ablaze in your back, it is agonizing. My screams of pain would echo in the emptiness as the fire killed both the darkness and my wings, burning the feathers, the skin and flesh, even bones. But it was something I had to do and my guiding light soothed the pain so I could tolerate everything.

I had many sets of wings while on my journey to escape the dark place. But eventually, flying became easier as the darkness was losing its grasp on me. I could fly longer and I didn't have to burn myself that often. I could visibly see the changes in my environment as I pushed through the dark land. It had been a while since the last time I had seen something else than the sinister dusk that veils everything. Bit by bit I became more hopeful, that there truly was something better waiting for me. My guiding light kept me company this whole journey, making me stronger and giving me willpower. There is no way I could have done this on my own. Soon I broke the barrier that separates this world from some other realm, I didn't know where I was exactly going. But I was free. Free from the torment of shadow people.

I united with the person who had saved me, the one whose light penetrated the darkness. He's my love, my everything. He showed me the true world, what here really existed, and that the dark realm where I had spent most of my life was nothing compared to everything else. I could be a person I want to be, I didn't have to be shaped by the mold of shadows. Here I had love and trust, dreams, an actual life worth living. And I didn't have to burn myself anymore.

Together we could fly into a better tomorrow. Now I have a purpose in my life, I want to be with my beloved one for the rest of our days. I want to experience the world and never go back into the realm of darkness. I possibly can't shed every tiny crumb of the shadows, but I will never let them change who I am.

This is my world now.



[b]DAY 22: BURY DEEP YOUR HEAD, IT WILL GROW ROOTS, YOUR BODY WILL TURN INTO TREES AND FRUITS[/b]

He loathed this world. It was ridden with misery, there was nothing but constant suffering everywhere. Ordinary people couldn't do anything about it, they were just victims and he didn't blame them. But those individuals in lead would use their power only to cause more damage to the already broken world. He couldn't see the light of day because of the perpetual darkness that veiled the land. Whenever he was having a walk around the town, he saw nothing but corrupted and wretched people. Everyone here was doomed and just abandoned in the black world, nobody would be missed and everyone was just waiting for the death to come. Most were too afraid to do it by themselves, so they were just lingering here until their turn would come up. People here were husks of something they used to be, but they lost themselves and their dreams long time ago.

He had been around longer than most, he had witnessed it with his own eyes how the world had grown into a darker place. He was grieving, for this realm used to be wondrous and magical. But now it was withered and cold. He had seen the golden days; it was hard to accept how things were nowadays. The misery had taken a hold of his heart as well, turning it black and cold. His benevolence, grace, compassionateness and kindness were gone. Only hatred, sorrow, frustration and vindictiveness remained. He felt so hopeless: how had things turned this way? Sometimes he wondered was he the culprit somehow. But one single person couldn't possibly change the world, right?

Then he realized it. He wasn't the one who had caused the world's forlorn state, but he could possibly make everything better. He was, after all, an entity who was one of the mightiest beings in the world. Why hadn't he thought this earlier, he wondered. It was all so clear now; this was the purpose of his life. He was meant to survive all these centuries so he could aid the world when it needed help the most. For a first time in ages, he could feel a spark of hope in his black heart.

The seed that would change the world was inside his head. He knew it, he could feel it in his mind. But for it to be able to accomplish its function, it had to be planted, not just anywhere, but to a spot of land where it could thrive. So he sought the holiest place there was, the place where the temple of the mother goddess had once stood proud, but nowadays it was in ruins. It still held the holy energy, so it was a perfect spot for the new era to begin. Tonight the blood moon would rise to the sky as well, making this very much opportune day for him to fulfil his plan.

The world was wrapped in eerie reddish color when he reached the right place. The blood-red moon was shining on its fullest, there were no clouds on its way. He walked to the perfect spot, a patch of ground that was showing in front of the remains of the great statue of the mother goddess. Now he had to just plant the seed. He had brought with him garden shears. He positioned them close to his neck and snapped them. Part of his neck was now loose and he was bleeding heavily. He continued to snap his soft flesh, bleeding more and more until finally he managed to cut his head off. It dropped to the ground. The headless body was blind but knew exactly what to do. It began to dig the ground, not too deep, just enough for the head. When the task was done, it put the head in the hole and buried it. After this, the headless body had one more thing to perform. It collapsed on the ground as life suddenly fled from the body and started to decay rapidly, offering nutrition to the seed.

Now everything was ready.

Roots started to burst out from the skull. They spread and dug deeper and deeper into the holy land, while a sprout made its way to the surface. Soon it turned a sapling and from there, it just kept growing and growing. A crimson tree was soon standing there in a menacing way, reaching its branches at the red sky like the fingers of a dead man. It had no leaves, but its roots kept spreading. And they would spread all around the world, causing various calamities. The roots would collapse buildings, choke woods and fill the seas with rot. There would be no escape, no place where the roots wouldn't reach.

There was a new world order in place. Once it would be done with eradicating the sins of the former world and repairing the damage, everything would get better. People just didn't know it yet. In one madman's fantasy, new golden days were just coming.



[b]DAY 23: DARK HEARTS DON'T BREAK, THEY BRUISE[/b]

I knew something was wrong by the dawn. You had been staying up all night and you were strangely quiet throughout the day. I didn't manage to get a clear answer from you about what was making you so miserable, but I started to understand when you suggested that we should go to have a walk around the woods when the night would fall. When we were walking in the dark forest, you still kept quiet, and I didn't try to persuade you to talk. Mist was lingering all around us, it was an ominous omen that something bad was going to happen. Moonlight could barely penetrate through the top of the mighty trees that had stood here longer than many human generations. Somewhere in the distance I could hear wolves howling, praising the great Luna with their song. My heart felt heavy as we walked and were watched by many tiny critters that we couldn't notice. I felt that a big change was coming, that a life would be lost tonight.

Eventually I could feel the wind on my face. It was slightly blowing in between the trees, but as we kept going, its eerie howl gained strength, it was a sign that we were getting close to the edge of the forest. Soon we left the sheltering kingdom of vegetation and shadows. We came to a bare cliffside that gave a nice view to the sea. The wind was screeching in our ears as we walked forward, closer to the part of rock that stretched above the raging tides. This was a famous spot for people to jump off to, mainly for lovers whose relationship was doomed from the start, and for people with broken hearts. So I wondered, why were we here tonight?

You looked at me with tears in your eyes, but I did nothing to wipe them away. There was a sad expression on your face and from your eyes I could see no love. So that's how it was, huh… You don't love me anymore. You have realized how futile it is to keep the passion burning when your partner has a dark heart. But I truly did love you, I tried my everything. Did the darkness of my heart taint yours as well? It can be such a burden, I know, maybe it's too much for you to carry. I'm truly sorry about that.

Then you took out your special knife, the keepsake from your father. You told me that it's crafted from a tooth of a sea monster. You hold it in your hands like if it was a delicate flower. Few tears dropped on the blade and then you took a firmer grab on it. You raised the blade and struck it against my chest. Your message was clear: you wanted me out of your life. For a little while the knife was just sticking out of me, you couldn't continue what you were doing. Your hands were trembling and I gently moved them aside. Then I took hold of the sheath and began to cut myself with it, the blade running downwards. I made a long cut, my blood flowing out of my body. When I was done, I dropped the knife to the ground.

I grasped the parts of skin I had just cut apart and tore open my chest, my skin and my flesh ripped. I showed you what was inside of me. You could see my dark heart, still beating. It wasn't broken, even though you wanted it to break. But that just was the thing with people like me, our hearts would only bruise.

Then your gaze shifted away from my exposed chest. You picked up your knife and started to walk to the end of the rock where many people had jumped off into the depths of the sea. For a while you were just standing there. Then you raised you knife one last time and you slit your throat, then let your body fall from the rock. In an instant, you were gone from my sight and gone from my life. I hope you can find peace from the bottom of the sea.

I started to depart from the rock, leaving you behind forever.



[b]DAY 24: I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT IT, I'D JUST AS WELL KILL YOU TODAY[/b]

I was laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I could see bunch of shadows dancing around the flickering light. It was irritating my eyes, but I just couldn't shift my gaze away from it. I was surrounded by black walls; it was depressing to live in here. But that's just how my life had been for a while, I've been stuck in this house with you for a good amount of time. This madhouse was our prison, we couldn't leave, for our lust had got us trapped. The light of day couldn't make its way through the darkened windows, the only thing we could drink was rusty water and our only source of food was mold. As a result, our bodies have withered, and we are mere shadows of the persons we used to be. Some people could call this hell. I don't deny that.

I could hear a spider skittering somewhere nearby. They lived in here as well and their presence had got familiar to me during the timespan that was a little unclear to me. When you can't see daylight or the darkness that embraces the world during nightfall, you lose your track of time very easily. I learned to not care about that. It was just me, you, the spiders, shadows and other strange entities that showed up every now and then.

Demons like to exploit human weaknesses. That's the reason why they locked us up in here, I think. It's because of our volatile love. Some days we love each other more than anything, and some days we hate to see the face of the other one. Our love was kind of glued together by our lust. Demons thought that it would be funny if we were stuck in the same house together so they could watch how everything would just burst. We can stay separated in different rooms so on some days we don't have to see each other, but only the fact that the other one's presence is on beyond the wall is sometimes nerve-wracking. Our situation is complicated, and not many could understand it, even we can't fully comprehend it.

I have tried so hard to love you, I really have. And to be honest, you truly have touched my heart in a way no one else has ever managed, and part of me will always love you. But I also hate you and I just want to see you dead.

Maybe that was the one magic thought that needed to go through my mind, that I want to erase you from my life permanently. Because when I was able to finally crank my body up from the bed, I saw two foreign objects resting on the table: a short piece of rope and a box of matches. Instantly I knew what had to be done, this was my ticket out of here.

I walked to the table and snatched the items, then I started to make my way to your room. After exiting my room, I came to a corridor and turned left. Your room was basically next to mine, there hadn't been any other bedrooms in this weird house. I didn't bother to knock and just slowly opened the door to your room. I noticed your figure laying in the bed, just what I had been doing a little while ago. But you were asleep. That makes things easier. I tiptoed through the room to your bed. I watched you for a moment, even swiped your hair away from your face. May this be the last good picture of you in my mind.

I heard a disgusting squishy sound coming from nearby, and my gaze shifted from you to the wall next to me. An eyeball had appeared. Looks like the demons were watching.

I didn't care about them. I left the matches on the nightstand and took a firm grasp of both ends of the rope. Sneakily I twisted it around your smooth neck and with force, I started to strangle you. You woke up to this and looked at me with shocked eyes, and began to struggle. But I was stronger. I mustered all the hate I hold against you and used it as my strength. You were kicking, scratching me, gasping for breath, but I only tightened the rope. Slowly the death took a hold of you and I saw how the life died out from your eyes. Your whole body became limp. I released my grasp from the rope and looked at your lifeless face for a moment. Now that you were gone, I felt… just numb.

But I had one more thing to do. So grabbed the matches, took one of them and lit it up. I threw the match on your body and the weak flame slowly grew stronger by conquering more space with its destructive power. I turned around and left the room. There hadn't been an exit in this house, but for some reason, now I knew that the demons had opened a door for me. I walked past my room and continued forward to the common places. I didn't have to look around much when I saw a new door that hadn't been there before.

This was it, my way out of this hell.

I opened the door and a bright light greeted me. I stepped into the radiance, leaving behind this prison and the memory of you.



[b]DAY 25: I WILL SET THE WORLD ON FIRE, TO SCREAM MY SUFFERING[/b]

A little town was sleeping soundly. No one was aware of the fact that death and destruction was about to engulf their peaceful settlement where nothing greatly eventful was ever happening. Most people were asleep, preparing for the next day, while some were still awake, embracing their loved ones or struggling with their inner demons. But it didn't really matter, for soon everyone's life as they knew it would shatter.

The disaster came as a form of a winged individual. His wings of silver and feather were slightly gleaming in the light of the town as he was gliding over. He was beautiful and looked very young, but looks are often deceiving. He had lived for thousands of years in this world and although he resembled an angel, he had the broken mind of a madman. He had lived during the age of gods and how they had benevolently guided the people back in the golden days, and he had lived when the gods died and the world got damned. He had treasured this world, it was precious to him, but in his eyes, the world he had once loved had started to decay. And it was his duty to do something about it. In his childhood, he had dreamed of becoming the hero of the world, it was what he had strived to be. But when the gods died, he had lost this spark, and had wandered around the world as a hopeless soul. But now, he finally realized it, his birthright. He was supposed to become the salvation to this world all along, it wasn't just a childish dream. He would cleanse the world from the rot.

His name was Irinn'sul.

And he wasn't alone. He had found a companion, someone who would help him to change the world: Knaergiri, the ancient dragon of madness. Together they were flying over the town, prepared to attack. Knaergiri's terrifying roar that induced insanity with the minds of people woke up the residents of the settlement, making them painfully aware that something horrible was going to happen. Then both the dragon and Irinn'sul began to cast fire over the sleepy town. The dark flames would spread, the buildings were on fire, and people would burn alive in their homes, if they were unfortunate and couldn't get out in time. But it wasn't much better in the streets where the fires were raging. In a short amount of time, the town had become a chaotic burning stake.

Irinn'sul decided to land and walk among all the chaos he had created. He was like a beautiful angel of doom walking in a land of destruction. Horrified people were running in panic all over the place, but Irinn'sul was just striding throughout the streets calmly, not paying attention to anyone. He let Knaergiri to do the rest. At that moment, his heart was filled with hatred, for he had suffered so much during his eternal life. It was only fair for these fools to feel a fraction of the pain he had endured. There were people who had targeted pleading eyes on him, but he hadn't cared about their fate at all. They can all burn.

Then he came upon a little girl. She had probably lost her parents amidst all the chaos. She had mild burns on her skin and she was crying the tears of helplessness and fear. Irinn'sul stopped in front of her, looked at her in the eyes. Back in the day he would have helped this little girl and maybe showed few magic tricks. But now he saw her as a parasite in his world, nothing more.

With hatred and madness in his eyes, Irinn'sul casted a spell on his hand, it was like he got huge crimson claws. He used this enchanted hand to attack the little girl and slashed her. It brutally cut her face, neck, shoulders and chest. The wounds were deep and the claws had fractured part of her skull and tore her heart. Her lifeless body collapsed on the bloody ground. Irinn'sul didn't care. He stepped over her body and continued to walk through the streets.

There were still many people to kill.