Torches and Shadows
A torch. A shadow. The moon in daylight. The sun in midnight. A look into the happenings of a cryptic group of individuals. The inner workings of the occult, masked from the eyes of the stars above. Under the ashen light of a fire fuelled by contempt, the meanings of light and dark are twisted far beyond your comprehension.
You think you know everything, yet so much still eludes you.
Author's Notes
woah i'm on a literature uploading barrage huh?
it's been a while since i published chapter one. oops. but i promise i'll finish chapter 2 soon-ish! got some interesting things planned for this story.
Read it on AO3 here!
Prologue
Entropy - a fundamental law of our reality. It's the principle that describes how everything slowly and naturally decays into disorder.
Even that though, isn't true at all. Entropy isn't a decline into disorder - it's a decline into order.
Hot things cool down. Energy spreads out. Active things decay. Living things die. The passive works to slow that which is active. That is the law of every world.
An ideal universe by entropy's law is merely a dark empty void, where everything is the same and equal. Where all the energy is spread so thin that it barely even exists. The empty space between stars and galaxies, through the entire universe. In a universe like that, maybe if you'd travel a few billion light years you'd find a single atom. Or maybe not.
And yet the universe we live in isn't like that. Amidst the cold black of the universe's fabric, there are brilliantly bright clusters of galaxies. Stars. Worlds. Archipelagoes of light, ice, dust - populating the empty space, arranging themselves into celestial ballets. Drawing constellations.
The stars, raging with the force of the plasma they burn - releasing their energy into their surroundings - creating the building blocks of the universe in their deaths. Planets, harbouring unique equilibriums from the interactions of these materials.
And then there is life. A array of dead chemicals and proteins that come together to make a barrier from the rest of the universe. To take in some substances, output others, produce energy. To feel, hear and see. To laugh, love and dream. Despite the harsh rules of the universe, we exist.
And yet, it still isn't enough.
We always want something we don't have. The opposite of what we are is always so much more important to us. We always want to be something more, or something less.
We are never truly satisfied.
Author's Notes
old notes from AO3:
Thank you so much for reading! The next chapter will actually get into what this story's about.
Currently, my new main story project is a series known as Crystalline Chaos, created by myself and Luminescence - comprising of comics, written stories, and animations made in Project Arrhythmia. The series is part of something called Project Elevatia - a multiversal overarching narrative led by my friend DXL44, and featuring the work of several other cool people. It might sound a little confusing, but don't worry, I'll explain the whole thing in more detail soon!
This particular story, "Torches and Shadows", focuses on a few characters that will be recurring throughout Crystalline Chaos. While they aren't the main focus of the series, this story gives an insight into their lives. No major plot events happen here - it's just a way for you to get to know the characters and the circumstances they're in.Also, I know people ask all the time, but please leave a comment and let me know what you thought! Constructive criticism is the only way I can get better at this sort of thing.
If you're confused by anything or want to ask any questions, please feel free to contact me via Discord - my username is [ @duckemz ].