"Lay your sword down before the full moon. Stare deep into the lunar reflection, concentrating on nothing but the illumination. The words will come to you, the message will be clear. Luna will help you through this time. Before we speak again, you will know the answers you seek."

They were such careful instructions from a loved one, given only to help a coping desolate soul comprehend what the future held in store for him. The trouble with crossing into realms one doesn't quite understand is never being prepared for the contingencies. What gives humans solace and answers may provide a different species with quite a few issues left unresolved, exacerbating the problem instead of solving it.

"Two beams reflected in my eyes," I explained. "Is that supposed to happen?"

The cold silence of a response confirmed the conclusion to which I had already reached. Yet again, the path of my existence had brought about a perennial cryptic message. Apparently, this is the only path for which I am suited.

"Concentrate on what has brought you to this point, Lantlas. You've been away for a long time, and you know what sent you where you went. It's your escape, your source of comfort, but you know it doesn't solve any of the problems you left behind. The memories will never go away, your nightmares will never cease. This is something you must learn, understand, and accept."

Returning my concentration to the parallel beams of light, suddenly they were a pair of eyes creating shards in my soul from their actions. The painful gaze of deception and ignorance, I knew it all too well. It brought a source of tribulation so deep, so agonizing that it not only led me to a path away from wrestling while being an undefeated world champion, but it led me away from this world. The universe from which my ancestors supposedly lived was the home I never knew, but I couldn't accept that.

The scratches of jagged nails tore through my soul as they had my skin. The words flashed again through my mind as they had every night since. Betrayal on the deepest level, bringing the past involvement with the collapse of love to a miniscule footnote in virtual comparison, it brought me to isolation for nights on end.

The double reflection led me to believe that the destiny was not yet written in the action, that there were two paths that could be chosen. Long since I had learned of my heritage and ancestry had coded messages and destiny been spoken and forced acceptance upon me. Because of the circumstance of my existence, I held an obligation to protect instead of just simple living, and while that may have served those known casually to me, everyone who'd ever been close to me was dead on this world.

The beams of lunar reflection again morphed into the crystal blue eyes of a little girl taken long before her time. Something inside of me knew that it was bound to happen sooner or later, thanks to Kieran playing with the hands of time in order to bring her back in the first place, but it didn't make it any easier to accept. The only consistency in my life had been destroyed, a pure soul with the utmost vibrance and innocence thrown away at the dawn of life, likely because of something I had done years before to set up the particular event in which it happened.

I had a feeling that now Devon would have a much easier time working with my idiosyncrasies. After all, she was literally all I had left on this planet, despite her travels with me to the other plane. She didn't have to censor herself around a child or play nice in front of a significant other, and I was almost certain it gave her a power rush.

For the time being though, those crystal blue eyes gone lifeless were all I could see, and the scene replayed every minute inside of the silver screen on the back of my eyelids. The life so precious, so fragile being removed from her while she lay in my arms brought me to a place I never thought I'd be. I thought of Eldarin in the village, holding the slain girl in his arms and watching life leave her long before it was meant to. Now there I knelt, laying my daughter to rest in the small river from which her ancestors came, left to find her new plane of existence where I would surely find her again one day.

They all had moved on. All those who'd loved me had progressed to their final destinations, wherever those may have been. Yet here I remained, once again returning to the world in order for the competition and the unyielding need to relinquish the fury that dwelled within me because of the atrocities that had taken place. Emerald and Jade especially were forced to depart their earthly vessel long before they should've, more or less because of relating to me.

As the luminaries decorated my pupils, another vision came to mind. After the defiance, the love for her would not disappear. Despite the ultimate betrayal, everything still remained, and I spent many a sleepless night wishing I was with her, regardless of what had happened. The opportunity arose where I felt I'd have the chance to prove my love to her, but it was going to be a dangerous mission, even for me. However, believing that fate could be changed, that lives could be altered, and that hearts could be swayed… that was the convincing factor. If I was going to fail, I wasn't going to go gently into that good night.

"They'll remember you," a voice inside of me had whispered. "Succeed or fail, they'll remember you."

Her grandparents were celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary, and I knew this was my opportunity. To prove my love for her on a grand and literal scale at a celebration of love, this would be the best chance I ever had. But just being there wasn't going to be enough; it had to be something prominent, something epic. What I knew was that the song to which we fell for each other mentioned walking any distance, so I decided to prove it.

I had a little less than twenty-four hours and only a small laptop bag that I filled with water. It was to be the first night temperatures would drop below freezing, and I had about five hours of daylight left. I needed to reach East Salem, across a mountain range 39 miles and two counties away. What would make more of a statement than walking 39 miles to prove one's love, despite a despicable adulterer?

The road was long, and the hills grew steep. The light on the horizon began to fade, and I was left in the wilderness, normally a comfortable situation, but reckless drivers didn't help the aura. It was Friday night and there were no cops in this county. Despite the layers, the wind began to eat through the heavy jacket I was wearing. My teeth had begun to chatter, and the only thing that kept me going was the hope that this would make the impact I wanted it to.

I shuddered as I thought back of the inevitable result to this vision. Happy endings like that only work out in the storybooks, unfortunately… The annals from which many believe I belong. Some would say there is no place in this world for an Elven Warrior, and others more tolerant would simply say there's no place in this business for one. The voices lingered each time my name appeared on the contracts for new signees, each time the news and rumors held a mention of the infamous Elven wrestler making his debut within the company. They'd complain about realism, and that such a fantasy character doesn't belong… Enough!

I'd had to prove myself through every endeavor through which I participated! While my lack of success in my personal life certainly transcended my professional career, nothing about it could be argued! When I first landed in Evolution Pro Wrestling, the snickers were heard and the jokes ran amok… until I ran the damn table and the company closed with me yet to suffer a defeat or drop the world championship. Pure Class Wrestling ran its course for well over two years, and the record books will forever show two world championship reigns and 45 wins. No one else had even come close to that mark.

My official debut in Global Championship Wrestling had yet to transpire, and I had already caught wind of the rumors. Voices had been heard on my end speaking of how realistic the characters in GCW were, and how an Elven Warrior gimmick would truly be out of his element, as if I wasn't already with the long blue hair and pointy ears in mainstream society. In what other profession could I excel as such? I don't think too many people would drop off their dry-cleaning with a giant pointy-eared blue-haired elf holding a sword. This was bullshit! The same old song and dance, the same rumors I'd have to quell, the same jokes I'd have to answer, and the same path I'd have to tread to prove yet again that I was just worthy to be among them. No credentials or resumes would bear me the benefit of skipping the preliminaries.

Yet, with same sick feeling in my stomach as I watched her walk away, possibly moments away from death's icy grip, I could handle rejection. Nothing hurt worse than the one you loved not caring that you'd risked life and limb for them. Apathy was dangerous, especially to the intended target. In this case, the rolling eyes and wisecracks about the Tolkien novels or the tree-dwelling cookiemakers would receive a little of their own medicine.

Above all, it was the tribulation of the knowledge that there was no one on this roster, or any roster for that matter, that could do anything worse to me than what I'd already experienced. The loss of my love, my daughter, and nearly everyone about whom I'd cared in my lifetime. Bring on the jokes, bring on the pain, maybe it'll help distract me from my dwindling hope that there's a happy ending to this story.

A cloud finally covered the parallel light on the blade of my sword, and I stared off into the distance, the voices fading within my head. Knowing what I had to do and what lay on the predictable horizon may not have been the greatest feeling, but at least for the first time in months…

I could feel something again.