Bounded by Nothing

by -Watcher-

Prologue - Silent World

The crystal palace shook with a chaotic ferocity, groaning in response to the waves of energy that pulsed through its walls. Noise, indistinct and droning, resonated through the halls, clattering and clashing off the archways and wide walkways.

The normally immaculate interior lay in ruin. Grand mirrors lay scattered across the crystalline marble, their ornate frames cracked and discarded like trash. Paintings that showcased a once-proud kingdom's history and achievements were either missing entirely or defaced crudely, dark symbols scratched into all of them in some ancient, dead language. It was a state compounded with each surge of activity from the castle’s summit.

Each swell of energy brought with it a cascade of color that emanated from within the crystalline walls, channeling upward, before fading into an abyssal blackness once more. It was the lone source of light that accompanied the large, unpopulated hallways of the castle. The only other company was the steady rumble that occasionally shook the palace, completely independent of the magical surges.

More noise, more clashing, more droning, only being interrupted by an unseen blast from outside.

More surges, each one coming faster than the last and for longer. The volume rose with the frequency of the colors, blending the noise and light into a reactive cacophony one may mistake for beauty, for entertainment.

It was anything but; it was a timer. Each wave of color that swept the halls brought with it an ominous warning understood by a select few: time was running out.

The large, stained windows that frequented many of the castle’s grander sides were tinted an infernal red and orange, clashing with the steady lavender, green, violet, and blue that stemmed from the surging walls. The resulting meld of hellish tones insulted the castle, which was once a beacon of laughter and harmony and forgiveness. It had certainly fallen from grace.

Smoke and ash clung to the glass, aging it and turning the once stunning architecture into a display of fear and confusion. The uproar from outside mimicked this grim reality.

Metal clashed against metal, ringing through the stained, foggy windows. Screams of war, pain, and sorrow swam through the air outside the castle, begging to be heard through the walls of crystal as if their salvation lay within.

Other than these noises, the halls on the ground floor stood in somber silence, awaiting an end to the fighting.

Yearning for silence to grasp the world once more.

The other floors of the palace were not so peaceful, unfortunately. No fighting filled them with the screams of bloodshed and agony, but the crude aftermath of multiple battles scarred the place more and more on the higher floors. Multiple guards’ posts now only served as temporary graves for those unfortunate enough to be stationed there, their throats slit cleanly as they still sat in their seats.

No, no fighting was present. In fact, no fighting had occurred at all. A massacre had wiped floor after floor of well-trained soldiers. They were caught off-guard by an unseen force; it was a force they never stood a chance against.

It was a force that was still making its way to the top of the castle.

Yet another surge of power racked the palace, visibly distorting the interior of the castle as hall tables tipped over and chandeliers crashed to the marbled floor. The sudden noise was met only with silence as the disturbed structure fought to stay stable under the stress.

Near the uppermost platform of the castle’s tower, a darkened figure came to the foot of the final staircase. Breathing deeply, the figure moved up the stairs swiftly, not wanting to waste any more time. Thoughts flew through its mind, all of which went ignored by it. Its focus was getting to the top.

As it crested the final step, the figure could taste the soot and ash still present in the air, even as high up as the platform was. It did not seem to bother it.

Before moving any farther the figure solidified from its mist form into a dark unicorn stallion, and he relished the feeling. It had been a long, long time since he took his physical form.

He moved his front hooves onto the platform proper and was immediately pummeled with an unrelenting wind that seemed to encompass the whole platform. The force was enough to send him into a semi-crouched state, and he gritted his teeth, dark eyes hardening as he forced himself to stand. Digging his hooves into the crystal beneath him, the unicorn gruelingly forced his way against the wind and towards the center of the platform. All the while, sudden gusts threatened to sweep him up in the roaring gale. Looking forward, the unicorn could see his prize: an aqua blue crystalline heart that sat under a large focussing lens held by four columns of thick crystal. The four columns converged above the first lens, forming a spire that also held a smaller lens at the very tip. The unicorn licked his lips in anticipation.

Just a little farther.

As he painfully inched his way closer and closer to the heart, the gusts of wind blew harder and harder, its roar nearly deafening him. And yet, he still pushed forward, never slowing a substantial amount against the raging tempest.

Slowly but surely, the unicorn finally reached the glowing runic ring that surrounded the heart. Whispering a few words of a dead language under his breath, the glowing runes wilted from the crystal surface.

As he stepped within the ring, yet another surge of power shook the tower, causing him to stumble into the podium that held the heart for balance. The heart itself was now ablaze with a fiery blue, glowing so bright that the unicorn needed to shield his eyes.

It was ready.

Behind him, the unicorn heard hoofsteps scaling the stairs to the platform along with voices. He only smiled at what they had to say.

“Hurry! We can’t let him activate the heart!” a distinctly female voice shouted, though heavily muffled by the still horrendous wind.

He paid the voice little attention before turning back to the heart.

He was too close to fail now. The unicorn grasped the spinning heart in his dark magic. As he did, the heart fractured as the dark magic began corrupting it, making it even more unstable. The wind blew harder, and the sky morphed into an unnatural electric blue as clouds began circling the spire. The unicorn continued pouring his magic into the heart.

Tremors racked the structure repeatedly, each one accompanied by bursts of magical energy being funneled into the heart. One tremor even came close to throwing the unicorn away from the heart, but he managed to use the podium to keep himself upright. As each tremor struck, the stallion found it more difficult to remain standing against the aftershocks. Eventually, he opted to just lean against the podium entirely, shifting his weight accordingly with each shake of the tower.

Massive thunderheads approached the spire, swirling and collapsing in on themselves as they did. They sparked with light each time the spire received a jolt of energy. Soon enough, the sparks began flying out to the spire itself, striking it repeatedly and surrounding its apex entirely. Each bolt lit the column of crystal up with power, being funneled both into the heart and the two lenses that sat above the heart. Within a few seconds, the lenses glowed as intensely as the heart itself.

Seeing this, the unicorn relaxed and smiled viscously. There he waited for his guests to reach the top.

As if on cue, the unicorn turned around just in time to see two mares reach the top of the stairs. The duo was headed by a lavender unicorn with violet streaks through her mane. Behind her, a tall, pure-white alicorn stood, glaring daggers along with her partner.

As they glared, the wind seemed to fly upward, somewhat clearing the platform of the infernal noise.

“Stop right there,” the lavender mare began slowly, her eyes burning with a fiery determination. He was certain she meant for the words to sound intimidating or even reprimanding. Like he was only colt being chastised for misbehaving.

How cute.

“You can’t win this; not this time. It’s two on one. Come forward now, and I promise—”

Rather than waste his time on talking to this pathetic mare, the stallion stepped backward, reveling the crystal's state to his company. It shook violently, even in the absence of the tremors, which had died down to a meer rumble. Cracks had scarred the thing, a black ooze pouring from its crevices. As it floated there, spinning just behind the stallion, its color continued to become diluted.

Seeing this, the unicorn mare had ceased speaking, her eyebrows shifting upward and eyes softening. They trembled slightly.

Her alicorn partner seemed to hold her hardened glare, not letting a peep of fear show. The dark unicorn rolled his eyes and cocked an eyebrow.

Stepping in front of the unicorn and shielding her with a large wing, she began to say, “Sombra, you can’t—”

Sombra had already turned away, facing the corrupted heart once more. He ripped the heart from the podium, sending a massive burst of magic into its dying form. The tower shook with a renewed ferocity.

Behind him, Sombra thought he heard the alicorn move towards. Sombra didn't bother looking. Gripping the heart tightly, he let out a harsh, pinched cackle that froze the alicorn in her advance. He then threw the collapsing heart upward into the spire's fully charged lenses.

Time seemed to grow slack as the heart flew through the air with a surprising amount of grace. The wind, Sombra thought, had grown calmer in those seconds, if only just a little. He stood tall, head held high as he watched what he had been waiting for was finally granted to him. He kept his eyes closed and waited for his victory.

As the heart collided with the first, a concussive wave slammed into those who stood on the platform, violently tossing them to the ground. The two mares bore the brunt of the impact, shrieking mostly in surprise as the air was forced from their lungs for a moment. The wind forced them to the ground as they tried in vain to stand.

Sombra only kneeled and smiled happily as he looked upward.

As the heart smashed into the second lens, another concussive wave, stronger than the last, ripped the four columns apart, pulling them into the sky. The second wave slammed into the illy prepared mares, managing to force the lavender one's into the crystal heard enough to send a fracture through the floor. Sombra heard the alicorn cry out and kneel next to the lavender one's side. He could not hear what she said, and he did not care.

It was done.

Above the platform, a ball of blue and black energy continued to grow, sucking in nearby material and cloud cover, even managing to rip loose crystals from the platform itself. As it grew, it continued to glow brighter and brighter, eventually outshining the sun, which had been masked by the smog of the battle below.

Sombra closed his eyes, basking in the warmth of his victory. It was over. Finally, it was over.

The ball of energy burst, sending a wall of blue fire across the sky. It followed this by slamming into the platform below, sending a wave of blue fire down the outside of the large tower and onto the ground. Within moments it expanded to the city's outer limits.

And then the world grew dark.

And, finally, it was quiet.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the major confusion with this one, guys. Ran into some word issues and decided to scrap the story and just recreate it.

I hope you enjoy it despite the whole weird disappearing and reappearing thing.

Thank you for reading.

Comments

[-Watcher-]

Just so there is legit no confusion about people seeing this story again:

I deleted this story but decided I didn't really want to just scrap the whole idea. So, after some word issues, I rewrote the prologue. However, there will be some similarities, particularly in the beginning portion. Other than that, it has been completely rewritten.

Hopefully, that clears everything up. Sorry for the confusion, guys!

Enjoy!

[Pete100]

I’m a little confused.