CHIAROSCURO

By Prince Firelorn

DISCLAIMER

All the characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. But the work reflects reality somewhat, which is one of the issues of our society.

All Rights Reserved.

INSCRIPTION

“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.”— Madeline L’Engle

PROLOGUE

For the longest time, all I've ever known was...

Darkness.

I was born and brought up in a family of royals, in a world of thorns and scorn, hate and greed, lies and betrayal, selfishness and parasitism. It wasn't easy surviving on my own but I found my way, in the shadows where I belonged.

Many would envy and seek out my lifestyle because it appeared luxurious, and glorious even but it really wasn't. I was trapped in a neverending fight for control and most of all, my life only to see my death encroach slowly, to the point I started having nightmares about it.

I was even abandoned by my own father. Well... It didn't matter.

After all, they were all parasites. Every single last one of them. The secrets I found out, the lives that were manipulated, used and later destroyed by my enemies were unbearable. They even found their way into my inner circle and betrayed me.

I was struck down by my closest subjects, my comrades, and even my clan. I never saw it coming.

It was a nightmare. I thought I had died and gone to hell but no, I had entered a whole new world of darkness, a void that called for my name and my shadow that kept me alive.

At first, I thought it must have been a dream, a silly confusing dream, being able to shift between the realms. But I was wrong... It was real, it was all real. Though the world was truly black, and there was nothing but the shadows of the people, it was an honest world where no lies could be made, a place called The Void.

Fiction to reality, the imagination now turned to fact. It was all in my grasp, until... I finally merged with my darkness, returning to my realm to get revenge on all my betrayers.

I took them all down, one by one, nothing would be left of their souls as I wreaked havoc on my enemies. A year went by and I accomplished something that only dubbed me a tyrant in my kingdom.

And as a tyrant, I was banished by my own father and sought the dead lands as a cripple. With time, I found myself imprisoned in the deadliest of prisons by mistake only to rise in the ranks and gain authority over the prison.

I found myself some true comrades, even forming a harem along the way only to depart from them on a lone quest for my final revenge. A one-on-one with my one true enemy...

I struck them down but at an enormous cost...

With my reality gone and none existent to me, I lost myself until... Did I find myself? A doppelganger of mine approached me at my lowest point and offered me his hand.

The young man with my face took a few steps toward me as if he was taking a stroll, his steps touch the dark floor, making ripples on the surface, almost as if he was walking on water. He passed through the space that looked like darkness and reached out his hand to me as if to give me a handshake and said...

“We finally meet, it's been a while.”

With a few words and an outstretched hand, he offered to show me another reality.

It was up to me to decide whether to stay or move forward. Would it be best to take his hand?