There was once a boy, who wanted to touch the moon,
He made wings to fulfil his wish soon;
Then flew the boy with his wings of Gladinstone.

The ground below shrunk in size on that full moon night,
The moon loomed like ice alight;
There flew the boy with his wings of Gladinstone.

His wish was strong so was his will,
He pushed a little further at every faltering thrill;
Then fell the boy with his wings of Gladinstone.

Evelyn

She wanted to close her eyes, only if it were to allow her to escape from the current reality. Only if she could change it, but she knew with all certainty that such a small change would not affect anything in the least.

So Evelyn watched as the swords of the warriors clashed above the destroyed mid section of the bridge. The General, inhumanly fast with his glowing armour aiding his stride and Edwin with just his plain sword, clashed and the result was too fast for her to follow. All she saw was a little flash and Edwin landed on the opposite side on his knees in a perfect stance, and so did the General the light in his armour fading gradually. Another silence chilled her nerves as the warriors didn’t flinch from their positions. River Sirgon mildly aided that silent air with its gushing water.

The General was the first to get up. His shoulder plate fell off as he turned to face the warrior again. The chainmail covering his shoulder now exposed; an unquestionable opening in his seemingly indestructible armour. Edwin stood up and turned, unscathed, Evelyn noticed. She thanked all the Gods she knew about, and even those she didn’t. The open shoulder plate started covering itself with metal as small reverberations were heard.

He is using alchemy to cover it, but that won’t hold as strong as Gladinstone did.

“Well done, wielder of Shatrughat,” remarked the Glinrin. “You have my respect!” The compliment only served to frighten Evelyn for the General cocked his head to the left; just like he had done before attempting to execute the Priest.

He started walking towards Edwin at a slower pace, the visor locking itself, a small wave passing through the armour, correcting any and all irregularities, checking for any dents that may prove to be lethal. Through the faint clicks Glinrin leaped in the sky and levitated above Edwin, much out of range of his sword.

That is not fair, he is flying!

He threw his blade below, as it caught life during its fall. Edwin narrowly missed it, parrying blow after blow that followed.

There is something wrong. The General knows he can ward off four blades let alone one.

Through the fast clangs, the Gladinstone blade changed shape and welded itself around Shatrughat like a snake. The blade jerked behind dragging Edwin along with it, his pull on the sword still unflinching. The General rose to a greater height, his fist balled and shining brighter than the rest of the armour.

Uh oh!

“Edwin, get out of there!” she screamed reflexively at the top of the lungs. At that instance, she thought she saw Edwin grin. It was very faint, but it was unmistakeably a grin.

And Edwin rarely did that.

The General came down like a meteor to hit the bridge. Edwin below, just lightly sidestepped, knowing the general couldn’t change his path now. A raw force ripped through Shatrughat as he swung, cutting the Gladinstone snaked around it in parts, and the swing further hit the form of the descending General. It was a flash of lights, like fireworks, the seemingly unnatural fight had a detrimental effect on the soldiers around, but the people seemed content. For them it was entertainment, like watching two gladiators fight, but from some other world. Edwin lightly stepped behind on the crumbling railing and jumped over to the opposite section of the bridge that still stood intact. On the other side, the second pillar was slowly crumbling, threatening to entirely destroy that part of the bridge. A rubble cloud rose as the pillar collapsed, and the general disappeared in it

Evelyn waited to see if the General had, by any chance fallen in the river; that would be the end of it all. She noticed everyone watched intently for the same.

Edwin got into battle stance, his left arm outstretched, two fingers pointing at the sky, and his sword running parallel, in the direction of the cloud. A faint white light shone through as the dust cleared, the faltering form of the General could be seen levitating. The light died in some of the rivulets occasionally, but he stood, slowly inching towards the only good part of the bridge. As he reached closer, Evelyn saw a gaping gash in the chestplate where even the Gladinstone rivulets were torn. The scratch healed itself and the General managed to land on the bridge.

He walked faltering towards Edwin. The grip on Edwin's sword relaxed and he broke his battle stance. "General," his first words since the battle began. "Stop."

Evelyn realised the gravity of his words. Glinrin had used way too much Gladinstone to keep up the fight anymore. He was at his limit. Any step further would mean he was ready to duel to his death.

But his pride didn't allow him any respite. He walked on, with an occasional break in the step. Edwin blew open another hole just before the General's path, a frail attempt to stop him from killing his own self.

It was then that a sensation tingled Evelyn's ear, and it seemed the air had turned heavy.

She had felt it before.

She knew it. She had definitely felt that force before. That singular thought riddled her mind as she started losing attention of the duel.

She saw Glinrin mend the little hole as he walked on, but her spine turned a few degrees colder by this new thought that had just riddled her mind. Her eyes started faltering, looking around the town rapidly. Her knees started to give in.

That cannot be.

That force pushed her body gently at first, like a mother's hug. It gradually, almost unnoticeably, strengthened. The other people seemed oblivious of the fact, the duel taking most of their concentration.

They don't know

Glinrin summoned a sword to meet Edwin's, who lightly parried blow after blow from the General. It was clear Edwin was just on the defensive. "You must stop," he asked again, in a tone chillier than before. He sheathed his sword and got in a stance he had, just before almost throwing the General off the bridge last time. Some unsheathing technique Evelyn knew nothing about. But she did know, that would be the final move, the finishing blow.

But none of that mattered. She had felt the force before. For her, the sound of the battle had faded in the distance.

And in that instant the force became so powerful, that Evelyn had to bow to keep her footing, her eyes wandered off to the docks to her right, the apparent source. The first thing she saw was the warriors being thrown off bridge before their swords could ever meet again. Edwin was flung back as if by an invisible catapult, his back hitting a wall of the temple with an audible thud. His body met the ground as the sword left his hand. His head dropped to a side. Evelyn's throat seemed crushed as she forgot how to respond.  In that same instant the General was thrown back too. It seemed he put much effort in opposing the force using his Gladinstone armour only to fail. His six foot frame collided against the wall of a construction with a loud clang.

She ran towards Edwin, fighting against the force, her heart beat catching a pace she had just learned it could.

That simply cannot be.

"Edwin!," she screamed, shaking his shoulders. His head slowly turned up as life ran through his eyes again. He grunted before blinking. Evelyn sighed a breath of relief and that was when the first wave hit them.

The water of the river was flowing at a greater force than she had ever seen that of any river flow. There was one minute difference. It was in the opposite direction of Sirgon's flow, it was flowing from the ocean instead of towards it. The same raw force was ripping through the water. The bridge was being turned to ruble. Not only that bridge but the other bridges had their strength proven to be completely unworthy. The boatmen that rode the same river now held on to splinters that were once their ferries.  Their faces concocted a look of disbelief in the direction of the docks, some of them screamed as a little wave from the ocean hit them. They drifted beyond Evelyn's line of vision as they got swept along with the newfound flow of Sirgon.

Evelyn dropped to her knees as an even greater wave passed the river. River overflowed into the front of the temple drenching all the people that had gathered.

How is that possible?

The third wave could be seen coming from miles away. It rose from the horizon at first greeting the sun and then completely covering it.  Reflections of the sun from the translucent ocean water were thrown across the town like a puppet master playing with light instead of shadows. Her mouth lost sensation and dropped open.

The ships in the docks crashed against the city walls. The structures nearest to the ocean caved in. Evelyn raised both her hands as the wave approached. For a moment her entire being seemed to have been lost in the infinite expanse that was this water. She had lost sense of herself. To her surprise, she wasn't washed away in the incredible force it dragged along nor were the other city dwellers. The wave had reduced in strength by the various structures that stood before it.

Evelyn tasted salt, her mouth was filled with the ocean water she had admired from afar. However beautiful the ocean looked but all that water couldn't be consumed. Even though she knew the simple fact, getting drowned in a wave of ocean made it seem like a revelation.

As the wave cleared, her vision of the world around her returned. She saw Edwin first, sitting with his back to the temple, head bowed, sea water finding it's escape from his mouth. He slowly looked up, his eyes looking beyond Evelyn, at the river, his eyes shining a pure white.

It had happened, Evelyn knew.

She looked behind her to confirm what her mind informed was impossible.

The river  water glowed a faint blue, the current still in the reverse direction. Where the bridge once stood, was now the most majestic horse Evelyn had ever seen in her short lifetime. With a mane of white gold, and and a coat that shone as if made of blinding silver, it had hoofs that could walk on water. The horse neighed moving it's head gracefully, as if declaring the arrival of his passenger.

Evelyn had not contemplated how the horse ever walked on water, she was far beyond that point once she realised who the master of the horse was.

The White God himself stood perched atop the majestic beast. God had come on Earth a second time.

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