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Glimpse of Hope

I have seen the end of the world.

The event comes, slowly but surely. Time waits for nothing, despite how it might seem otherwise. Short lived mortals, they can never see what's been happening. They can't see the expansion of the waterfalls of east and west, the encroachment of the void from the north. Those who do are ostracised, denounced. Such is the way of man. You must conform to belief or be shunned.

I have seen the end of the world. I see how the once proud world of Weyard shrinks, coming to the point where the last remnants of mankind huddle in fear at the encroaching darkness, unable to comprehend that their inevitable demise was of their own making. How ironic, that a quest to save Weyard actually ended up destroying it.

I have seen the end of the world.

The world ends as alchemy returns, unable to take the strain of such a monumentous force returning. Man has dreams, dreams of power, of riches…Dreams that inevitably lead to destruction. Fools. They dream of grandeur, unable to accept that they're part of this world rather than presiding over it. The world ends with a bang rather than a whimper. No doubt their pessimistic philosophers would like that.

I have seen the end of the world.

It comes as dreams lead to destruction, alchemy used for personal gain. Can one individual rise above his peers? Of course. It is the way of the world, the strong presiding over the weak. Perhaps a lust for power is what allowed man to achieve dominion over the world. A possibility perhaps, but if so, it certainly didn't stop there.

It's human nature of course. An individual gains power and he constantly strives for more. It is human nature, inescapable. Alchemy incarnate would be the final step on that long, tragic path. Eventually the path ends and the individual, blinded by fear and lust walks off it, taking the world with him.

I have seen the end of the world.

A repetition of the Lost Age has been sighted. Alchemy returned, only to be used as a weapon like any other. Fields run red with blood, the mountains themselves are torn down as humanity tears itself apart for no real reason apart from the fact that it's capable of doing so. The people that fight, they never ask why they do so. Ironic in that man is capable of making his own decisions, fighting for what he believes in, yet is so capable of following orders and giving in to his primal instincts.

I have seen the end of the world many times. The forms are different, but they are always down to the same thing-mankind's inability to learn, to change, to adapt, to accept that the world is his master than it being the other way round. Those things will never be accomplished, for I can see that the world's end is nearing. The only question is how it does so.

Yet I have seen something else, something that gives me joy, makes me feel pride. Faint at first, but oh so vibrant now. Strange how in Vale, a town so small in size and population, that the human psyche appears different from the norm. Different in that others come first, different in that dreams are not destructive. Something wonderful is down there, something that I gave up on searching for in men long ago.

I have seen the end of the world, that is true. But I've seen something else, something far more important.

I've seen hope.