The Gifts of Malum

Since time began, Mother Nature saw to the balance of all life in the universe. All was well, until an entity named Malum discovered the existence of Earth, and man. To gain their trust, he imitated their form and appeared before them, bearing what he tricked man into believing were four gifts; Greed, malice, hate, and power. Unknowing, man accepted his gifts, by so doing, allowed these forces into the hearts of every member of their race, corrupting their very nature.

The great balance shifted; Man soon began destroying their world, until the last nuclear war succeeded. Mother Nature fought for centuries, but could not win against the gifts of Malum.

However, she had in her possession a great power. One that not only could Malum never touch, but also greatly feared. She sealed this power within pure starlight, ensuring no being with Malum's gifts in their heart could ever possess, use, or destroy it. Now, she waits for the one among man who could use this power to lock away Malum's gifts once more, and restore balance to the hearts of man.

Amare sat bolt up-right, listening. He had kept shelter in an abandoned building not far from the edge of the woods. After the great war, isolation meant survival. There was something outside, he could...hear it...

He guessed about two or three years ago, his parents went out for a supply run and never returned. They may have succumbed to the mutated beasts, results of the great war. Twilight was their prime hunting hour, and they could hear everything. He remembered overhearing that these horrid creatures had once been friendly, loyal animals called dogs, but was unsure if he believed it. He had no blame for the beasts, however. He, too, knew great hunger, and with death being a constant maybe, would rather die feeding a hungry mouth than at the hands of the marauders.

Tonight, however, Amare was filled with unease from quite a different threat; something unknown was stalking around in the dark.

He grabbed what little he had; a drawstring backpack filled with essentials, and the only thing left of his mothers; a silver, heart-shaped locket. He put his head through the long chain, deciding to wear it rather than lose it.

Unease filled the air around him; he peered through the ragged curtains; there was something there.

He saw nothing but barren land...yet, he could feel something was out there. Without knowing how, he knew it was there for him, and intended nothing but harm--

A shadow moved in the night.

Like a frightened rabbit, he ran. Running was a necessary survival skill in this world. It was right behind him...he could feel it...

Whatever it was, it got him; engulfing him in darkness...

Amare fought, long and hard, until exhaustion won. How could he fight a shadow? The darkness felt infinite, like it and himself were all there was.

The darkness began showing him things...he saw the world as he'd never seen it before. He could see unafraid children with full bellies, families still whole, amazing things people had made and accomplished. He saw men that ruled entire nations, enormous buildings with real purpose. He saw what glory was.

Suddenly, his silver, heart-shaped locket began to glow in the darkness, and the images before him faltered...

He saw pain...he saw people burning others alive...he saw entire cities destroyed in a single, blazing second. He saw and heard the suffering of billions...saw the very bones upon which that world had been built...

The light in the locket was getting brighter, and he felt a dread within him...as if the darkness wished to penetrate his heart...

"NO!"

The light burst from him in every direction, piercing right through the darkness...wounding it...

He heard a hideous scream of anger, before the darkness fled.

There was a sharp, stabbing pain in Amare's eyes. It was daylight. They snapped open as the memories of what happened flooded his mind.

He had no memory of this place. The leaves and flower petals around him formed to make a kind of natural, outdoor bed.

Then, making him jump about a foot in the air, one of the plants next to him spoke.

"You will have to do better than that."

The petals and leaves formed a face. It was a woman's.

"Who...are you?" he asked, his voice shaking. What are you, would have been a more appropriate question. Seeing strange things was not uncommon in this world, but talking plants...

Her voice was angelic, thunderous, composed of a thousand familiar sounds...

Amare had had enough. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what is happening or who you are, but could you please leave me alone?"

This was the wrong thing to say.

The air stiffened with omnicity. The woman's face twisted in anger as the sky darkened at an impossible speed...

BOOM!

Thunder shook the trees; lightning struck the ground all around where he lay, the very earth cracked open; the face of a woman hovered above him, enormous in the clouds, almost as frightening as the darkness...

"I AM NOT THE ONE YOU NEED FEAR BOY!"

Amare, though frightened, knew it was true. The darkness...that darkness...he knew it was an evil beyond mutated dogs, marauders, quite possibly anything he had ever encountered; and judging by his earthly bed, this woman, whoever she was, had saved him from it. She, and somehow, his mother's locket.

"The darkness!" He screamed to her, almost pleading, "That is what I fear!"

Everything froze. Even the raindrops stopped mid-splash on his cheek. As if pressing rewind, the woman returned to normal. She was all sunshine and flowers again.

After collecting himself, Amare spoke. "Please...who are you?"

She spoke gently. "I am Mother Nature."

Should have worked that one out for myself, Amare thought. "And...the darkness?"

As before, images appeared around him. Whether she was actually making it happen, or simply putting it into his head, he did not know.

"The human race was once what I intended," She said, as the scene settled into what Amare could only assume was some of the first people on Earth.

"They were meant to care for this planet. In order to do so, they required a certain level of intelligence." She then showed him the first human to make fire, the first tribe, the first crops. "They needed to work together to ensure their species would live." She showed people building homes and making medicine. "To understand their world, so they could help it thrive." She showed him Bruno, Gallilei, and Copernicus at work...

Amare was facinated.

The air was suddenly frigid, as was Mother Nature's voice.

"But it was too late...when they burned Bruno, I knew...Malum had taken hold of them."

"Who is Malum?"

An eternity of weariness looked back at him through her eyes. "The darkness. He heard of humans and wasted no time in corrupting their purpose." She showed him people torturing one another, the invention of the atomic bomb, the reel of terror going faster and faster, until finally, "...the great war."

Mother Nature was showing him the view from space. Then the missiles began launching, and massive glowing explosions erupted everywhere on the planet...

When Amare saw it reflected in Mother Nature's eyes, he knew that truly understanding her anguish would never be possible for a human mind.

"I could not stop him." Shame saturated every inch of her astounding voice. She then looked at him with eyes that teemed with life...with hope...

"But you can."

Amare began stuttering, unable to convey the impossibility of what she asked of him. "I-I can't, I'm just-just a kid! There's no way to--how can I--?"

A long, flowery vine slithered down in front of him. "With this." It cradled the locket lovingly.

"My mother's locket?" Amare said in disbelief.

"With what I have put inside. I have given it to you, Amare."

Amare opened the silver locket, and in it was a light so bright, he could not look directly at it. He dropped the pebble-sized light into his hand.

The moment it touched his skin, he knew; what he held in his hand was more precious than human comprehension, more valuable than water; an ancient power, perhaps, older than time itself...

The power of it frightened him. He held it out in front of him. "Take it back, I don't want it. You take it! You can defeat him!"

Mother Nature looked saddened. "I cannot take it back. You must use it to destroy Malum. You are the only soul left who can wield its power."

Amare panicked, still shouting at her. "I don't even know what it is! I don't know how to use it! I can't fight an-an entity as old as time!"

"He will come for you."

Formidable, frightening, unforgiving, she must indeed be Mother Nature, Amare thought. "Because of you!" he screamed at her. "Because you gave me this!?"

"Yes. Only those who have not been corrupted by Malum can wield it. You must restore the hearts of Man."

"And if I die!?"

There were a thousand words in her ancient eyes. "You are no longer mortal."

Amare fell to his knees. He sobbed quietly with understanding; it was all true...he had no choice. "What is this light?" he asked her, resolved to his fate. "How do I use it?"

Mother Nature began fading, and Amare knew his time with her was short. Once she left, the terrible darkness that is Malum would come for him...

"He cannot touch it. He is afraid of it. I could never defeat him entirely, but armed with that, I won many battles."

Amare reached out one more time. "But, what is it!?"

Her voice grew fainter with each word. "It is older than time...older than me...it has had many names...it is more like a feeling...a reason...the same reason you kept your mother's locket..."

She vanished. His mind turned toward everything he had seen...playing over and over in his head...all that pain...all that suffering...

He thought about his parents and the light pulsated brighter...and brighter...

He knew what power Mother Nature had given. A serene anger steadied his racing mind. It became undeniably clear; he was meant to do this...he wanted to do this...

"MALUUUM!"

The darkness that was Malum descended almost immediately, and with it, a cruel cackle of a laugh. "You fool," it said. "You cannot beat me."

Amare held the light in his hand, and concentrated all of his power on destroying Malum.

It did--nothing.

Numb with disbelief, he tried again. Malum's laugh echoed all around him.

Again, it did not work.

"Don't you see?" Malum hissed. "The weapon is powerless in destruction. Mother Nature fell into the same trap over...and over..."

Amare felt the great crushing weight of his words. Malum was right. In order to destroy evil, Amare would have to become evil...and if he did...he could not wield the power...

After several long moments, Amare picked his head up. "You're right," he said, lifting the chain from around his neck. He put the light back inside the locket. "I cannot destroy you, Malum..."

Malum cackled, his shadow of a being swirling in human form.

Amare knew he had only seconds, lest he be lost in an eternal battle with evil itself. "But...I can return the favor...a gift, from all mankind!"

And he threw the chain around Malum's neck.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Malum screamed, screamed in horrible agony as his own darkness consumed him, returning from the hearts of every man, trapped in his eternal remorse, finally knowing the power of the light. He could not escape it.

Amare resolved to ensure he remained that way, and watch the world of Man rebuild, hoping this time, they get it right.