Dimension of Thought
The Ring and the Rose
Authored by Zachary Zhang
A Short Story based on The Redemption of Invynceth series
My heart was pounding and pounding, beating like a ferocious drum— with each beat progressing forth the tension within the air. This was a very momentous occasion. Excitement was rife within every breath of the room’s air.
Lo, there, at the threshold— the Bride appeared! I had never seen her like this before!
Oh, how she was so, so wonderful! Oh, how she was so, so beautifully dressed!
I blushed a deep and heavy red, smiling, staring deeply into her eyes as she walked down the aisle.
Behold–her every stride and step with gracious wisps of light, the whiteness of her dress embellished her cadence. Her every movement streaked through the air like a dove’s white wing. And her sheer beauty shone into my heart with light like a shining diamond within.
Blowing underneath the veil, my sight touched upon the most lovely I'd ever seen.
Her smile.
She–oh, how this beyond words— she was smiling back at me!
Oh, how I had to resist the urge to jump for joy! I... I just couldn't bring myself to believe what my eyes were seeing. After what felt like forever, was I, Thallious, really getting married? Was I finally, finally, finally getting married?!
In spite of my delight in my bride, however, I couldn’t help but glance at the crowd, who had come to my wedding. They were mostly young, looking to be within their twenties or thirties. I felt like I had known most of them, perhaps through high school. The only exception was an elderly man. He looked to be in his eighties and was sitting in the back of the room at the corner seat. He smiled at me incredibly kindly, his eyes shining something about that was so, so gentle.
His presence offered a very stark contrast to the many others in the crowd.
Wisdom emanated from him, as he clearly seemed to be an embodiment of experiences over the course of many years. He exuded an aura of kindness to the room, and it was as though he was representing time going backward. He looked as though he was peering into his past, remembering his own wedding.
And as I peered into his eyes with depth like a profound well, I could almost read his soul saying,
“Ah, marriage. It never loses its sweetest allure, does it? I have married my beloved wife for fifty years as of my last anniversary. It only gets better and better, deeper and deeper, as the years fly by. Get married. Be happy!”
Then, we pronounced our vows. She looked at me sweetly, and contrary to tradition, she, the bride, pronounced her vows before the groom.
"With this, I, your bride, take you, my dear beloved, to be none other than yourself.”
With love for all that I know about you,
trust for what I do not yet.”
Now it was my turn. I, with the fullest breath encapsulated within my lungs, then pronounced my vows.
"With this ring, I take you, my beloved, to be none other than yourself.
With love for all that I know about you,
trust for what I do not ye-"
My head suddenly started to ache sharply.
"Ouchhh... my head hurts," I said while clutching it. Excruciating pain. "G-give me a moment please."
And then, out of nowhere, I began to feel light-headed...
I–I felt weak...
Felt… weak…
Very… w– weeeaa–
weeeaaaaakkk……
And right then, I could sense the ground rushing straight up to my face.
CLOOONNKK!!!
"Oh, no! Thallious!" yelped the bride, catering to me. She ran towards me, and I felt a hand immediately help me up. It was her, her eyes overflowing with love and concern.
It came to me… I had fallen face flat on the ground.
"Are you alright? Everything okay?" she asked.
Returning to my senses, I replied, "I'm fine; I think I… I'm just feeling a little dizzy… That’s all."
I'll try to stand up—giving it my all, though I was still recovering from the blow... And legs were shaking and shaking, feet flapping around like someone shaking an apple off its tree.
Almost there. I must stand up. I absolutely must. But I can't! It's my wedding day! Dear me! I couldn't believe it; the wedding was ruined! Of all days, it had to be that!
Then, I felt my head was whirling… everything… dizzy… everything looks blurry… everything spinning around my head....
And then the light of the room dimmed. I could feel a strange absence throughout my being, as though the lamp of my soul dimmed along with the room.
"Greetings..." a voice spoke.
Speaking over a broadcast? I thought we didn’t have a radio here, or any such technology! How is—
Looking around frantically, I searched for who or what may have–
"...We have come not as guests to your wedding, but as conquerors–"
As... conquerors? I didn't understand. And what guests were they talking about? Couldn’t be mine!
Were they going through a twisted metamorphosis? Was this their true form all along? I have no idea!
“Don’t worry; it’ll be fine.” My best man tried to ease the tension. But it only made things worse. I could tell he was faking it. In reality, he looked even more terrified than I was—trying to deny that he, too, was beginning to lose himself to the masses.
The old man of wisdom in the back row looked up at them.
And I looked him in the eyes. Well? I just couldn’t believe what I saw!
Eyes I saw were once so touched, so…welled up with TEARS were now dry as a desert. A hard, cold, striking glare that hammered through anyone unfortunate enough to catch it.
The crowd stopped everything. All eyes stared upon mine. Almost robotically.
“Hey uh,” I turned to my best man. “Look ove-”
But I turned left and saw that it was too late. Now he, too, was gone. Totally lost–depraved and cursed to be among the herded mob. Lost to the robotic ritual that had so enslaved the others and reduced them to pure monstrosity. He had been trapped in the eerie, symphonic mantra that everyone else was caught in.
Everyone sitting in the audience flashed up to a standing position. They began staring me down to the very last bit of my soul. And every fiber of every part of my being was filled with fear. Dread.
I had to get out of here.
Thought it couldn’t get any worse? Now listen–The unbelievable happened.
Their noses melted into their mouths, their hair into their heads. Their fingers meshing and molding into each other. In a blue, paranormal fashion, their bodies all melted in unison.
And even their fingerprints were lost.
It was like watching beautifully carved ice sculptures melt on a hot day. Under the Sun they melt, but the cold night refreezes them together unrecognizably–forming an amalgamation of structures previously unimaginable.
I couldn’t come to terms with what I saw here. How horrible it was! I’ve only imagined things so horrendous since within books of nightmares!
But then— I remembered her: my bride—
I faced her. And what I saw shocked me out of my mind.
It was absolutely unbelievable.
There she stood, facing towards me, ourselves locked towards each other, eyes parallel to each other. Pure, innocent, still ever so lovely. The darkness around us made her shine all the more gloriously. By some miracle, she had not yet been corrupted the way everyone else was.
"Don't worry, Thallious, we'll get through it; you are my dear," she said, glowing with a smile.
“Very much,” I said, our eyes locked together through a stream of energy. “We will. Nothing can stop our love.” Her smile grew even brighter, illuminating the very depths of my soul. I smiled widely back at her.
But suddenly shadows crept back into my soul...and I turned around again. What?! Where did they all go?
"Dear, wher-"
"Where did they all go?!" my bride shouted, shakily pointing frantically at the vacancy.
“I don’t… know…” I looked at my bride, and held her hands. She broke down, and started crying. I tried comforting her, but it was no use. They were gone.
KABLAAMMM!! The soldiers bashed down the back wall.
They marched around. They stormed the area. Wreaked havoc on the place. Debris everywhere. Destroyed my dream. My wedding!! It’s ruined. Ruined!!
I felt something else... What was this feeling?! I... I couldn't... but I knew the darkness was pouring within my soul even more as the soldiers did.
CRASHH!! More debris.
That’s when I saw they were crushed.
"My flowers!!" I ran over to them. “They’re trampled!”
Tears welled up in my eyes. How could they have done this?!!
BRAKKK!! Even more, debris flying in the air. "You think you're what, some kind of prince, Thallious?" There was that voice in my head again.
"Haha. One fool of a Prince you were. Just look at your wedding–You... you were so focused on your ridiculous flowers, the beauty of the place. So focused on your wedding...so focused on the mere act of marriage. Ha, did you even remember what marriage is for in the first place?! But you only cared about all the grandeur and splendor of the wedding. You only did this out of spite— because you feared a purposeless life without marriage. Focused on the mere status of being a ‘husband.’ And that’s all you cared about. You never truly cared about your ‘Queen.’”
I was shocked to hear this. The wedding clearly was perfect! None of this chaos was my fault!
“What?!” my bride screamed. “Thallious, how could you!!”
“No, no… it isn’t like that!” Thallious pleaded. “I’m sorry!!”
I ran after her so hard that it seemed as though I was falling off my own feet, as if I was flying through the air…
My arms flailed, as I desperately reaching to hug her and reassure her that was not the case— that I really did love her— down to eternity’s end.
“So focused on only the love and attention you’d receive in marriage… and the love and attention you receive from the crowd…”
Then the voice held a breath so suspensful that seemed to hold the sun still in the sky.
“...That you forgot to care, you forgot whom your life is now joined to. You forgot about her— the One whom you married."
What on Earth was he talking about?! My bride?? Was he really saying that I was so foolish that I loved my wedding more than my bride? This angered me enough to muster the energy to retaliate.
"Who-whoever it is! I don't care about what you say! I will never forget her!! This whole wedding was about her!"
"I’ll show you what a real king is… Thallious,” cackled the voice of menace.
Then, with the air of full lungs, the voice pronounced the worst anathema I ever heard.
“And your lovely queen…
IS NOW MINE!”
The ground below me suddenly opened into a void, and I could feel myself… WHEEZEee… slowly sinking into it…
“THALLIOUS!! HELP ME!!!” I leaped after her distance-trailing cry.
“NO!!” I shouted, dropping everything, all my limbs flying in every direction as I ran. “I’M COMING TO SAVE YOU!!!”
“AhahaHaHAHaAHHAAAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAHAA!!” the voice continued to cackle.
“YOUR QUEEN… IS MINE!!”
“THALLIOUS!!! SAVE MEEE!!!!” she continued to call.
But I was stuck there, glued to the air. Helpless, unable to move, unable to do anything. I could not draw my sword, call the police, or call down magical thunder.
Suddenly my eyes grew heavy as a truck. They dragged my head down with weight. Energy evaporated all over my body in an instant. I didn’t even know what was going on anymore. I can’t feel myself…
I… I… I cannot feel or tell apart my stomach from my chest… not… my left hand from right… hand.
And then, all went black…
…Lifting my head, I peered into the distance, but as I stared, nothing met my eyes except an endless chasm of darkness. What was this place? I had no idea! But I realized that after the wedding catastrophe, I was cast down here in this dark place somehow.
In spite of this, I decided to stand up on my feet anyway.
But when I stood up to my full height, the black abyss overwhelmed my everything from every direction. Everything within my five senses seemed to screech out of function, tripping and falling into a sensory glitch every time I tried to move. Everything was just nothing... but numb.
Frantically, my eyes spun around everywhere, looking for my beloved. Where was she? My bride? My life? My home?! My safety?!! My love?!!?!
And then I ran after her— the idea of finding her, not knowing or caring which direction I was going in. She just had to be somewhere, right?
In looking for her, I turned myself upside down. She was my everything; I could not lose her! I would do anything to get her back. Oh, please, anything! I was spinning myself around the entire place.
“Did she not care about me? What if she hated me now? Was it this way all along? I don’t know… Was all this… even real? Or was a I living in an illusion, and the bride was only a hologram all along, of my own making?”
I spun left.
Spinning up… …spinning right…
…spinning backwards…
…spinning low…
…and across...
…and down
…and through
faster … …and every
and… faster… diagonal…
…and faster… A top spinning…
And faster …faster
And fastr and faster
…and faster
…but I only found that in this void, in this chasm, there was not a thing, not a person. It was utterly lifeless. I was trapped in a void darker than midnight. I could not see anything but this deep, dark void, a thick fog that surrounded me. At this point, a blind man could have seen more than I could.
The fear from this fog, as well as the dreadful prospect that I was stuck here eternally, coiled around my soul like a boa— choking and constricting the life out of me.
I started, stepping forward, prying myself towards the horizon, reaching my arms out to it— but I looked into the distance, and it looked as though I hadn’t walked at all. Everything looked exactly the same as it did just moments ago.
I found that all my steps–all my efforts to move forward–were in vain.
And the only thing real now… was me… and this infinitely-stretching void I was in, both wasting away. It didn’t matter.
Everything looked identical to everything, in all directions. Everything looked equally black, mysterious, and menacing. And the horizon was equally and infinitely far out of reach from me.
Then out of the blue, a ring and a rose popped from nothing.
I edged closer to it, treading along the empty, vast floor extremely carefully, not stepping a toe anywhere without the most delicate consideration. Who knows what'll happen if I step in the wrong place?
By now, I had a better grasp of its frame and figure.
When I got close enough, I could see that there was a diamond stub on the end of a ring. It was our wedding ring. I remember the ring on her finger right before she was captured! Did that mean she was here?!
I rushed forward, hurling my feet with all my might toward the wedding ring.
Nonetheless, I couldn’t see her. Not a single trace of her. No footsteps, nothing. Something in this- I don’t even know what to call it- was not right, in more ways than one.
Suddenly, light and color seemed to pour in.
Almost… there!!
CRLASKLE!!!
The ring?
“Oh no…” I wailed. “It’s broken!!”
W–w–what happened— but it was in perfect shape! And I thought I finally might have found her!
I leaped down to a kneeling position before the broken shards of the wedding ring. And I gathered all th shards within the circle of my arms and hugged all the shards.
I could feel the shards digging into my skin. Like prickling thorns, it was cutting through the skin, but I didn’t care. No matter how sharp it was, how much pain it caused me, I held onto them— it was my only source of happiness and hope— my bride, my life!
I held onto it for the last moments as it faded and faded away in to the dust, to be blown into the wind, lost forever in the chasm of eternity.
And there was still nothing, in this deep, dark void. Not a thing, not a person. So, of course, the bride was not there. Where was she now? Had she abandoned me?
Did she not care about me? What if she hated me now? How was it this way all along and I was unaware of it?
I don’t know… was all this… even real? Was the wedding an illusion? My entire life an illusion? The bride only a hologram all along, of my own making?
No one was there to answer my concerns. Total silence. It was driving me mad.
“Where are you, my bride?” I called out.
“Oh, where are you?!”
Waiting for an answer, I fell to my knees.
“Please, please, I need you, my bride! Don’t leave me like this to suffer…”
Not even a phantom of my beloved had remained. I was still stuck eternally in this deep, dark void of which traveling left was no different from traveling right, neither could up be differentiated from down. I had traveled in every direction— I sought and searched and looked for her everywhere… but she was nowhere to be found. Nothing was to be found. Nobody.
Unfortunately, I realized that this was a realm in which time had been frozen here, except for me— and all the struggles. And so was I. No matter what I did, no matter how many steps I took, nothing changed. Nothing improved. Time was frozen in place like a grotesque statue. And the struggle of all mankind, across all eternity past and eternity forth, compressed into this one grotesque statue.
And when this reality struck me, I abandoned all hope, reason, and every possible direction to run after. I had absolutely no energy left, no will to live. Without any hopeful direction left to sustain me, the ground of the void I stood upon began to consume me. I began to sink into the ground. Not even noticing
…
But then at the speed and suddenness of lightning, an enormous bright light penetrated the void. I couldn’t see it— my eyes were closed.
Yet I could feel it shine into my heart. I knew— I just knew it was there!
“Thallious!” a voice called out, sounding like a distant echo. I’ve never heard it before. And yet… it was as though I knew this voice all along. It resonated with my whole being.
Was it the bride? No… it didn’t sound like her at all. But that did not matter.
And the voice grew, glowing brighter and dimmed with the voice as it rose from loud to soft. And then soft to loud…
“Thallious!”
There the voice came again. My eyes peeled open to a squint to peek. Every word of the voice was now a powerful blast. But not enough yet to get me fully conscious again.
I suddenly felt a great light on my face. It shone brightly, and I felt the urge to follow it with every fiber of my being..
The voice summoned all the substance of my soul in a way I never could have fathomed. I could hear the truest, deepest fulfillment in it’s call! It was as though the bride had merely been a temporary substitute for it. A symbol for it.
“THALLIOUS!!”
It jolted me fully alert now. This time it was yelling frantically for me. And I understood why.
“PLEASE, THALLIOUS, WAKE UP!!”
My eyelids burst open, and I was alert–knowing that I was now deep underwater, and I knew one thing…and only one thing mattered now. I had to get out of this void and back to the surface!
“THALLIOUS, GRAB ON BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!”
Suddenly, a hand appeared before me, and it grabbed hold of mine. Without thinking, I grabbed onto it and held tightly
But the light shone again. This time directly upon my heart–and filled it with a bright fire within.
Oh my–I can see the surface…
I resisted an urge to reach for it. In fear of accidentally letting go of the hand, holding to safety.
Almost, almost there!!
SPLAAS–!!
“There we go, Thallious! You woke up!” exclaimed my Dad, grabbing my hand, and pulling me up to a sitting position on my bed. “I thought you’d be asleep forever!”
Having been distraught by the dream, I jumped back, as if there was some new threat. Glancing left and right—saw no threat—relief overwhelmed.
My teddy bear, sitting on top of the left drawer, just like it always has. Posters of my favorite movie characters were held up on the walls.
And even my old, handmade toy mech from three years ago was still there, on the nightstand, symbolizing heroic glory.
I could smell a remarkably delicious breakfast readily cooked downstairs, waiting for me, alluring me to go down and stuff myself to my heart’s content. It smelled like a fantastic lemon chicken with spices, garlic, and all kinds of beef. I could also smell my favorite scrambled eggs downstairs, sizzling on the table. I couldn’t help, as the smell enveloped my senses, but to imagine myself with my family eating.
The familiar aroma of my sweet home bedroom filled the air. And standing right next to me was my father, Dad. His presence filled the place with safety.
But my Dad noticed I was acting off.
“Is everything alright?” he checked in, a slightly concerned look on his face. “You looked distraught there for a second.”
“Y-yeah, I’m doing fine,” I responded. “Just had a bad dream, that’s all.”
“Aww, that’s not fun. I hope it wasn’t too bad.”
Well, I mean… the dr-… what?!
“Well… I uh…”
“Just a nightmare’s no biggie. You’re here, with your family!” said Xuvinial. “You’ve got an enormous, wonderful day coming up!”
I was so glad that I wasn’t really drowning after all. There was no cursed, anathematic voice dictating the scenario to make fun of me and torture me. I was not trapped in that hellish void that I so vividly encountered just moments ago.
Phew. None of that wedding fiasco actually happened. That was all nothing—just another nightmare that passed by.
All this time, I was actually in the comforts of my own bed–and the home I’ve always known!
Man, it’s so good that all that was over; that was the worst dream I’d ever experienced.
But Dad glanced at his watch. “Today’s your eighteenth birthday!” he exclaimed. “I’ve made you a cake myself this time!”
Wait a minute–it’s my birthday today!
“Really? That’s amazing, thanks so much Dad!”
“Yeah!” Dad exclaimed, “Not really by myself though. Of course, I had help from the best royal chefs.”
“Thank you. You know me haha, I love to cook. Feels a lot like… alchemy, like magic to me!””
“Awww, that’s so kind of you Dad! No wonder why the football show was closed for a few days”
“No, I’m just kidding!” "Haha–Wait, there actually is one?”
“Yeah! Hold on,” Dad glanced at the clock. “The show’s airing right now!”
“That’s amazing because I’ve always loved to watch football.”
“Whoa, the way you put it sounds really unique and exciting! Well, you wouldn’t want to miss the show haha; follow me downstairs” said Dad.
“You know sometimes I like to imagine a role switch, where the players control the objects and the environment, with stationary athletes. There the environment and objects are telekinetically controlled by us to reach such. I like to play around with that thought.”
“Alright!”
“We’ve also got a special guest today with us, Thallious!”
“It‘s Knorak. I haven’t seen him in 20 years.“
“Whoa… is it really Knorak, your friend? You’ve told us so much about him! He’s the village hero, right?”
“Yeah, that’s him!”
“Awesome! Well, I’ll see you downstairs. You wouldn’t want to miss all of that, haha! Besides, breakfast is getting cold. I love you and don’t want you to eat food beyond its stomach time. That’s bad for your health.”
“Alright, Dad. I’ll be right there, but give me a moment I have to change for the day first. See you!”
Dad looked at his watch again.
“Darn,” he thought. “I’ve got just 10 minutes left to eat before Knorak arrives! And we’ve got two hours until the football game!”
“Got it, catch you later!”
He hasted off; his rushed steps echoed down the hallway.
Even in the tightest, most constrained moments of time, Thallious and his father, Xuvinial could have really fun conversations. Their personalities often flowed along and about each other like two separate rivers that merged as one at its intersection.
Through shared struggles, shared joys, mountains, and valleys, Xuvinial and Thallious were very close.
Propinquity resonated much indeed within their family. And everything seemed to be going well. And that nightmare? Aww, nothing more than a distraction.
Or… is it really? Could there be more to it than that? What if it wasn’t real… what if it was more than real? After all, why would hee have dreamt that in the first place then?
And, to say that all things were going well at the moment is not to say that no storm was hidden to come. And if the sky of life were really to open and hurl down its fury upon that family, what would it do to them? And think of each and every person there. What would it do to each of them? How true was their connection? Would they bind together in the face of it, or would they abandon each other, scattering like the shards of a smashed glass artifact?