THE PROPHECY
Simple and genuine survival is a good way of life. Feeling the pleasure of breathing, the taste of the air and the beauty of small moments is perhaps priceless – or else few things in the universe are worth more than that. What is certainly priceless – and he emphasizes conviction in this – is family. To love the innocent soul that is incapable of loving him in the same intensity, for being so innocent as to not know the value of this paternal affection. It is the feeling of a creator towards his creature; the father to the offspring. And here is Josué Jorge, the man who tells stories and teaches lessons to his beloved daughter, who is without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to him.
And it happened. The story of how it happened is just like any other story of two people falling in love: an embryo is what it takes to complete that passion. “From the love between Josué and Cristina, a new star is born called Beatriz!”. That was the story he liked to tell little Beatriz, and she loved to hear everything that came out of her father’s mouth. At the end of each night, he told a story big or small, real or not, about an adventurer from Odyssey named Dr. Jones, who was exploring the galaxy full of mysteries that surrounded them. He would point to the sky and tell how Dr. Jones had saved each bright planet from the nights, in stories as detailed as anyone who had witnessed them all. And of course he had seen it. In fact, of course, he was in fact Dr. Jones himself, and these were his stories; stories of the distant past, of an ancient Josué he swore to keep buried in the past forever when he met Cristina. That empty, drunken boy had died on the island of Ginnungahar – that’s what he said aloud to himself every night after saying goodbye to his reason for living, when it fell asleep with the stories; face to face with the mirror, every night he convinced himself that he had complete control over his reflection, and this was his daily ritual to keep himself steady. That’s what survival was like! when she fell asleep with the stories; face to face with the mirror, every night he convinced himself that he had complete control over her reflection, and that was his daily ritual to keep himself steady. That’s what survival was like! when she fell asleep with the stories; face to face with the mirror, every night he convinced himself that he had complete control over her reflection, and that was his daily ritual to keep himself steady. That’s what survival was like!
However, despite the affirmations and the firmness, there was a deep fear in him that this love, this life and all this was just an escape from his old “I”. He couldn’t stand the absurdly possible idea that the world revolved around him; that he could even be so selfish as to love just to feel good about himself. Certainly this fear had an origin: “The leader of Ulyssys, Christian Jorge’s successor; the legendary” – among other traumas that the galactic protagonism stuck in him since adolescence left. Being the protagonist of yet another story was his nightmare. It seemed immutable, like a natural or physical law of Odyssey, that after becoming a father, one should only be a father, and nothing else.
And as now a good law-abiding adult, who understands them intimately and agrees with their existence, he would live up to his natural position as a father, and this routine would last until he no longer deemed himself necessary in Beatriz’s life – which was fortunate. or unfortunately it would still take a while.
However, if it seemed to be written on the eternal sheet of Odyssey history that this would be the rest of his life, fate would surely find a way to shake the pillars of a devoted father by applying a good twist. And this Fate amused himself by putting Josué before a dual crisis:
The wind hissed so beautifully that day that it mingled with the song of the birds, and it came lightly, bringing colorful butterflies in a dance to the window of his room, which crossed and arrived like spring music in the ears of Papa Josué, who woke up happy on this beautiful day. And why not be happy? Odyssey wished him good morning in person through nature; and after that, beyond the stairs, below, two bright stars awaited him for breakfast – fruits or roots of his luck to be alive. They were Cristina and Beatriz; more than wife and daughter, they were love and happiness; mothers of the entire planet Yüshue, while he was just an inhabitant. The smell of coffee, which subtly invaded his sense of smell, led him to the hallway, the stairs, the living room and finally the kitchen: the nucleus of the smoke that had enchanted him in his bed.
– Good morning, sleepyhead! – that smiling voice that, now in the audition, was part of the morning’s sensory show. She smiled when she saw the beautiful and natural Cristina, distracted at the table and saying without saying how life was a gift. When he looked at the other chair:
– Where is Beatriz? He asked carelessly as he sat down.
– You slept so much that the child’s euphoria made her too impatient to wait for her beloved ‘daddy’. He sarcastically emphasized the last word. – It’s in the garden.
– Is that… – he exercised his sense of smell – is it jealousy? Because it smells like jealousy! – the couple laughed, and Josué began to eat.
At the end of the wonderful meal, he finally went to start his day with the greatest love of his life, and he was confident. It was there that the fierce and sagacious Fate began to act with its humor. At the door, as vision of him reached Beatriz, the ideal world was suddenly suppressed and filled with mundane concern as Josué noticed a man in large black robes interacting with little Beatriz. Before shouting, Josué noticed the scene: Beatriz sitting as a listener, and the old man wandering through the anecdotes of some interesting story. Then he yelled:
– What is it?
The old man, when he saw him, spoke two or three more sentences quickly to Beatriz and started to run into the forest, and Josué was angry after that damn thing that threatened the integrity of the most important thing in the galaxy. For Beatriz it was surprising, like seeing naive peace turn into impetuous hatred; for Josué it was tiring – so much so that he was already out of breath at the beginning of the forest that surrounded his ranch. In his late forties, he wouldn’t catch the old man, who by now had disappeared into the trees. Realizing this, Josué turned toward the house and walked back, with an uneasy look in his eyes. He aimed at Beatriz and was withering towards her. The child didn’t know what to expect, but whatever it was, he was afraid of his father, who asked him a question in his exhausted and serious voice:
– What did he tell you?
– He was just telling me about the Prophecy, Dad… – “Said the naive”, Josué thought.
And then he made the gesture that Beatriz liked best: he knelt slowly, keeping his eyes on hers, grabbed her shoulders with his big paternal hands and asked her with a respectful tone:
– What Prophecy, my love?
She gladly replied that it was as extraordinary a story as Josué himself told her of ancient times, but that she had never heard of anything so long-lived:
II
Beatriz looked for fun in every corner, as it was when her father was not with her; something interesting that she could entertain her. Nothing in the forest, nothing in the sky, nothing on any of the horizons, but something appeared on the ground: a shadow from above, which she noticed as she turned; it came from a man in a black cloak who was standing behind her. She found entertainment.
– Who are you? he asked the old man, whose clear face was dazzled by the sunlight.
– An acquaintance of your ancestors. – Said the old man without looking her in the eyes, exuding age-old wisdom through the tranquility with which he spoke. To Beatriz, he just seemed pleasant.
– I don’t know my ancestors… only my father and mother.
The old man finally looked at Beatriz and pleasantly began his long reasoning:
– Tell me, child: do you believe in prophecies?
– Yes. But it’s a thing of the stories my father tells me… I’ve never seen a prophecy! said smartly.
– The prophecies are not seen! Know that they were just made up.
– By whom?
– This is an interesting story! Sit down. – pleased to have had the opportunity to develop his reasoning without impediments of conversation. That’s why I liked children!
– Before any of your ancestors you know existed, there was what I call the “Divine Age”: when the old gods walked flesh and blood on the soil of Selector, the first planet. There was much discord between them; they were vain and self-centered, and so there was no other species in that world for a long time; it was a pleasure to coexist only among their own. And this remained until the day when, in a god called Feldor, the will to create arose. Feldor is the most human-like god you can find, girl! He felt empathy in looks, hatred in deeds, and love in intentions. Maybe he really was a hyper-powered human, but he was certainly the forerunner of humanity. Just look at what point: in a burst of audacity, stole one of the four mighty crowns of the gods (artifacts that concentrated the greatest power in the Odyssey universe), and with its metal shaped a chalice, which Feldor filled with life in liquid. This is the most powerful artifact that exists in the galaxy today! From it, Feldor created tangible life, like that of the gods. The first was his son, Falcro: ‘the ideal being for the world’, and in whom Feldor placed all his hope against that rotten society that the gods formed. It is clear that Feldor was sentenced to death by the gods, considered a threat to their own kind. Meanwhile, Falcro was enchanted by the power to create lives, and he was creating, and creating, for pleasure. But after a while, almost all of the offspring spawned by the cup were wiped out by the gods. In fact, it was through Falcro that the first mages appeared:
– What about the other three crowns? – Beatriz replied, attentive to the story and not feeling offended.
– Yes, the crowns! The gods were afraid that more power would fall into the hands of some other insane like Feldor, so a spell was devised by them in agreement with Mr. Time: in a specific age, at one time (so not today), the crowns would be kept. under their respective kings. In a beige place called Egypt, the three most macabre gods of all, called Horus, Sobek and Anubis, guarded by the power of the eternal Sun, guard the gates of the three pyramids, and in each one of them is hidden one of the three Crowns of Might. . But that’s just where and when the crowns are found. And theoretically, the only one who knows where and when it is is Time itself!
– What is ‘theoretically’, sir? – she asked, struggling to pronounce the word in question.
– In our language, it means “lie”. – then Beatriz began to think with a clear effort.
– So… who else besides Time knows about this Egypt?
The old man smiled, looking into the innocent child’s eyes for a few seconds.
– Just a shy and unknown being, who knows everything about everything in the universe. – with those few words, he awoke a wave of shivers unleashed down Beatriz’s spine, whose eyes lit up just by thinking “if there is a being who knows everything about everything… he must tell the best stories!”. – Now I’m going to go on with my story, little one, because I’ve never told anyone!
– Yes, sir… – and he began to reflect on the old man.
– That’s when the first trace of prudence appeared in that problematic society of gods: they started to think about the future. Maybe even about the extinction of their species… – he added jocularly – but they didn’t count on anything like the Corzers! In fact, the blues were the biggest surprise in the history of Odyssey… Finally, they realized how inevitable the future was, and blah, blah, blah – this time it was Beatriz who smiled -, and then this word appeared in the vocabulary of rationalists: “PROPHECY ”. It is the idea that Time will take revenge on those who have done wrong. Time does exist, girl, and he is very treacherous indeed, but only against those who stir him up. But, back to the Prophecy: it is one of the most beautiful words of Odyssey. Eight letters, and none of them are repeated. – he stopped for a while, and concluded – And this is the story of the Prophecy itself,
The girl, already suspicious of the old man for a long time, asked him, almost imposing:
– Complete the story!
– Well, I’m done!
– Not that of the word; conclude that one of the gods… – a moment of silence of disagreement – Who are the three gods? What is the Prophecy? And who is the hero of this story? – then he surprised for a few seconds the child who liked so much details in a story.
– You will one day be a great storyteller! – And she let slip a thought – if that day comes… – a moment of strangeness, passed – But right, child, right; I will finish the story. Your question about the gods is extremely pertinent to a necessary end; so, according to the legends of the first humans: under the shadow of the first pyramid, there is Anubis, the blind. It is said to be the least emotional being that has ever lived. He is righteous, incapable of feeling hatred towards anyone, thus being the one who judges and guides the dead to Mrs. Death’s realm. Under the shadow of the second pyramid, Sobek the fierce. Some said it represented the worst part of nature. As if one day Odyssey had needed to purge something horrible from himself, so Sobek was born as the personification of the horrible natural; the evil of Chaos. But still, he is nature, and so it is the most powerful of the three. The indomitable! And last, beneath the magnitude of the third pyramid, is the equally magnificent, Horus, the insightful. This is the leader of the Trinity. The most daring god, incarnation of the Sun, and consequently, the most worshiped god in all of Egypt. The role of the Sun in this beige land, girl, is critical. The Sun is fundamental, indeed, during all ages. But it is believed that there – he indicated the bright and strong Sun to Beatriz – is that Horus is eternalized. during all ages. But it is believed that there – he indicated the bright and strong Sun to Beatriz – is that Horus is eternalized. during all ages. But it is believed that there – he indicated the bright and strong Sun to Beatriz – is that Horus is eternalized.
– Are you… – he hesitated – are you telling me that that is Horus? Is the greater god there then?
– Not exactly… that’s just your eye, which sees everything in west and east… – the two contemplated its magnitude for a moment, and then the tone turned funereal – It must have been Horus forever, but then we come to the Prophecy: Time will come at some point, in person, to collect on this agreement with the Egyptian gods. He will start his journey by appearing in this eternal Egypt, which he will find thanks to the marking he made to seal the spell: “the most spoken word, in the most obvious place”, which the gods do not know, and which is simply the only fine line that keeps the spell; and there, in Egypt, Mr. Time will take the three crowns for maximum strength. Afterwards, he will go to the moment of the Prophecy to perform his final act: eat the eye of Horus and exterminate all life that exists when he hovers over Odyssey. Nothing can stop you!
– So – in a last breath of hope – there is no hero in this story?
– Well… – suddenly, the scream cut the thread, and the atmosphere of tension was stopped by the deep and angry voice of Josué: “What is this?”. And the old man surprised and confused little Beatriz by revealing: – here is our hero!
Quickly, he bent down and, like a good storyteller, wrapped that one around reality, asking the girl to enjoy the Sun, for it would soon cease; and when he turned to run, he apologized:
– Sorry for not introducing myself, little Beatriz – he knew her name! – but my name is Orisus.
III
– Orisus? – shouted terrified in surprise Josué – You said that was Orisus?
– Yes. Do you know him? – She asked surprised while her father ignored her and faced an epiphany.
Looking at the sky and trying to process in his merely human brain the terrifying fact that he was the hero, and therefore the protagonist of yet another story – and then, of course, all the other details of the powerful story his daughter had told him.
– And told the story with excellence in detail, little Beatriz. – Said the vigorous voice that only Beatriz remembered, coming from someone close to them – I was right about you, after all!
And then came walking out of the forest that living legend who was Orisus, with his long black robes and his tormenting sage’s air, walking now on the support of the staff – as if he had not just run like a deer with much love own. Concentrated on his black tones, the sunlight made his figure shine in Josué’s eyes. His memory trip to the moments with his father was instantaneous and inevitable – the tales, the characters, the hyperbole, the euphemisms, metonymies, metalanguages and the laughs. The laughter they shared as mere family members and as reciprocal partners. Orisus for Josué meant a past in which there was still hope that everything would work out, and in which the current present was just the beautiful horizon of then. And from the beautiful horizon of now, came the past, walking a little hard towards him, Josué. And it was then that everything proposed to change, and the ‘past’ was the one who made the proposal:
– Josué George! How good it is to see you like this, my dear. Good to see you, and good to see that you have spawned an offspring (and quite an offspring)! – he tried to be comical, but it didn’t match the astonishment.
– … – he couldn’t think which question to ask first, so he was a father one last time and protected Beatriz, addressing her – Darling, come in! – and the girl ran home.
– It was good to have done that, because the proposal I have is impressive… – said Orisus, asking Josué to sit down.
Josué then stood up and uttered a small regretful sentence while looking into Orisus’ eyes:
– I already know what this is about.
“Then you must know that there is no other choice!
– But I don’t understand… you said it yourself: Time is inevitable! And that attack sighed hopelessly – it will happen anyway.
– Yes, my words were sincere when I said “inevitable”, but there is still hope for the galaxy… and for the life of Odyssey.
– Then explain it to me, please. I do not understand! ‘ pleaded Josué.
– Without the Crowns of Power, the Time Lord will not have the means to extinguish Odyssey’s life! These are the crowns of creation, whose power is like that of the Cup of Life; by them it is created, and by them it is also extinguished, in the same way. This means that – Josué completed:
– If Time doesn’t have them, there’s a better chance that there’s life left in Odyssey. – Orisus added:
– Because the attack will not be exact.
They were silent for long moments; Orisus in waiting and Josué in reflection. Then Josué asked:
– Is it… is it Time itself?
– Destiny in person. Brother of Death, and so on. – replied Orisus quickly. Silence fell again, and Orisus broke it, concluding – I know where and when the Crowns of Power are, and I know how to get there. I just need someone to enter the pyramids, find the Crowns and bring them to me; I complete the service by taking them out of His reach. Destruction will not be complete!
– It’s because I? – asked Josué more firmly now, like a child, looking pleadingly at the holder of the answers, who made a quick stop again:
– Because it has to be the best.
– What about Ulyssys?
– It is nothing more than a political group.
Josué wept.
– What about them? – She pointed to the house – Can you protect them?
– Nothing can against Him!
– And how do you expect me to abandon the best thing that ever happened to me?
How do you expect me to leave my family? – almost crying completely.
– I only know about your ego… – he paused – and you recognize the greater good!
– You can’t talk about the greater good! – Josué screamed out of control, and that was the cue for the tears to fall all, in one piece.
That was also your cue. She turned her back on Orisus and set off crying towards the house. With each step he swallowed a cry, and the goal might be to get home with the intact posture of a father, and let all his afflictions in the field fall with tears. He needed to step into the house with the usual smile and sarcasm of someone with everything under his control. And that was his effort: the pretense. In exchange for keeping wife and daughter calm in the face of so many problems. Not even knowing what he had decided, like a reckless young man who even resembled the old Josué, he had to show that everything was fine, eat with his family and do nothing. Waiting for the end of the galaxy sitting on the couch, and then maybe dying happily with your two loves during a favorite movie, and then enjoying the silence of death. And the entire galaxy would do the same.
Odyssey would die for Time. While Josué walked in clear denial, the confusion of the scene that took place even now did not affect Orisus. For some reason, he created an ending to that story, and all he did was wait. He sat on the grass and watched the sun set through those trees. He enjoyed that moment like never before, for he was the only one blessed by the knowledge that this would be the last sunset. As the sun died never to rise again, he shut his mind to watch the gift.
And then the Sun died. It was just the right time for Orisus’ hearing to catch the same footsteps that left in tears, coming back now decided. It was Josué, and he had understood the ‘greater good’ that Orisus was referring to.
– Was it a good farewell? – Orisus asked.
– It does not matter! It just couldn’t have been in vain. – answered Josué, obstinate and shaken.
– We will. I take you there! – Said Orisus as he got up.
And the two went into the forest, and then out into the world.
IV
In space, they spoke little; each one focused on their objective. The little conversation boiled down to what was necessary:
– Do you know the NEON Constellation? asked Orisus.
– No.
– I would say it’s basically a time warp; takes us wherever we want. Just know where to land. – and silence hovered.
They moved some more, until Josué realized that they were heading towards a blue star. Increasingly concerned, he asked why, and Orisus, in response, ordered “cover your eyes, ears and nostrils”. Faster and faster, closer and closer to the star, more and more uncomfortable came the collision; but Josué neither saw nor heard anything.
When he opened his eyes, he saw again: within moments, the sun was shining like never before, there was extreme heat and the world was beige. The horizon was sandy, and three huge, beige buildings made up it, pointing to the blue sky of the place. Birds screamed, monsters bellowed, and water flowed freely in the course of the great river. Everything seemed extremely natural, until the ground quickly began to shake, and there were the real monsters. Three animalistic bipeds, with unimaginable powers, with no chance of any direct confrontation with which; he had to go unnoticed. And while Josué was doing the warrior analyses, Orisus decided to point out an important obstacle:
– Remember: staying out of your usual time for too long results in what I call “Season Loss”… you could be stuck here forever! concluded hopefully – I’ll be back in time!
Josué agreed. Horrifying to be trapped in a backyard with three wicked and powerful deities. There was a constant flutter in my stomach.
– Something more? asked Josué.
– Yes. Your only challenge is not to evade the attention of the gods…
– Like this?
– These monsters you hear – indicated the low sounds and distant screams – are imprisoned inside the pyramids, as willing to stop you as the gods. Just don’t touch them or make any noise near them; they are blind, and therefore fiercer than anything. – Josué understood silently, and after a moment he put out the question that was corroding him inside:
– And Beatriz…? – a tear flowed.
– I’ll keep you well until the end.
– Thanks! – Josué released, in the most sincere tone that exists – And goodbye.
– Goodbye friend. – said Orisus, equally sincere. And, about to close the ship, Josué had already turned around, he remembered urgently and opened the door a crack – Hey! Josué looked at him – About the story, do you understand?
– What?
– Stamp! Do you understand which seal?
– Oh no!
– That’s the word dear! – by the face of Josué, he had not understood PROPHECY. – they looked at each other – On the floor!
– “In floor”?
– “The most obvious place”: under the ground you step on. Right under all that sand! Underneath your feet…
– Right. – Josué found it unnecessary, and they said goodbye again.
The only one who saw the need was the storyteller who hates loose ends. Then Orisus closed the ship’s door and left like a beam of light. Josué was now alone, and he saw the blind Anubis of flesh and blood marching strong in front of the first pyramid. Waiting for the most powerful beings in the universe to fight. Each step that the god took firmly shook the ground, which vibrated and made Josué feel bad; chills. And faced with a mind chaotic by the longing for loved ones, by the fear of failure, by the weight of purpose, and then by the will to save the galaxy; and from such a calm, pleasantly natural space, all that was left for Josué was to take a deep breath and set off in the direction of incarnate danger. Our hero will never let Odyssey succumb to Time!
YOUR ODYSSEY STARTS NOW…
