Code's Life

The synthetic and dull trees, with their dimly lit lanterns, were especially beautiful on Omsday. This was the day in which the residents within the empire's capital had found the most hope. The residents of Lystic gathered around their prized centerpiece - the tower of colors. They stood by to watch the annual shifting of the tower's colors. Other segments of the village were able to enjoy the alterations of the tower of colors as well, but they could only do so from afar. The enclosed Lystic residents were able to feel special on this day as they were able to gather around the thick grey walls that surrounded the colorful tower and watch closely as the building would renew its majestic broken glass. They would stand along the humbled bricked streets, which were surrounded by locally owned shops, and communicate amongst one another, which was definitely a rarity in that world. While the empire may have been an extremely drab place, the common folks had dressed unusually well. Their garments, though the same shades of black, had suggested a good deal of formality. A select few of the Lystic residents wore unique patterns; priests would typically wear long dark robes with particularly rare red linings while doctors would always be found in bright white attire with unique power symbols marked across their chests to indicate individuality. These were amongst the most respected fields within the region. Unfortunately for the empire there were very few influential peoples. One catastrophe after another had eventually taken its toll amongst the residents. Massive waves of hellfire, which turned the entire world dark, and mass suicides had swept the once peaceful world. Political leaders and many religious peoples had mysteriously vanished. With all of these tragic events, the region quickly found a serious lack of medical professionals and an increase in those wishing to serve religious causes. Slowly, the empire began to rebuild itself, but always with some tragedy hindering its progress. Omsday, however, was different. On that day, peace filled those soft windy black skies. This was the day in which tragedy seemed to have been obsolete. In fact, good fortune occurred on Omsday. The year before, a lovely swan had swept down to the residents of Lystic, before the tower of colors, and delivered a message to those common folks. The words CONTINUE FEELING were engraved on a golden brick. The brick was very securely brought to the Grand Lystic Museum, which had consisted mostly of sad things, such as former Mayor Goodman's garments that had been found lying on a tall hill in which overlooked the community's pet cemetery. On one of the museum's walls, a half completed painting by Master Van Vincent had been hanged; it was the most famous art piece in all of the empire and its name was: Life's Code. For some, the dull painting had served as a painful omen that illustrated the near end of all things decent. These people were portrayed as pessimists and they rested within the majority of the population. Others had viewed this painting as a symbol of hope. Those people had felt it to be necessary to aspire greatness, even despite the levels of uncertainty that lied before them. The tower of colors resided in the background of the painting, though it had appeared to be small and insignificant. What struck the population's interests most was what Master Van Vincent had illustrated resting above the mighty grey clouds that had forever relaxed above the tower of colors. As the residents stood along the humbled bricked streets, they gazed in awe at not just the tower of colors, but at those clouds as well. They thought back to the golden brick and the baby that was previously gifted to them. They wondered what these things might have indicated. The communication amongst the common folks had been interrupted by church bells in the distance. Shortly afterwards, the lanterns in which hanged from the synthetic trees had calmly shed their lights. The only light that remained in the capital stemmed from the tower itself. As expected, the first piece of stained glass had fallen from above the clouds. The rose colored glass had shattered on the grounds in front of the grey wall instead of within it. Many residents had rushed to pick up a share of the glass - something that had never previously been felt. To the unsurprised horror of those who witnessed it, another stained glass had fallen from the skies. This time, those who were still fumbling around for their gift of the rose colored glass were laid to death by the fall of the familiar colored grey glass. No one screamed as horrific sights were all too common in that land. They were taken aback, however, in witnessing the first tragedy that had occurred on Omsday. Shortly after the fall of the grey glasses, many more pieces had fallen into their rightful places behind the walls. There were quite a few bright colors, some that the residents had not ever seen before. Eventually, the shell of the tower had become completely nonexistent. All of the shattered glasses had evaporated into the windy black skies and as the tower began its process of regeneration, mysterious sounds from all around the empire could be heard. The sounds were familiar yet exotic. The empire had grown loud in what seemed to have been conversation. The residents gazed up at the beautiful clouds that had been depicted in Master Van Vincent's painting. Initially, nothing peculiar could be seen. Moments later, however, the black skies and their two black moons were replaced with some foreign language. The tower and its adjacent hill had become nothing more than 2D blocks. The whiteness of the world had grown, eradicating all of the grey and black that the empire had to offer. The residents had attempted to scream but found that they couldn't. Instead, their cries for divine assistance had appeared above their fading heads. The synthetic trees continued blowing in the wind.

Reviews

[Desirée Tolliver]

This is a very interesting story. I really liked the explanation of the village Lystic and Omsday. The only thing I found odd was the end. I didn't really understand what exactly happened there. The suspense of the story towards the end was good and I would like to commend you on that. Good luck in your future endeavors. I look forward to reading more works by you in the future.