by Luke Nguyen
It was a stormy night when everyone heard a tremendous rumbling beneath their feet. They saw a flash of light and then everything went deadly quiet …
*
When Mark woke up beneath a tree, he felt odd. He was just sleeping in his warm and cosy bed when he was woken up by a flash of light. He saw that all the grass was vibrant green, and the trees were super tall unlike the tiny pot plants at his old home.
When he got up, he heard some rustling in the bushes. It was a person!
“Hello!” Mark said brightly as the person came by, but the person just walked past him. Mark felt like something was wrong. Was he in the future? So he went to explore.
He passed some beautiful flowers and they waved viciously at him. How odd, he thought.
He saw a pack of people punching each other, and then he saw a pink pillow float above him. But no, this was not a pink pillow, it was a very cute little floating cotton ball! It was just … alive, and a flock of birds was following it! But the birds weren’t its family, they were trying to catch it!
So, Mark caught the pink cotton ball mid-air and brought it with him to the trees. The cute animal said thank you and continued floating the opposite way.
Mark was just about to go and find shelter for the night when a strange person punched him a long, long way away into the sea.
“Aaaaagggggggggghhhhhhhh,” he screamed, as he fell into a random cave.
Before the giant sea could swallow him, the pink cotton ball he had saved earlier carried him up into the sky.
“Gee, thanks,” said Mark loudly, because they were in the sky.
The cotton ball replied, “No problem, but be careful you are in Planet Knockback. Here, some people can even knock you out of the universe!”
The little cotton ball dropped him off on a small island, and he heard a giant rumbling beneath him again. He felt sure there was a vortex beneath him.
He was sent flying into the sky! When he looked down, he saw a pink cotton ball fall into the … vortex!
Oh no, the cotton ball risked his life for me and now he is gone for eternity.
When Mark remembered how he lost his only friend, he wanted revenge! He wanted to know who kept summoning the stupid portals in the middle of nowhere and who dared face the deathly wrath of Mark!
If only he knew …
*
Spiral, the god of chaos, wanted Mark. He wanted Mark because Mark was the god of peace. The power of the two gods merged together are unimaginable. None shall ever defeat Spiral if he has Mark’s power … for those two are marked strongest of the mortals and immortals.
Meanwhile, Mark was hopping around in the sky.
Super Jump, Mark thought. This is a fine life to live but I still don’t know where I am!
As he hopped up and down, he saw a vortex open in the sky, but this one was not pulling him in, it was pushing … the little pink fluffball out!
Before Mark could reach the fluffball, it had teleported to him. “Wow!” exclaimed Mark.
The fluffball said, “Hi,” brightly to him, as well as “The name’s Hirb by the way.”
Before Mark could reply, he fell into a rift!
Mark fell on a very odd planet. It was gigantic. He called out for Hirb but no one came. Well, something did come but it was not who he wanted. It was a … gigantic clown! He heard its terrible rasping voice. It sent icy cold chills down his spine.
“Aaaaaaaggggggghhhhhh!” he screamed in terror.
He ran as fast as he could, but he wasn’t fast enough!
“CoMe hEre MaRk, YoU cAn hiDe buT yoU Can’T rUn!” rasped the clown.
“Oh well, I’m stuck, am I? Oh no, FACE THIS!”
With that the clown was blasted out of the universe.
*
Spiral was raging when he saw one of his most powerful warriors fall to the ground like a helpless animal. He ordered his very own one million personal guards to get Mark’s sandy white hair off his head!
*
Mark could hear the voice again in his head. He thought it was very creepy, so he needed to leave this deserted planet. He heard marching in the distance and a booming voice telling the army what to do. Mark knew if he didn’t get out quick enough, he would be doomed …
When he saw the army coming full speed at him, he moved his long legs and ran to hide. Suddenly, it was dazzling all around him and all kinds of cotton ball people came around him—well, some of them just clicked something and popped! With that, the people disappeared into thin air. Was this some kind of cotton ball empire?
Mark could see Hirb.
“Hurry, Mark,” Hirb shouted, as the army crossed the horizon.
Mark jumped on and closed his eyes as he went into a rift.
“Umm, what was that?!” asked Mark.
The grandpa of Hirb said, “It was a rift.”
Mark saw Hirb sleeping on the big bed. “Well, Mr Hirb, can you tell me why some people just popped out of existence?”
“Yes, you see we are all in a game. You can leave and rejoin later, but we cannot. We are known as characters in the wonderful world of beautiful reality,” said Mr Hirb.
“So, are we fake?” asked Mark.
“No, we’re not fake but we were programmed to do all of this. But don’t lose hope, because every century a hope will come, and that hope is you.”
*
Spiral went psycho when he heard that Mark had eluded his army as well as his best generals! He was so angry that he said, “Next time, Mark, you will not escape it for the last and final time…”
Mark set off from the house of the cotton ball empire with a holy sword and a holy helmet and spear. Mark knew it was time to face his destiny. He went to the Bibblebob village in search of those who wish to join him and discovered the lost army of one hundred thousand cotton balls (alive ones). He left with a total of one hundred and thirty thousand troops.
Mark and his army set up camp in a little forest. They only had one hundred tents, which could only fit a few of them, so everyone had ten minutes rest each while the others stood guard on a nearby hill. One of the patrols came back saying he saw Spiral on the horizon with a lot of troops.
This was it.
I will end Spiral today and then I will be in reality to see what it really is like.
“Charge!” Mark shouted, as he saw Spiral’s army enter the basecamp. He could hear the clanging of the swords and shields connect. He heard the horses screaming in primal terror.
Mark’s army was dominating, until Spiral unleashed his dark magic into the sky, which slaughtered nearly one thousand of Mark’s men. Spiral had unimaginable power, but Mark knew if he was chosen to do this then he must be able to defeat Spiral.
He flew up into the sky and challenged Spiral to a duel. Spiral’s dark magic slithered towards Mark, but with his knock-back sword, Mark sent the magic flying back to Spiral and hitting him on the face. Spiral fell down in a heap. The victory was Mark’s … for now.
*
Spiral woke up in his bed with one life left. “No, this is not the end, it is only the beginning of the end …”
Spiral commanded his forces to march towards Mark’s army. Spiral vowed that he would never ever lose again.
Spiral summoned a vortex, bringing Mark alone to face him. If only Spiral knew the gods were against him.
Spiral once again sent slithering dark magic towards Mark. Mark came to his senses. He knocked the magic back, but this time Spiral dodged it with amazing speed. As Mark’s and Spiral’s swords clashed together, Spiral pushed Mark back. But the gods were on Mark’s side, and they infused their powers (a tiny bit) to create a legendary Sword of Heroes.
When Mark received the sword, he felt a warmth in his arms and legs. With this sword, he could stop Spiral from getting up for eternity. He slammed his sword against Spiral’s sword and Spiral’s sword split into twain.
“Goodbye, Spiral. You’ve earned it, after all the people you’ve killed,” said Mark.
After Mark blew the final blow, it all ended.But indeed, it did not end, as Mark later met a powerful wizard who made a portal to reality. But Mark did not enjoy reality that much, after all, because he burnt his tongue …
