"Well, well... Finally! Finally! Hahahaha!
I see you, brother of the Master. I see you at last, you accursed traitor! Hahahaha!"
Don heard the strange laughter. A shiver ran through his entire body; he felt as if a thousand insects were crawling all over him. He thought, What the hell is that? I feel repulsed. Who laughs in such a hideous way? Don lived with his father in a modest house near the market, so he was accustomed to hearing all kinds of sounds: children's laughter, the clatter of horses, the calls of merchants, and the gossip of Mrs. Mira and her group of women. But this was something new.
He hurried to his father's room to ask if he had heard it too. He knocked on the door and called out, "Hey, old man! Are you awake?" The sun had risen, and the old man usually left for work at this time. Don knocked again, and again, and again, but no one answered. Don started to worry. Did the stupid old man drink himself to sleep? Don decided to break the door down, for who knew when the old man would wake up after a night of drinking. He took a step back, gathered his strength, and prepared to smash the worn wooden door. Just as he started his rush, the door swung open, and Don fell flat on his face with a crashing sound. He felt dizzy, and his nose was bleeding. He tried to stand up. As he did, he heard his father's hearty laughter. Don's face turned crimson. "ALFRED! Why didn't you open the door if you were awake, you foolish old man?"
His father laughed even harder and retorted, "Which one of us is the fool, boy? Is it me, or the one who kisses the ground? I didn't know you had reached this stage of maturity already! Hahahaha!"
Don was enraged. He looked at his father. He was just as he always was: long silver hair and white eyes that made him look like a blind man. Don thought to himself, The cursed old man. How can I say he's weak? But who is allowed to say it except me? He's sixty years old, and yet I seem to be the old one here.
Don turned to his father after his laughter subsided and asked, "Did you hear any laughter while you were asleep?"
His father replied, "How can I hear anything while I'm asleep, you idiot? Come on, there's no time to waste! Tomorrow is a packed day. Enjoy today however you want, but I am going to work. Come on, get out so I can get ready."
Don left the house, anger still visible on his face. As he opened the door, he was greeted by the sounds of the city, and he decided to go to the training ground immediately, because who knows when he would wield a sword again after today. He thought, Tomorrow, all the shackles will be removed from me, and finally, I will use magic like everyone else. Well, mostly like everyone else. Not all humans loved magic. Everyone is connected to the "Source" and has seen it. Everyone claims to see something different, but all agree it is the most beautiful thing they will ever see in their lives. It is a one-time-only viewing.
Back in Don's house, Alfred stood alone, watching Don run away through the window. Finally, he was alone. He sat on the bed, looking at his trembling hand, blood seeping from his mouth and eyes. He whispered, "I don't have much time left, Don. Please be ready. They are coming. Your old father is truly sorry. I am sorry, my son." The blood mingled with his tears. Alfred looked up at the sky and snapped his fingers.
The blood vanished, and his location changed. He was now in a vast, white space whose size was impossible to determine. In front of Alfred floated a white sphere of energy. The white was purer than anything a mortal could ever see in their life. It was colossal—so giant that it could devour the universe and still have space inside for another universe or more. But there was something polluting the beauty of that pure white: a bloody, evil, disgusting red color, like rotten blood. It was centered inside the sphere, the size of a sun. If one didn't focus, they might not truly see it, but Alfred looked at it and said, "I know, my dear. Wait a little. Tomorrow you will speak to him."
Then he calmed himself and spoke with full force in his voice, "My beloved, our son will come to the Source tomorrow. He will come to you. Please, teach him. Protect him. I failed to do so. They arrived at a moment of my weakness. The barrier fell from the planet for a second, but that accursed brother of mine polluted me, polluted you, polluted this planet with his demons! We found one of his followers coming to take him, to take our son... TO TAKE MY WORLD JUST AS HE TOOK YOU!"
Alfred's scream shattered the fabric of the dimension for a second, though it reformed instantly. The sound of the fracture was like the destruction of a thousand suns; it must not be heard. If a whisper of this sound leaked from this silence into the cosmos, the universe would perish. Alfred sighed and said, "I won't allow it. He will kill me and consume my soul before I allow him to touch our son. I know you hear me. He knows nothing. Please, guide him now. I must go. They are here. My brother's followers have arrived."
He snapped his finger and vanished, leaving the place in a deadly silence, until a droplet of water the size of a galaxy fell from the White Sphere onto the floor of the dimension. It was a tear. A tear of farewell.