I take a sip of my coffee, absorbing the deep aroma of the beverage and letting out an involuntary sigh. Decades, I scoff internally. Decades have passed as I swam in shadow. Time meant nothing to me, just endless darkness. I think, at least, last I remember was my best friend, the person I fought beside, was the best man at my wedding and the godfather to both my son and daughter. He stood there, his proclamation ringing in my ears, "this is the only way." as tears flowed freely from his eyes. The monster behind him, thrashing in its prison as it, too, sank into the stone. Then darkness.

I sip my coffee, its warmth banishing the last dregs of shade from my soul. An old man, hair grey as stone, face weathered and wrinkled from a long life of worry, joy, and endless other emotions. But those eyes, those damned hazel eyes betray the old mans identity. It's Ward, the man that became the father to my now grown children.

I drop the hood from my cloak and lock eyes with him. He gasps, "By the fates, it IS you." A hand covers his mouth, shock reverberating through his being. "You...you...you weren't supposed to wake for another five years...." his voice trails off before standing up and pacing madly. "No, no, no, it's too soon." His hands are holding the sides of his head. "Was I wrong? Were my calculations off? No...that couldn't have been it. Something else changed....we're not ready...we're not....."

I interrupt, "Ward....why?" my throat chokes with emotion, I'm having a hard time processing what the hell is going on. To me it was yesterday that I sank into shadow, he didn't have the grey hair he has now.

He stops his pacing and turns and stares at me, a horrified look mixed with pity etched across his wrinkled face. "Charles, I...." before I knew it he was on his knees grasping my hand and balling openly. ".....sorry. So sorry...I didn't...I thought I couldn't......but I had to...." he managed between sobs. If I was confused before, I don't know what I am now. Lost. Completely and utterly lost.

"Start...in the cave?" I struggle with speaking for some reason. Ward takes a deep breath and takes his seat across from me, pouring a cup of coffee for himself with unsteady hands. I give him all the time he needs, to get his thoughts in order. We finish the pot without another word, I get up and start boiling a fresh pot of water on the fire in the hearth.

"There's something coming. Something of immense power and evil." He says to my back. I don't move, "As strong as you were....it wasn't going to be enough by the time it arrived. Even after a lifetime of training, you wouldn't have been strong enough." I idly stoke the fire, waiting for him to continue.

"There...was a, a, a prophesy that came out of nowhere. Told us about the coming darkness, and how to prepare for it." I reached over and grabbed a fresh log and dropped it on the fire, sparks jumping to life all around me. I heard Ward hiccup in fear. "Th-th-thing is, Charles, we debated. The entire party, and some of the most knowledgeable people we met during our travels. And we all agreed.....that this was the only path."

I grunted, urging him to continue as I still hunched over the hearth, waiting for the water to boil. "I didn't want to, I didn't think I could go through with it, but the only other choice was to live long enough to see our world fall. I-I couldn't let that happen."

"I thought I was going to die. I swam in shadows, Ward. For eternity. This is the first time I have felt warmth in a lifetime." I extend my hands towards the hearth, truly enjoying the heat.

"I-I-I.....know." I could sense he hung his head, and he began weeping again. After a time he regained control of himself, "I came back to check on you every five years. To let you know that your wife and kids are fine. I didn't do anything untoward, I protected and supported them, you know? You'd be proud of how Valorie and William have grown into fine adults. You...you're a grandfather, you know?" Tears stung my eyes, relief flooding my being.

"But there's more, Ward."

"Aye....the monster we hunted down that day? It-it wasn't for the reasons you were told. We trapped it.." my patience ran out. "We hunted that beast down and trapped it in that circle so you could merge its power with mine. To turn me into THIS!" I stood to my now considerable height, throwing back my cloak to reveal the body of a beast, covered in fur darker than the night. Feet tipped with talons meant to shred victims into tatters. My arms, easily thrice the size they were as a humans, ending in paws with huge claws. A snout, a muzzle like a canine's thrust from my face, rows of razor sharp teeth hidden behind canine lips. My eyes were no longer human, allowing me to see fewer colors, but more details and better in lower light.

My Wen, the power that drives the magic in the world, is different. Tainted, but larger, deeper. I haven't tried to tap that well, yet, I've been afraid to.

Ward scrambled from his chair, falling over and backpedaling into the corner. "I'm sorry!" he yelled as I pulled my cloak around me once more and stalked out the door. "Betrayal like yours requires more than an apology. It requires blood, and I will drench these lands in it."

Realization dawned on Ward as Charles faded from view. They got the prophesy wrong, they created the evil that was coming, not preventing it. He wept in despair, realizing that the end of the world was happening because of him.