In an age before the moon had begun its journey across the sky, when the world was young and the stars were still settling into their places in the heavens, there lived a being called Vepar. He was not born of the earth or the water, but from the dark silence that lay between the stars, where light had yet to reach. He was a watcher, a guardian of secrets older than the world itself, one who could see the unseen and hear the unheard.
Vepar was once among the mighty, a figure of strength, wisdom, and power, revered by those who dwelled in the ether. But as the ages passed, his heart began to grow heavy with pride. It was said that in his longing to shine brighter than any other, he gazed too long into the heart of the cosmos. There, amidst the eternal dance of the stars, he saw something that no being was meant to understand: a flicker, a single spark, far away but impossibly bright, as if it held the key to the entire universe.

Amidst the chaos of burning trees, this powerful figure holds an orb of energy, their presence an unshaken symbol of strength in the fiery inferno.
This spark, he realized, was not a star, but something far more precious - an object, long lost, but never forgotten by those who once knew it. The object was called
Luminis, a radiant jewel that held the essence of both creation and destruction, capable of bending time itself, of rewriting the very laws that governed existence. It was said that whoever held
Luminis could shape reality at will, becoming both god and devil in one breath.
Driven by ambition and a desire to be more than what he was, Vepar, in his pride and hubris, set out to claim
Luminis. His plan was to seize the jewel, harness its power, and bring order to the world - a perfect order, one forged by his own hand. And so, he descended from the heavens, leaving behind his brethren, and sought the forgotten path that would lead him to this lost treasure.
But his journey was not without consequence. In his arrogance, Vepar ignored the ancient warnings of the elders who spoke of the dangers of seeking
Luminis. They told him that those who sought it for selfish gain would be lost to the darkness, their hearts consumed by the very power they sought to control. Yet Vepar, blinded by his desire, could not be swayed.
As he ventured through desolate lands and across vast, empty oceans, Vepar met others on his path. One such figure was a woman named Isolde, a humble healer who had spent her life tending to those in need, her heart pure and untainted by the desires of power. She saw through Vepar's guise of strength and recognized the longing in his eyes, the deep void that could never be filled by the possession of any object, no matter how powerful.
"Why do you seek
Luminis, Vepar?" she asked one evening as they sat by a fire beneath the stars.
Vepar's voice was distant, heavy with the weight of his purpose. "I seek it to bring an end to the chaos of the world. To bring balance, to make everything as it should be."
Isolde studied him for a long moment, her eyes soft with understanding, yet sorrowful. "Do you not see? The world is as it is because it is meant to be. You cannot bend reality to your will, for in doing so, you would destroy the very thing you seek to save."
But Vepar, unable to hear the wisdom in her words, continued on his path, leaving her behind. As the days turned into weeks, his obsession with
Luminis deepened. The landscape grew more hostile, the skies darker, as if the world itself was trying to keep him from his goal. Yet, with each step, he grew stronger, his resolve harder, until at last he reached the place where the
Luminis was said to be hidden: an ancient, crumbling temple atop a mountain that pierced the sky.

In a frozen forest, Erebus, draped in a red cape, commands the elements with his staff and flame, his presence radiating both cold and warmth.
Inside, he found the jewel, glowing with a light that seemed to pulse with life. It was more beautiful than he could have imagined, a sight that stirred something within him, something both exhilarating and terrifying. As he reached out to claim it, the air around him began to vibrate, the very fabric of reality shaking. The temple's walls cracked, and the ground trembled beneath his feet.
The moment his fingers touched the jewel, a surge of power flooded through him, filling him with a heat that threatened to consume him whole. He had no time to contemplate the price of his actions, for the power of
Luminis overwhelmed him, flooding his mind with visions of a new world - a world where he alone would reign. He could feel the threads of time unraveling, the future bending to his will, but as he began to reshape the world in his image, something unexpected happened.
The jewel rejected him.
The surge of power did not obey his will, but instead, it turned inward, unraveling his very essence. His form began to fracture, his body twisting in unnatural ways, and for the first time, Vepar understood the terrible truth:
Luminis was not a tool to be wielded. It was a mirror, reflecting the deepest truths of its seeker. It did not shape the world, but the one who sought it.
And in that moment, Vepar's arrogance and pride were stripped away, leaving only the broken remains of a fallen hero. The power of
Luminis could not be harnessed by the weak of heart, and Vepar, in his desperation, had shown himself unworthy.
Yet, as his form began to dissolve, he heard a voice - soft, but clear, the voice of Isolde. "It is never too late to turn back," she said, standing at the threshold of the temple. She had followed him, knowing that the path he walked would lead to destruction.
Vepar, broken and humbled, fell to his knees. "Isolde," he whispered. "I have lost everything."
Isolde's gaze softened, and she stepped forward, offering her hand. "No, Vepar. You have lost nothing. You have gained a chance to begin anew."

Chort’s dark attire and horned head evoke a sense of power and enigma, making him a captivating figure in this scene.
With her help, Vepar withdrew from the temple, the power of
Luminis now sealed away, its light dimmed. Though he had not claimed the jewel, Vepar had found something far more valuable - a chance for redemption. In time, he learned that true strength did not lie in control over others or in shaping the world to one's desires. It lay in understanding, in humility, and in the wisdom to let go.
The story of Vepar spread far and wide, a tale of a hero who fell from grace and then found a new path - one guided not by pride, but by the lessons learned through suffering. And though he was never seen again among the stars, his story remained, a reminder that even in the pursuit of the most precious things, the true treasure lies not in what we seek, but in what we become.
And so, the parable ends.