There was a fifteen-year-old boy in town. The first person to be born half-human and half-ancient (at least in this area) was a boy with a loving heart. All the other children looked up to him. But he never cracked under the pressure. In fact, he loved making them smile with his illusions and tricks. Cosmo. Some called him a street magician. He referred to himself as an illusionist. He was in a happy relationship with a girl just a few months younger than him, and overall life couldn't be better.

But... for the past few months, he kept getting the feeling that something was... off. Life was always uneventful, and that never bothered him before, but that feeling of safety had become so normal, that even when there was a small change in temperature, he could tell.

Sometimes, this boy would feel things others couldn't. It wasn't quite like a vision. More like a... feeling. A feeling of discomfort. He'd get dreams. Dreams of a dark force, spreading through his home and erasing everything, leaving nothing but a white shell of what used to be. But each time he had this reoccurring dream, he would wake up and brush it off. After all, they're just dreams. They don't mean anything.

Well... he didn't think they'd mean anything... until he saw what looked to be a large black mass, forming and coming for his home.

He was on his way to his girl's house, carrying a bag of food for her already struggling family when he saw it form at the edge of town when he saw it.

He wasn't the only one who was curious, as there had already been a group of ex-tribesmen there to inspect the incoming darkness. He tilted his head to the side as he walked up to them. "What's going on?" He asked when one of the adults suddenly held their hand out in front of him to stop him from approaching any closer.

"We don't know," The adult admitted. The adult then took a step forward, reaching their hand out and touching the blackness, only to hiss and yank their hand back, holding it to their chest.

Everyone's eyes went wide as the person's hand seemed to... glitch? It was as if he was a computer file being corrupted and deleted.

Cosmo jumped back in shock when the impending darkness suddenly began to move. It was big, circling around the perimeter of the town.

It looked like it had already gotten the rest of the world.

Cosmo stepped back in fear as he watched it eat away at a few of the adults, engulfing them. He listened to their screams of anguish, continuing to back away from the dark force, when he suddenly took off running, only one thought in his mind. 'I have to find my girl.'

He ran as fast as he could, dropping his bags and sprinting faster than he ever had. It was miraculous that his red tophat, (Which he always wore to match the whole 'illusionist' vibe he was going for,) didn't fall off. But before he made it to her, he saw the kid, Dio, heading for the woods, where the impending darkness was waiting to eat him away.

Cosmo paused, debating whether he should quickly save this kid, or ignore the child and rush to his girl. It was a hard decision and he didn't have the time to think.

So, he went with his gut, arguing that it would be better to save the kid and then get to his girl. That way he could save more people, right? He still had time.

He still had time.

"DIO!" Cosmo cried, sprinting to the kid as the nine-year-old child obliviously looked up at the darkening sky, obviously not comprehending what was going on. "KID!" The teenager cried, quickly kneeling down and grabbing Dio's shoulders. He was terrified and frantic, which wasn't common since he was usually so easygoing. Dio gave him a confused look, but he didn't seem worried. In fact, he seemed almost at ease upon seeing Cosmo. After all, like most of the kids, he looked up to him.

"I don't know what's going on, but you gotta get out of here!" Cosmo breathed almost all too quickly.

"W-What?" Dio asked, furrowing his eyebrows, seeming less worried by Cosmo's words and more so by his expression. "Cosmo, what's going on? H-Have we been found?"

"No! It's not the tribe of darkness. I think... it's something else." He trailed off, not actually completely sure what it was. Maybe it was the tribe using some sort of advanced magic. But it sure didn't seem that way... "Now hold on. I'm not the best at teleporting, but I'm gonna try to get you to safety." He breathed, letting go of the kid and stepping back, cracking his knuckles and making red magic spark in his hands. He had to do this quickly so he could get back and save more people. Save his girl. "I've... had a feeling that something was wrong with our world for a while. But don't worry. This is HIGHLY experimental, but I'm gonna try to get you to a safe universe."

He had never teleported beyond universes before. It was something he had indeed learned about. In fact, some of the ex-tribe members had spoken to him about it. It was an ability that most half-bloods had deep down. The ability to know of and see other realities. It was something unique to them. He could do it, and there were traces in the other youth showcasing that they had the potential to as well.

"Safe universe? What are you talking about? What about Oitnemid? Where's he?" Dio nervously exclaimed, still not quite sure what was happening.

"You're the first person I found. I promise I'll look for them right after I find my girl and save her." Cosmo explained.

Dio nodded, even though he did not understand what was going on around him. He hardly even seemed worried anymore. So without wanting to waste any more time, Cosmo waved his hand, making Dio and himself seem to blip out of existence. They both ended in what looked to be almost exactly the same place, only there was no city. Just ruins.

"W-Where are we...?" Dio asked, nervously looking up at Cosmo.

"A new home. I'm going to go back and save some more people. Don't go anywhere. Everything will be okay. I'll be right back." Cosmo promised, quickly teleporting away with a chime. The words 'everything will be okay,' had put young Dio at ease and convinced him that nothing was wrong.

Cosmo really did intend on keeping that promise. The promise that he would be right back.

He landed back in his home, stumbling forward and immediately rushing towards his girl's home. He could see the darkness surrounding, closing in closer and closer. The wind was blowing violently, almost feeling like a storm. There were screams, there was crying, but none of the people could escape. No one could escape or save anyone besides him, because the ex-tribesmen didn't have the power to teleport to other universes and none of the other children had even really learned to teleport over a few feet yet.

He felt fear and adrenaline course through his very veins, fueling him to run faster. Pushing him to run harder, until he arrived.

But he was too late.

He skid to a halt as he saw the darkness encasing the house. HER house! "N-No..." He whispered, breathing heavily as his eyes went wide. "No, no, NO!" He sprinted up to it, ignoring the darkness and reaching for the door when his hand touched the strange substance. He immediately squeezed his eyes shut and stepped back, hissing in pain and holding his hand to his chest, just as the other guy did.

"Agh," He whimpered, stumbling backward when he found the strength to open his eyes once again. He blinked a few times, then held his hurt left hand out in front of himself. It didn't look the same as it did before. It almost looked... smeary. As if it was glitching.

He felt tears peak in the corners of his eyes, although he wasn't sure if it was from the pain of losing everything, or just the physical stinging sensation, which was almost too much. His head began to ring as he turned around himself, seeing the darkness seem to circle all around him.

He was the only one left. There was no one to save. It was all already gone. He was too slow.

He wasn't strong enough.

______

He wasn't sure what to do. Should he have escaped with his own life and found the kid? Even though he wasn't great at teleporting and didn't quite yet know how to teleport to people, he could sure teleport to places. All he would need to do was imagine the place he dropped Dio off at.

But if he did that... he knew what it would mean. A life lived with the grief and guilt of not being able to save anyone else. A life in total loneliness, which was the last thing he wanted. The one thing he and many people feared the most, more than death itself, was being alone.

He didn't want to spend years regretting not being able to save the people he cared about most. He very easily could stay behind with his home, dying with everyone else. Being deleted forever, with no hope for return. It seemed the easier and less painful way out.

"I... don't know if I'll be able to make it back, kid," Cosmo whispered as if the kid could hear him. "But... whatever happens, you'll be okay. I promise."

He then hugged his hurt, glitching arm to his chest, watching as the darkness came closer and closer still.

If he was going to save himself... now would be the time.

But was there even a point to saving himself anymore?

....

....

....

"I'll come back" He answered, just before the darkness could reach him. Though it hurt, though there was nothing of his home left... there was someone. There was someone, and he promised them that he'd come back for them. So, he waved his hand, teleporting away to another world.

Only... Cosmo didn't know how to teleport to people. He could only go to places. And... unfortunately, there were an unlimited number of worlds with the same exact places. "Hey, Kid! I'm back!" Cosmo breathed, his arm still glitching out, even though the rest of him had been saved. He paused when he heard no response, then slowly turned around himself, confused.

"...Kid?" He asked, slightly more worried than before. He appeared to be in the same place, but where was Dio?

"Oh no...." He muttered, panic suddenly filling him. "KID? KID?! DIO? DIMENTIO, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He looked and looked, but never found him.

And Dio looked and looked for a way home, but he never found that either. In the end, they were both lost. Lost, and never going to be found.