Child of the dark

When Sandbox was little, many Aqualoxs found her ability to not be scared easily as scary and strange even. Her interest in the unknown didn't help her case in the slightest, nor did her stone origins.

It was said that the Aqualox was found at the Manacanth Stone, her brown fur taking in the colors of the empty lands, many Aqualoxes immediately worked together to get her away from the area without being consumed and was put onto a beach so that she wouldn't take in the "evil spirits''. Some believe they were too late, others think she shouldn't have been moved because it was just a story after all, she would have been fine. Rumors had spread that maybe she consumed the great evil and is now a reincarnation of the devil. 

It was a big surprise when Sandbox hatched. She only had a missing leg and the colors of a beach and wood. Maybe moving her made her growing process a bit messed up. 

The young aqualox wasn't as enthusiastic as the others. She was quieter and spoke later than others. Her eyes also took longer to stop glowing, which did get her picked on by others for a little while. But she never seemed to mind, as her focus was more about the unknown of the lands, she was often found digging holes to find bones. 

One time, she actually found a past grave of a long fallen fossil of an aqualox. When the pup touched the bone, she suddenly saw flashes of the creature's life. Jumping back and rolling among the ground. Once she could get out of her daze, she looked at the hole she made, and a spirit now stood there. The spirit was kind and taught her many things of the past. She would cover the hole back up again as the spirit almost immediately became like a father to her. Others found her even more strange when she started talking to the air. The adults, of course, thought it was just an imaginary friend, so they never thought much of it.

Ever since that day, however, she could see many other spirits, her being able to talk to a lot of them. As she grew older, the spirits taught her many things, how to fight, how to get through many dangers easily. It made her a daredevil and prideful of her abilities. In her teen years. Her parents, the living ones, gave her a talisman of the manacanth stone. 

The spirit that stuck with her explained it to her when her parents led her to the mountain.

It said, "This is a talisman that keeps the Rift Forger at bay from ever coming back out to cause despair and horror again. It is a monster who had to make us and the living to work together to seal it once again."

Sandbox's eyes shone in surprise. Her family trusted her with a heavy task. Her parents stopped at the end of the hill, the spirit wanted to come but Sandbox told them to stay and that she wanted to do it herself.

When Sandbox reached the top of the hill, she looked at the stone that held the great evil, normal Aqualoxes would only see a stone and talisman being hung. But she saw everything differently.

She saw glowing chains that held the beast imprisoned, its body heaving in anger as it looked at the new aqualox. She also saw one of it's eyes missing, one that wasn't missing looked like the Soul Stone on her neck.

Sandbox felt chills going down her spine, but she was determined to do the task, she walked forward to hang the talisman onto the stone before getting ready to walk away.

But the devil spoke soon enough.

 "My child. Why leave so soon? For I have many stories you would like to hear."

Sandbox froze, her eyes looking at the beast.

"What kind of stories?"

"The ones before I became the feared Rift Forger. I've seen how others treated you. I understand your pain, young one. Let me make you become strong like me. Perhaps stronger."

Sandbox thought for a moment before walking off with a simple. "No."

She didn't care what others thought of her. She had her family, that's all she needed to be happy.

The devil was patient though.

"Very well child… but someday. You'll need me. Someday. You will want revenge."

Sandbox refused to believe that.

Until many years later when a blue-scaled Aqualox held the soul gem of her loved one in their mouth. 

Once again she was at the top of the mountain, her loved one was healing at home, her yellow eyes showed rage as the devil sat there calmly, its toothy grin becoming wide, its claws tapping on the stone that kept it at bay.

"Welcome back, child. I can sense the anger through you…" The ancient being chuffed, its large chained body walking over to the poor soul, a claw reaching to hold the young aqualox hair, the water flowing through its claws. "What would you like to learn?" 

Sandbox just growled. "I want everything you know. Everything." 

The Rift Forger hummed. It's single eye staring down at the small Aqualox. As if reading her very soul. "Very well. But it is not for the faint of the soul, young one. You will need to be strong and powerful. And you will become unstoppable. Like I once was. Perhaps you may even see things my way."

Sandbox shook her head. "I am only here to learn. Not to become like you. You killed millions!"

"I did what this world deserved for imprisoning me in the first place."

"You're a monster that deserves to be trapped here for all eternity!"

"And yet here you are crawling back to me for help." The monster growls, its large teeth baring at the aqualox, quieting the young one down.

"That's better. Now. As for your training. You will find many ancient areas I once learned from. For I can not be there for you all of the time. I am imprisoned, after all. So you will have to do it yourself. So. Good luck, little one. Your loved one's fate depends on it." The Devil said with a bitter tone before walking back to its resting spot behind the stone, the chains clattering alongside it.

If Sandbox didn't know any better, she would have assumed the long ancient evil was just a sad misunderstood creature. But she knew better than to trust nor pity a monster. She only came for knowledge, and once that monster gave her the knowledge, she would be gone, leaving the beast alone with no one to talk to once again.