The Plateau isn't where time stops,
As it pushes you forward.
You've been here before.
You've been here for a while.
And life has been patient with you.
But you feel that creeping feeling like something is coming for you.
Look inside and see the version of yourself that has arrived to let you go.
Their eyes are kind and forgiving.
But the sword held in their hand tells you they won't be leaving here without you.
Is this what it feels like to be fought for?
You close your eyes,
But spirit opens them again.
Are you ready for this death?
You shudder and turn to your past,
To some other reflection that might assure you that there's still time to be with the you you have always known.
But as you look for them,
You see only the shadow of a time gone by,
Like the watermarks of yesterday's rainfall.
You mourn the earth turned back into dust.
Your tears wash the darkness from your skin.
Again,
Now,
You must become light.
Who you are is only who you were,
And lays with the ancestors while you call yourself forward.
As judgment stands above the two of you,
You reach through the portal,
And the blade is placed in your hands.
You will bring this death upon yourself.