The lifeless body of the beast lay on the sandy dunes, convulsing in its death throes. 'Suprisingly weak', I thought to myself, expecting a much greater struggle from beings that managed to make it to this planet. There were two beasts remaining, and before I had any more time to question their strength, their pack leader came straight at me with a cry of rage.

Despite flying slower than the reckless divebombs of the other two, I felt a sense of danger that suggested it had something up its sleeve. As it accelerated towards me, the symbols on its crest began to shine a golden colour, completely contrasting with the pitch black of the rest of the night.

As these symbols shone, the beast opened its mouth, and a ball of weird power coalesced, almost visibly drawing energy from the surroundings in the form of grey wisps. As more of these mist-like tendrils were drawn in, the power began to condense and it grew a darker grey, like a sudden storm on an otherwise peaceful sea: foreboding and ominous.

As this power continued to fuse, the symbols on the crest glowed almost blindingly bright, until it stopped almost instantaneously, returning the planet to its previous dark.

As the glow stopped, the grey power which had reached its breaking point, was released from the mouth of the beast and, like a flood held back for a thousand years, gushed forwards with immense power.

Feeling the abrupt sense of danger, I drew my hands up in front of me, bracing for the inevitable impact. The power reached me and detonated, in a colourless explosion, as powerful as an supernova. The beast slowed down and hovered in the air, stationary, waiting for the mist to dissapate and reveal a mutilated corpse.

However, the mist refused to dissapate and soon the lack of movement became unbearable for the beast and it drew closer slowly, along with its surviving comparison. Seemingly hesitant to enter the mist itself, the floated just outside, staring in for any signs of movement that would easily be detected by the wafting of the mist.

Despite their vigilance, they could not detect my presence and, waiting for the oppurtune moment, I struck.

My arms were like blade as they moved so fast, only a silver blur could be seen. I clamped my hands around their necks, snapping the weaker one immediately with a twist of my wrist and, feeling it go limp in my hand, let it drop to the sand below with its companion.

Looking up slowly, I focused my gaze on the surviving one, I spoke, "W̵̭̕é̸̱l̵̳͆l̴̫̄,,,̸͉̿ ̸̹̒l̴͕̓o̵̰̓ò̸̪k̸̙͛s̴͈̉ ̶̯͛l̷͎͊i̶̺͋k̴͈̋ḛ̷͗ ̴͉̊ẃ̷̙ė̴͇ ̴̧̾h̸̤͂a̶̼͂v̴͕̚e̸̛̩ ̷̞̈s̶͔̚o̴̲͌m̵̙̅ë̶͉́ ̷̛̤t̵͔́a̷̳̓ḷ̵̔ḵ̶̆i̵̙͛n̵̙̓g̸͍͌ ̵̼͐t̵̯͒ò̴̪ ̸̠̽d̴̩̒ǒ̴̘ "

----

Keldan raised his head, feeling almost completely rejuvenated. As he cycled his mana through his body, he felt a momentary feeling of possessing unlimited power flow through him, before he settled down. He remained in his seated position, unsure of how much time had passed, as he accustomed himself to his power once more.

Abruptly, he felt a huge mental pressure flow over him and opened his eyes immediately. The fear he felt was one that came from deep within his soul. The fear of a prey before a predator. He broke out into cold sweats and, shaking, slowly looked upwards.

He saw a man, floating, with a brown cloak billowing around him in the non-existent wind, gripping some strange black wyvern in his hand. He noticed two others on the sand, the power being emitted by the blue blood hid no secrets of how powerful the beast must have been in its prime.

The scary part, however, was that one's wing had simply been torn off like a paper-mache doll, while the other lay with its neck at an inconceivable angle.

With this knowledge in the back of his head, the figure of the brown-cloaked figure became even for unfathomable in his mind.

"Ẁ̷̮͗̌e̴̢̮̲̺̩̯̘͊̐̋͌̒̐͆̈́̔̊̌̐͒͠l̶̪̥͗͊͐́͘l̶͈͎͕̬̖̻̙͚̎̎,̴̳̳͎̥̹̜̲͈͚͓̙͕̦́̐̎͛̀̏ ̵̧̛̜͎̻͍͇͙͍͇̮̥̜̣̻̹̖̌̐͌̅̿͛̃́̐͌̀͗̓̚ļ̶̨̧̱̖̟̲̣̤̞͕̲̝̌̕o̶̢̹͖͉̓̉̄̄̇̌̇̐̉͛͑̄̅̓̇͆̚͠ǫ̸̱͎̬̔̂̊͛̊̀́͑͌̊ķ̵̡̧͚̘͇̱̭̻̳͍̮̣̹̬̯͚͎̼͗͌̈́̋̽̿͑̈́̓͠s̸̛̮̾͗̾́̏̈́̆́̓̀͘͠ ̷̧̧̻͉̦̤̮̯͎̥̠̮̝̼̫̗̏l̶̡̧̲̳̝̠̖̳̺̓̒̄̏͂̆̈́̽̅̔̃̽̕͝į̸̧̨͖̭͉͍̗̠̳͙̙̪̼̠̺̑̾̀̏͆͋̕̚̚͠͝ḳ̸̣̮̼͕̞͇̟̩̦̺̘̎͝e̵̪̺̲̼̖̯͌̅͗́͛͋́̎͛̌̔͊͘͝ͅ ̵̲͓͙̻̮̅̃͝ẘ̵̧̫̟͈̭̥̭̹̺̥̦̝͓̦͇͉̋̄̆̔̓̉̈̒̈̒̚̚ȩ̵̘͍͇̭̖͉͓̜͈̖̳͇̬͒͑̃͂̀̓͌͑͗͠ ̵̧̖̣̖͉̦̟̪̟̲͔̼͚̞͚͈̟̝͐h̸̛͍̱̺͕̟̮̺̗̹͕͚̪̦̗̞̎͊̓͛̇̿͒̑̃͆̈́́̉̏̋̃̕ͅå̷̭̯̺̖̞͖̭̬͓̠̩̬̣̲̗̱̃́͆̌̋̚v̸̨͍̤̭̮̼̤̻̘͔̳̖̝͙̞̮̰̹̈͛̽̋̑̊̇͋̚͜e̸̡̧̙͓̤̪͕̼̲̫͒̒̃͑̀̓̾̔̑̏̍͒̉̽͌̕͝ͅ ̴̾͊̾͗̌̚͠ͅs̷̡̲̜̜̍͐́͒̀̀o̷͙͎͋͋͐̈́̕m̴̛̬͙͓͈͌̇͝ę̴̖̞͕͙̠̠̻͇̺̟̳̝̩̙̻̋̍̑̓́͛͗ͅ ̵̢̛͔̜̮̜̫͎͓̺̠̖͍͙̘̤̈̓͛̋̅̐̈́̎̈́̎́͛͝t̷̡̨̛̳͎̤̘̰̤̮͓̪͇̩̠̙̲̅̾̑̋͌̔̍ͅå̶̢̡̨̢̨͍̠̠̺̠̙͍̼̹̮̒͐̓͆̓͊̄͜l̵̤͈̐̄̿̀̍̀͐̎̈́̅̈́̿͂̃̿͘̕ḵ̴̖͈͔̣̘̲̺̗̆̈͆̉̓̎̈́͂͑̔̒̈́̈́̊̅̀̕͝ĭ̷̧̛̛̲̗̝͈͍͕͍̻̈́̏̇̅̿͗̿̄̃́̚̕͝͝n̴̢͇͍̬̮̼̏̑̈́̂̌͋̽̏̾̄̑͛̐̚ͅͅģ̷̬̦͖͖̗̃͊́̊̎̇̎̀̅͒͝ ̸̭̭͚̗̥̯̺̫͍̀̅̏̓͜͜ţ̷̢̢̢̻̞͉͙̼͖̠̝͎͕̝̟̇̄̔͂̂̈̈̏̀̃̚͜͝o̸̪͉̮̖͙͖̪͎̖̺͊͐̒̆̈́̑̎͛̐͘ͅ ̶̨̧̞̘̘̹̼̖͍̞̥͎̋̓́ͅd̸̡͉̺̰̖̜͍̮̭͕̰̻͙̫̣̙̜̫͔͋̔̇́̏̍̆̉̑̊͐̀̃͘̚͠͝͝͝ờ̶̖̗̗͓̠̪̪̲͔̖̗͔̲͂̓͋͑̍̏̾͗͌̄̂̕͝͝͝ "

The figure spoke as his voiced seemed to bypass his ears directly to his soul, as though no secrets could be hidden from him. The figure raised his other hand and lifted up the cloak of his hood slowly, little by little revealing the upper part of his face from the shadows.

His face was plain and forgettable, with no outstanding features, seemingly anti-climactic for a person of such power. The only thing that stood out was a blindfold that he wore. It was the same colour of his cloak, and seemed to be nothing special. The ends of the blindfold dangled behind his head, swaying rhythmically with his movements.

It did not surprise Keldan too much that he could fight without seeing, as even he had techniques of sensing far better than the naked eye.

The man then reached up to lift his blindfold, and just as his eyes were to be revealed, Keldan's head was jerked downwards by an unseen force. A mysterious voice resounded in his head,

'There is a fine line between bravery and foolishness. Be careful you do not misstep'

Feeling a chill down the back of his spine, Keldan fixed his gaze firmly downwards, as a demented cry echoed across the endless dunes.

----

The creature continued to struggle fruitlessly in my grasp, flapping its wings in a feeble attempt to escape. Tightening my grip, these actions ceased as the glow emitted by the crest dulled, losing its former lustre.

With difficulty, it opened its mouth and laughed dementedly, "I will not speak to the likes of you, cloaked one. I will not betray my master".

Without answering, I raised my free hand and partly lifted my blindfold. Abruptly, everything around me was completely dark with a few silver lines reaching up into the heavens on the horizon. Looking further, I could see the familiar sight of the Looms of Fate, that bound all living beings, where infinite strings were being woven into a cosmic tapestry.

Looking back down, I stared at the beast. Its fate string was laid bare to me and looking closely, I could see the silver tainted with a corrosive golden colour.

It was beginning to fray, as threads unwound themselves and connected to the strings of others. I looked further on, to see where in the void these threads would lead to and after an unimaginable distance, I came to see a palace of gold, shrouded in grey, foreboding mist. I almost could feel the dampness of that mist within my soul.

Wary of any potential threats coming from the unknown dangers this place held, I withdrew my gaze and lowered my blindfold and, like a shutter, the world returned to normal.

The beast lay limp in my hands, and I could feel its lifeforce slipping away. It murmured, "Long live Dominion", as its crest dulled for the last time.

Floating back down to the ground, I waved my hand and the three corpses dissolved into a fine mist that dissipated in a sudden breeze.

Looking back at the knight, whose head was still lowered, I chuckled and said, "Y̸͑͜ó̸̖ȗ̸̢ ̵̛͈c̶̮͆a̶̘͗n̵͙̋ ̷̨̍ļ̷͊o̸̺̐o̴͍͊k̶͇̕ ̴̱̅ü̸̡ṕ̴͈ ̷̬̍n̵̪͠o̸̺͊w̶̱͒ ".

Moving slowly, as though still wary of some hidden danger, the knight looked at where the corpses had been and questioned, "What were those things? Why did they attack us out of the blue?"

I followed his gaze further, towards the mysterious structure that still stood in the distance and spoke, "T̵͍̑h̷̛̘i̷͓͝s̶̙͌ ̶̻͛p̴̫͠l̸̻͐å̸̖n̴̙̔e̴̳͝t̵̹͊ ̷͔͘ḣ̸̯ȋ̴̝d̴͎͋e̶͔͛ṡ̷̯ ̸̞̈ḇ̶͛o̶̳̾t̴͚̀h̴̹̕ ̶̟̈t̵̎ͅẖ̴̀ḙ̷͑ ̴̢̄a̶̳̓ǹ̸̜s̸̖̑w̶͕̋e̶͌͜r̶̜͝s̸͆͜ ̸̙͋w̷͙͠ḙ̵̉ ̴̧̈́s̷͓̀e̵͓̾e̸̫̎k̶̫̄ ̸͎̏a̵̜͐n̷͉̉d̶̦͘ ̴̟͠t̶̞̐h̴̳͝ě̴̗ ̸̯͝q̴͎͂u̷͙̓e̶̳̍s̵͓̔t̴̹͗i̸̻͘o̴͔͗n̵͎͊s̸̼͋ ̴͕̌ẅ̵͜e̸͙͐ ̸̖̾m̸̯̽u̶̧͒s̶̪͑t̶̨̕ ̷̭̑a̸̺̓s̷̫̃k̴̲̑.̸͍͋ ̸̮̓I̶̟̓t̸̥͊ ̴̧̐i̶͇̍s̷̻̓ ̶̻̽o̶̹̕n̴̙̓ĺ̶̞ẏ̸ͅ ̵̪́â̷̤ ̸̮͆m̶̼͐ǎ̷͈t̵̨̎t̶̛͓e̸̳̒r̸̭̈́ ̶̧̀o̷̳̅f̴͎̊ ̷̹͌l̵̻͌o̴̼͊o̵̍͜k̶̫̅i̴̩̾n̵̞͘g̷̯̏ ̷̼̔h̶̦̄a̶̯͠r̶͈͌d̶̨̽ ̵̘̈́e̶̛̺n̸̢̊ơ̷̹u̸̝̅g̵̠͛h̴̯̅.̶͉̈ "

Turning my head back to the knight, I continued, "I̸̯̐ ̷͙̍s̴̺̈́u̸̝͝s̸̛̺p̸͚̆e̸̡͋c̷̘̋t̶͔̆ ̴̟̒ȳ̷͚o̴̙̒ȕ̵̟ṛ̸̐ ̸̰̏s̷̤̏t̴̖̂o̷͖̚r̷̖͒y̸̜̽ ̵̢̋h̴̛͍ō̴̜l̶͕̍d̷̖́ṩ̵ ̸͈͝s̸̞̀o̸̬̔m̵̨͝ẻ̵̤ ̶͚̋c̴̜͛l̵̗͒u̷̬͠ë̶̟́s̵͕͐ ̶͙̽á̷̬ś̷̺ ̸̮̐ẇ̸̤e̸͔͌l̷͍͊l̴̙͆"

Noticing my gaze, the knight gestured for me to sit down, "It's going to be a long story, some parts of which I still don't understand, but if it will help your search, I am more than happy to help.

"I was born to a middle-class family on my planet. We lived a happy life and I was to be apprenticed to a passing knight, when our village was destroyed by fallout from a battle with the neighbouring kingdom.

"Believing them to be at fault for my parents death, I vowed revenge and set off on a quest to gain more power. It wasn't long before even emperors had to bow there head when they saw me, and yet I was still not satisfied.

"I searched for more power and soon ventured out of the confines of my small world into the vast universe. There I made friends and enemies, lost battles and won wars until I was once again at the summit.

"However, I felt something was different. I was at this point the strongest being in the entire universe, and there was not way for me to get stronger. It was like an invisible wall that blocked me and no matter how hard I pushed, it stood firm.

"I travelled the universe once again, and I came across a legend of a hero who, after defeating a so-called Guardian, ascended our universe to a higher plane of existence. After much searching, I found this guardian. It took the form of a warrior, in full armour, with red lava flowing in the gaps in his plate.

"After I defeated him, I lost consciousness, and the next thing I knew, I was lying in a field. I opened my eyes slowly, squinting at the harsh sunlight, with a feeling that everything I had just experienced was like a long waking dream.

"In this new place, I was as weak as a newborn lamb, and I truly believed that I had ascended. However, this was not the end. After what felt like an eternity I once again stood at the pinnacle, and sought out the Guardian. This time it took the form of a water golem the size of a planet.

"After an arduous battle, I defeated it and once again 'Awoke' in a different place, with the feeling that this was all a dream. In this way I ascended four levels, gradually coming across more people with the same experiences as me: some having Awoken only once while others up to seven times.

"This time, however, the barrier felt different. Almost elastic: as though with enough power, it would snap. So I gathered all my comrades, and together, we pushed at this barrier with all our strength and, eventually, it broke and I was ejected and landed here. I believe I was ejected from one of these strange structure, I think it was a three-sided pyramid. Having frozen myself reflexively, the next thing I knew, you woke me up."

The knight finished his story as I pondered over what he had just revealed.

Does this mean that all these structure contain layers of worlds within them?

But then what purpose does their difference in outward appearance hold?

Also, if the knight Awoke a total of several times but some only Awoke once, does that mean that there are still natural-born creatures in the higher levels?

Despite having this new piece of knowledge, looking once again at the enigmatic structures only made me feel an even deeper sense of mystery, as though the secrets of this place were even deeper than I previously suspected.

****************************

"He shall appear, Book in left hand, Feather in right,

to chronicle the End of Days"

- An Igleesi cave mural

The accuracy of the prophecies of the Igleesi is indisputable, yet this is the only one as of yet unfulfilled. Many scholars have puzzled over this, while any Seer who caught a glimpse of this prediction was driven insane. The only ones who might have had an answer, were the Igleesi themselves.

- From On the Prophecies of the Dream by Scholar Khan, Archive file #P2D9******