Sand.

Jake’s hands spread out in the sand beneath them, its heat spreading through his fingers and up into his arms. The coarse texture of the little grains scratched at his skin. Though, there was no discomfort. It felt like home, so laying in the pile made him relax. He felt at ease and his fingers greedily gripped and dug at the grains as a smile eased over his face. A smile that didn’t last very long. There was no sand within the Ravine, so why did he feel it?

The boy opened his eyes and found himself staring up at an array of pillars that were supporting a tall ceiling, a ceiling he could not see. A light fog hung just beyond the veil of darkness, blinding him from seeing beyond. With just that view, Jake knew exactly where he was. This was the hall of the demon he could not see- the being he could not even speak to. The one who had cursed him somehow, someway. Jake hadn’t been able to discern what that curse had done but it had not impeded him thus far. Returning to this place was a surprise.

“You again…” The familiar voice rang out into the hall. Jake clenched his teeth, his jaw locking as he tested the strength in his arms. The last time he was here, he could do nothing but sit and stare. This time- he could move freely. “I had hoped our last meeting would be the first and the only. It seems we are neither so lucky.”

The boy pushed himself upright and found himself sitting in the exact same place he had been before. He was in the pit, surrounded on all four sides by stone walls and four burning cauldrons. In front of him, atop the wall and at the peak of another set of stairs, a shadow sat within a throne. A comfortable one? Likely, but the fog lingering around the individual remained in place. Jake could move but he still could not see.

As Jake sat up, the individual closed the book they were reading with a loud clap. Then, their eyes lit up. A bright green pierced the veil of the fog and Jake could feel those eyes staring right at him. The individual hummed loudly, swinging their feet to the floor. They stood up from their chair and stepped to the edge of the steps. But no further.

“My curse is still in place, untouched. Unactivated. Color me surprised. I would have thought my foolish sister would have tried something. She has a keen sense for my antics, you know.” The individual let out a loud cackle, a chortling laugh. Then, they began to descend the stairs. Except, even as they drew closer, the fog remained in place. Jake could not see through it.

“Which tells me you are somewhere she cannot see… Interesting.” The individual walked up to the very edge of the tall wall surrounding the pit. They squat down at the edge and glared down at Jake.

“There are very few places in the world my sister is unable to perceive. The Maw, The Ravine, the Cradle, the Fae Isle, the Northern Wastes, the Bowels of Siehg… From which of these have you come, Human?” The individual’s eyes remained green, remained piercing. Jake could feel a pressure building in his chest as he stared back into those eyes.

The boy opened his jaw and tested if he could speak. He let out a noise, a brief ‘ah’ to ensure his vocal chords were functioning. When the noise met his ears and his throat reacted properly, he coughed and cleared it.

“Who are you?” Jake asked. Further pushing his limits, Jake found himself able to stand. The immense pressure in the air was far less this time around. He could not move quickly or suddenly but it was far easier to do things this time around. Whether it was due to his familiarity with the area or his development, Jake wasn’t sure. Either way, he’d take what he could get. One thing he definitely couldn’t do was gather mana. It was as if he was normal again.

Normal…

“Who am I?” The individual repeated with a chuckle. “Oh I’m just someone who likes to mess with the board a bit.”

“Where is this place?” Jake was a bit annoyed by the fact that the individual would not give him a straight answer, but he had a feeling there was a reason for that. Just like why Yir withheld information.

“Now that, my boy, is something I also would like to know.” The individual wagged a finger for a few moments before standing up. He planted his arms firmly on his waist and puffed out his chest. “I was thrown in here countless years ago, with all of this sand and fog and stone. For what, you may ask, I’m not going to tell you. But! I will say this…” The individual paused, likely for effect, and then leaned forward toward the pit. As he leaned forward, Jake was given a brief peak beyond the fog. The individual’s face was still hard to make out, but it was clear that they were not human. Red skin. Black eyes. A wide, toothy smile with razor teeth. A demon of some kind.

“...the people who threw me in this cage, are the same people pulling your strings,” he said aloud.

“You mean the Gods?” Jake said, narrowing his eyes. The first group of people coming to mind that could be guiding him down an unnecessary path to meet their own ends would be them. For whatever reason. Maybe they gave him their blessings just to make him do their bidding and the start was the Ravine?

“Well, that depends on who is pulling your strings!” The man cackled again, turning away from the pit and walking back towards his throne. “I could just be wrong but a human as young as you wouldn’t be giving off such a rotten stench if you weren’t working for Him.”

“Him?” Jake asked, now confused. But as he asked his question, he briefly remembered another figure clad in fog and mist- a dangerous character that lurked in his dreams. There was no chance those two people were related, was there? “The Man in the Dark?”

“Who?” The individual let out a strange noise as he plopped down into his throne. “Oh no, there is only one man I am referring to! And he is no man, not quite anymore. He is a killer, a God Killer. The great and oh so powerful Crux! The man who stepped into heaven with an army full of malicious intent, who challenged the almighty Gods and was able to kill three of them before he was sealed to the Cradle!” The individual raised his hands as his voice swooned over the name. He even clapped for himself a few times, as if grateful for his own showmanship.

“...who?” Jake still wasn’t understanding. He had never heard that name before, nor had he ever heard of that story. The only story he heard of that included the Heavens being attacked was the Fall of the Seraphim. Unless this individual was apart of that war? If he was, then why was he not included in the history book he had read? …unless the information had been covered up and the tale rewritten.

“...Hey, I’m the jester here. You don’t know who Crux is?” The individual in the throne grew serious, his green eyes staring harshly down at Jake. Certain that lying would get him no where, Jake honestly shook his head. The man sighed and slouched in his throne. “Where were you raised? In the slums?”

“No, the desert,” Jake rumbled in response.

“Oh, that makes sense. Those pitiful villages aren’t known for their intelligence,” the individual coughed and scratched at the side of his head. Jake felt his blood pressure spike and he shifted his feet slightly, readying himself to lunge up at the bastard if he had the opportunity.

“You asking for a fight?” Jake narrowed his eyes and reached for his daggers. Daggers that didn’t exist in this realm so his fingers closed around empty air.

“Even if I was, it would be impossible. You’re locked down there and I’m stuck up here.” The individual leaned forward and then plucked a stone from the floor. With a lazy toss, he threw it down the stairs and towards the pit. The stone reached the edge of the wall but went no further. It slapped into an invisible wall, causing the air to ripple as it repelled the rock. “No visitors allowed! Quite a shame, really. I would have loved to test you a bit.”

“If the stone didn’t make it, how did your curse?” Indeed- if the stone had been repelled, then it made little sense for why the individual had been able to curse Jake. Wouldn’t they be able to sling spells at each other then? Jake didn’t mind fighting at range without his swords. In fact, he welcomed the opportunity to torch someone who disrespected his entire village.

“The barrier is tuned to let curse magic pass. That way whenever they come to check on me, they can cast their curses from that side and never have to worry about coming to this side. Really convenient for them if you ask me. On top of that, my magic recovers so slowly that I still haven’t recovered from the last time you showed up. So I usually can only get one or two off before I’m out of luck, if I’m quick enough.” The individual sighed and leaned forward, placing his forearms on to his knees.

“So this Crux guy. He sealed you here?” Jake asked, trying to build some kind of context to what and where he was.

“Not specifically him, but his lackeys did. Yes,” the individual answered. Jake felt it odd to actually get an answer so he rolled with it.

“Why?” he asked. The individual chuckled.

“Well, now that is quite an expensive question! Knowing such an answer won’t cost you money, but it will cost you safety. He’ll come for you, you know.” The individual said from his throne, unmoving and eyes unwavering as he stared down toward Jake. Jake remained just as solid in his stare. Information was key to surviving, especially in the Ravine. If it was important, then he wanted it.

“I have a feeling he already is,” Jake muttered. The individual hummed loudly from his throne, his eyes slitting as he waited for a few moments, likely putting thoughts together and choosing his words.

“Because I know his secret. I know how to kill him,” the man chuckled. He leaned back in his throne and crossed one leg over the other. His arms lowered down onto the cushioned arms of the chair and his fingers dug into the fabric. “A certain blade, a certain spell, and a certain set of words. All scattered through the Overworld, lost in both time and the bellies of dungeons well beyond the reach of a common man. The blade has been dismantled and the spell page torn in two, but that was as far as he could get before he too was sealed away- to the Cradle.”

“I see why he locked you away, then. I would too if the way to kill me was as complicated as some dessert recipe and you knew how to make the cake.” Jake sighed and shook his head. Collecting all of that mess sounded complicated and he wasn’t a fan of complicated things. Going around on some kind of treasure hunt sounded beyond annoying.

“Well, me and a few others but they were all killed. I was the only one sealed away.” The individual shrugged.

“Sounds dumb to leave you alive,” Jake spat.

“He had no choice. I cursed him, and I’m the only one who can break that curse. Kill me, and he’ll be a runt forever!” The individual let out a loud, thunderous laugh as he once more stood up from his throne. “Or so I had thought when I placed it on him! If you are here and you say that he is coming for you, then I am led to believe that Crux might have found a way to defeat my curse. Which, honestly, wouldn’t surprise me.”

“I doubt that mess of things is the only way to kill this Crux guy. If he’s still alive, then you obviously weren’t successful in using it,” Jake huffed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

“No, we weren’t, and you might be right. We never got the chance to try.” The individual crossed his arms and straightened his back, causing it to pop a few times. “My friends and I defeated his army, killed his Generals, reached his throne. We were on the verge of victory when he made a deal with a Creature from Beyond. In exchange for a hundred years of darkness and emptiness, the Creature called forth a new Army of Darkness for us to deal with. This time, we lost. My friends died fighting and all I could do was curse Crux before being thrown into this pit. Everything after, I’m a bit fuzzy with.”

“Quite a lot of information, a lot that I’ve never heard of,” Jake raised an eyebrow and stared up at the individual warily. How was he to trust this kind of person? A person that cursed him during their first meeting? A person who wouldn’t even share their own name?

“Well, to be fair- you hadn’t even heard of Crux until now. If you knew all the other stuff then that would be kind of weird,” the man shrugged before plopping down into his throne cushion. He twisted his body sideways and kicked his feet over the arm of the chair, while his back braced against the other. “Anything else I can help you with? You’ve been here quite a while.”

“If that method of killing this Crux guy is important, then why share it? What if I’m on his side?” Sharing such crucial information was certainly dangerous. Not just for Jake, but for him too. While Jake didn’t know the key details that would help him actually find those dungeons and other locations for those items, just being aware of it all could prove crucial later on. In his travels, Jake might stumble into one of the items and though he may not know exactly what to do with it- he at least would know what it would be for.

“For one, I’m not sure if you’re on his side. This could all be a feint. If that’s the case, then I’ll be dead in less than five minutes.” The individual chuckled again, but only briefly. “But if you are not, then it wouldn’t hurt to ask you to keep an eye out for such things. Would it?”

“I’m not your messenger boy, and I’m not going on a treasure hunt,” Jake rumbled.

Just as he did, he felt the floor shift and his vision blurred. The boy lost his bearings and fell backward onto his backside. He looked around, eyes wide as the room began to distort and twist. The man in the throne let out a loud, burly laugh as he watched from his safe, distant place. The room wasn’t moving, but Jake certainly was.

“No, you might not be my messenger boy, but you certainly are theirs,” the man laughed. “Good luck out there, boy! You’re going to need it!”

Before Jake could say anything else, his eyes rolled into his head as he was pulled down into the sand. His vision blacked out and the sound of the man’s laughing faded until it was gone. A moment later, he was opening his eyes within the Ravine. Darius was leaning over him, a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. Jake’s eyes jerked open and he clamped his jaw shut to keep himself from grunting too loudly as he flinched to life.

“Easy there, kiddo,” Darius muttered softly as his hand retreated. “It’s time to go.”

Jake sat up off his mat and looked over to see Helena helping Lydia get ready to leave. Darius was already carrying his pack and he looked ready to move at any moment. Jake also noticed that a fire rune was now lit in the middle of the room, a room which had been expanded on and was sealed on all sides. It seemed that once her mana had recovered, Helena improved their living space. How long had he been asleep for?

“Give him a few minutes, Delmuth,” Helena said, reminding Darius that not everyone was capable of moving as quickly as he was. The Elf rolled his eyes and then made his way over towards a slightly different looking section of the wall. After closer inspection Jake could tell that was the exit into the tunnel. The way it failed to smoothly curve with the rest of the room, and the way the stones looked roughly placed gave it away.

“It’s fine.” Jake willed himself upright and he quickly went to work cleaning up his area. All he had out was his mat, so he rolled that up quickly and returned it to his pack. Then, he fetched his daggers and swiftly placed them on his hips. From his pack, Jake also snatched another ration cloth and plucked the sandwich from it. He would eat and walk to get his sustenance today.

By the time he was ready, so were the other two. Helena shattered the fire rune, prepared three light balls, and then collapsed the entrance to their protective space. Darius stepped out into the tunnel quickly, his hands at the ready to draw his blades should the need arise. Not seeing or hearing any Maedra, Darius waved the others out and they quickly set off down the tunnel, moving forward once more. As they did, Helena quickly cast Weight Reduction runes on their packs, except for Jake’s, but she was kind enough to give him an energy boost.

Darius’s stride was as long and hasty as always but after getting plenty of rest and being used to the Elf’s rhythm, Jake found it much easier to keep up. The weight of his pack was dragging less on his body now and Jake’s own stride had adapted to accommodate the heavy pack. His hips sat more squarely beneath him, each step was a bit stiffer, his back remained straight to support the weight, and Jake’s feet landed flatly to ensure the weight was evenly distributed across his step. The powerful stride he was learning helped increase his walking speed. Keeping up was far less draining now.

After his rest, walking wasn’t the only thing that became easier. They encountered Maedra not even eight-hundred meters away from their resting point. Darius and Jake traded packs for blades and lunged into the fray. Rejuvenated and ready to bleed the Maedra, the two were stalwart in their defense of Helena and Lydia at their backs. Rested, recovered, and sharp- Jake felt it much easier to move under pressure. The Maedra began to fall in heaps in front of him. A swift cut here. A parry there. A cut followed by a stab or another slash. A short flurry of strikes. A twist and a kick. Jake utilized a wide range of movements with his hands, hips, and legs to shred through the Maedra. He met their strength with grit teeth and a clear mind. He was better than them. The Maedra hit harder and were far more deadly when it came to size, but they were slow.

“We’re almost there,” Darius said after another fight. The horde this time was a bit larger than normal- fifty strong. However, the majority of the numbers were Juveniles. They were far too small to be a threat on their own but their Adult protectors were faster and more powerful.

“To where, Darius?” Jake asked again, wondering just when Darius would finally decide it was important to share their destination with him. The Elf wiped off his blades on his pants, sheathed them, and then grabbed his pack.

“A nest,” Darius said, throwing Jake a sidelong glance before powerfully stepping off towards the tunnel. Jake felt his jaw lock up and his stomach flipped. He felt every bit of courage fall out from under him and Jake lost his breath.

A nest? A Maedra nest? The boy could only imagine what that looked like…

“Come, Jake. We must hurry,” Helena stepped up to his side and nudged him towards his pack. The boy nodded and hurried to grab it. He threw it over his shoulders, then rushed to catch up to Darius. He ran up to the Elf’s hip and looked up at the taller man, a bit unnerved by Darius’s announcement.

“Isn’t this too dangerous for three people?” Jake asked, his eyes flicking between the tunnel and Darius. The smell of rot in the air became painfully more acute and Jake could practically taste it on his tongue. They were really, really deep in the Ravine now, and way too far away from anywhere remotely close to help. If they were in trouble there would be no saving them. They would all become food for the Maedra.

“Yep,” Darius said flatly. Jake’s eyes jerked open, surprised by the monotone answer.

“And we’re going anyways?” Jake asked. Darius nodded.

“Yep,” he repeated.

Jake’s stride slowed but his eyes remained on Darius, watching as the Elf confidently marched forward. Jake found it impossible to keep up now, the weight of the fear now pressing down on his shoulders. They were walking into a nest. A Maedra nest. Jake had never seen one before but just the sound of that wasn’t anything he wanted to come in contact with. Killing just a handful of Maedra was difficult, but an entire nest? That sounded beyond stupid. It sounded borderline impossible, especially with just three people.

As if picking up on Jake’s loss of enthusiasm, Darius stopped walking and looked over his shoulder. He spotted Jake’s ghastly expression and then turned sideways to better look at the boy.

“You want to kill the Maedra?” Darius said aloud. “You want to exterminate them?” He said with just as much authority. “Then you need to find the nests, and you need to kill the Maedra at their hearts. Kill the nest and you’ll bleed an entire region of the Ravine for a long, long time.”

“Is that where we’ve been going this entire time?” Jake asked, his voice far quieter than before.

“Yes. And we’re still going, with or without you.” After his sharp words, Darius turned away and continued down the tunnel. Jake stared at his back for a few moments until Helena appeared at his side.

“Come, Jake. The longer we delay, the more dangerous this area becomes.” Helena placed her hand gently on his shoulder, giving it a brief squeezed before she too carried on after Darius.

“Let’s go, Sword boy! It’s Maedra hunting season!” Lydia laughed, grinning and pumping her fists as she kept up with Helena.

Jake remained still, however, watching them as they continued to walk on without him. Bold and brave, the three of them pushed into the tunnel, willing to throw themselves into the very jaws of the Maedra in hopes of killing off one of the true hearts of the beasts. It sounded like suicide and Jake couldn’t fathom why Darius had come with only the four of them. Lydia especially, who was practically useless in combat. Helena’s magic wasn’t anything to sneeze at but it certainly wasn’t strong enough to wipe out an entire horde on its own. Darius was strong, but not that strong. Without his magic, Jake was practically fighting with one hand behind his back. Killing off a nest sounded a lot more difficult than fighting a cluster of Maedra in a tunnel. It sounded like there would be more than just twenty or thirty of the beasts.

While Jake was standing there, scared and thinking of how dumb it was- the light balls were beginning to fade. They truly had left him behind. Helena was committed to Darius’s foolery, and Lydia was going with the flow. Darius had given Jake the choice, but ultimately the group would carry on without him if necessary. Jake hadn’t believed him. The boy frowned and felt the pack tug heavily on his shoulders.

“Dammit…” he muttered. He grabbed the straps of his pack and picked up his feet, marching forward quickly in order to keep the light balls in sight. The tunnel closed in on him, its dark maw creeping in on the edges of his vision as he tried to pick up his pace. If he wanted to catch up now, he needed to practically double Darius’s pace, or he needed to wait for them to encounter Maedra. Well, that was the hope. The problem occurred not one-hundred meters later when the tunnel took a hard right and the lights went out. Jake clenched his teeth and found himself plunged into pitch blackness.

The boy stopped and felt his heart rate spike as the chill of the Ravine sank its teeth into his stomach. He couldn’t cast magic with the seal on his hip and without Helena, he was in the dark entirely. The boy immediately reached out to his right and eased over to the side of the tunnel. Once his hand touched stone, he opened his stride and powered onwards. He lowered his eyes to a slight angle ahead of himself and stared hard, looking for any changes in the dark to alert him of any stones or holes in the floor.

He marched on, keeping himself calm by focusing on his breathing and his steps. When the tunnel banked to the right, he glanced up and saw a shimmer of the light balls in the distance. They were faint but once more in sight. Jake maintained his pace, his eye level, and carried on. The floor tilted down into a descent and then hooked to the left. Another turn occurred, pulling him right and then he was walking down a slope again. When he reached the bottom, Jake looked up and saw that the light balls were stationary. Jake took the chance to catch up, opening his stride and pushing himself to hurry. As he approached, Lydia tugged on Helena’s pant leg. The mage whirled around and fired off a light ball down towards Jake, practically blinding him as it filled his vision.

“Oh, there you are,” Helena said almost bluntly. Jake frowned- did they even care?

“Thought you quit?” Darius called out from just behind Helena. His pack was on the floor and the Elf was digging through it.

“I did,” Jake spat. “But you put this stupid seal on me so I can’t really do much on my own in this place but die until you take it off.” Jake stepped into the illuminated space again and glared at Darius. “You really should take this off me if you’re going to fight a nest of Maedra.”

“Nope,” Darius said flatly, again. His expression unchanging as he stared into his equipment. Jake curled his hands into fists as he considered punching the back of the Elf’s skull in.

“Why not?” Jake seethed, trying his best to contain himself. Darius didn’t answer at first, as he was focused on digging for whatever he needed. A moment later, the Elf pulled free a large cylinder object. It was a glass container and in it a bright blue liquid flowed around a purple sphere. In the center of the sphere, a bright white spark reached out and struck at the outline of the sphere.

“Because we have this,” Darius said, wagging the object in front of Jake’s face. “This is a Cataclysm Canister, and it’s going to wipe out the nest for us. Or most of it, at least.”

“A what?” Jake’s eyes widened as he stared down at the object Darius was waving at him. Just looking at the thing made Jake uneasy. With that kind of name, he understood why.

“It’s a container of liquified mana. That spark in the middle is an igniter. Crack the sphere, and it will cause the mana to explode.” Helena explained from over Jake’s shoulder.

“So this is why you weren’t scared,” Jake mumbled. Darius nodded.

“I’m not that stupid, Jake. I wouldn’t walk into a fight I knew I couldn’t win,” Darius slid the canister into his belt and then closed up his pack. The Elf pulled his pack onto his shoulders and then waved the group to follow him further. “The nest is just ahead. Kill all the spheres except one.”

“Understood,” Helena nodded her head and did as told. With a wave of her hand and the drawing of two runes, two of the spheres blinked out of existence. The amount of light was cut down significantly.

“Jake, stay with Helena. Helena, you know the drill.” With that, Darius turned and stepped off down the tunnel.

“It sounds like you two have done this before,” Jake muttered.

“Four times,” Helena answered the suggested question with a smile. Jake clenched his jaw again and elected to quietly follow behind her this time.

Four times? That meant they had done this kind of thing four times before? Four long marches into the tunnel, slaughtering a countless number of Maedra? Four times carrying that canister? Four times destroying nests? That was an insane amount of effort, experience, and time. And for them to do it four, now five, times? Who were these people?

Darius led them down the tunnel for almost another two hundred meters before it suddenly jutted upwards. When Jake closed in on the sharp slope, he was immediately hit with the absolute most foul stench he had ever laid his nose on. The mix of rotting flesh and melted meat hit his nose. The raw smell of decomposition overpowered his senses, causing him to recoil. The smell was quickly followed by gurgling noises, howls, and rumbles. Noises of Maedra, a lot of Maedra, echoing and ringing through the tunnel’s walls.

Jake looked up and willed himself forward, not wanting to fall behind again, and watched as Darius eased over the crest of the slope. The Elf knelt down and held out a hand. At the hand signal, Helena and Lydia both stopped still. They similarly knelt to the floor and Helena snuffed out the last light ball. Darius smoothly slid his pack off his back and then signaled for the others to do the same. Helena and Lydia followed instructions and quietly set their packs down off to the right. Jake followed them, doing the same. When Jake looked up for Darius again, the Elf was gone.

The boy didn’t like that but Helena was waiting patiently so he would too. Lydia, someone Jake thought was useless, began to scribble down on a small piece of paper. Jake peered over her shoulder and watched as the Halfling drew out a large Sigil on the paper. It was three-layered and complex, and the Words of Power were in Seraphym. The lines were jagged and rough but they were drawn that way almost on purpose.

“Done,” Lydia said in a whisper. She leaned away from her paper and then passed it over to Helena. Helena took the paper, looked over the sigil, and then nodded.

“Good job, Lydia.” Helena smiled and then leaned over to give Lydia a kiss on the top of her head. Lydia smiled brightly and beamed with joy. If she were a dog, her tail would be wagging.

As Lydia finished, Darius reappeared at the top of the slope. He whistled sharply for their attention and then waved them up. Helena and Lydia led the way, with Jake on their heels. It was time, it seemed. Jake gripped his daggers and took in a few long, deep breaths. He felt off, wrong. He felt like he was going to vomit at any moment but not because of the powerful smell. He was nervous, scared. Terrified. Fighting the Maedra was one thing but he could only describe what they were about to do as reckless. All he could do was trust Darius and Helena, and even Lydia. If Helena wasn’t lying, then they had done this before.

He would need to trust that this time would go no differently than the other times. And if things went bad, he would need to trust in his training and believe that they would be fine.