Chapter 2: Ruins of Light.

  Before a broken tree, a man sat still. Around him spreads a decayed forest, accompanied with the sound of death.

  His head hanging low and his arm broken, the man smelled of filth as he scanned the forest.

  Crack

  The sound of broken twig, too soft to normally hear, however, in this damned forest, no sound rang truer.

  The man slowly turned his head towards the source, there he saw a bear, or well, what is left of one.

  Standing in three feet and emitting the smell of death, the bear is long dead, only moving with the curse of the crimson moon.

  A world without death, only eternal undeath. The world that the Lady of Darkness has blessed them.

  The man pointed his hand towards the living corpse, and for a moment, his visage burst in flames and revealed a face of a familiar old man.

  Crimson flames converged to his fingertip, denser and denser, the flames continued to compress, eventually taking the form of an arrow.

  With a silent breath, the man released an arrow of flame, Blazing through the dead forest, the arrow hit its mark, piercing the bear and engulfing it in crimson flames.

  RAAAAAAA

  The beast screamed as flames enveloped it. Its white fur now burned bright, the bear stared at the man with eyes filled with rage.

  Leaping towards him, the beast charged. Its huge blazing form dashed towards the man like a meteor, intending to burn the man with him.

  Taking a deep breath, the man tried to stand up. However, his legs betrayed him, too weak and feeble, a given since he has spent too much time in this damned forest.

  Therefore the man used his hands.

  Channeling crimson flames to his fingertips. The man's face flickered with yellow light, momentarily revealing a bearded man.

  As the bear charges, the crimson flames changed its shape, taking form into a longsword.

  Seeing this. The bear tried to halt itself, but with the force it was going, it could not escape the fate of being pierced.

  The beast tried to struggle. The blazing blade has burned its heart. After a moment, the beast gazed at the man, its eyes showing not signs of pain, but rather, peace.

  Holding the bear, the man stared at its eye as he twisted the sword, ending the bear’s suffering.

  The man, Haze Worth, let go of the animal, his legs weak and his energy low, even so, his crimson eyes glowed with yellow hue, a small flame of his desperation. Kneeling before the creature, the man dispelled the flames, revealing the charred carcass of the beast.

  “.....” The man opened his mouth and tried to offer his respect, only for sharp pain to remind him of how dry it is. Therefore the man bowed his head to the beast.

  Grabbing its charred leg, Haze pulled it, the sickening smell of death becoming stronger as he did.

  The meat of the beast was white, too white, a trait that those who were cursed by the Lady’s moon possess.

  It has been three days since his narrow escape, and this is the first time he found something barely edible. So Haze took a bite of the vile, tasteless meat, made worse by the smell of death.

  Even as the repulsive taste envelops his mouth, Haze continues to eat, too weak to even be disgusted by it.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Haze devoured flesh, skin, bone. He ate it all, for the heir of Worth wastes nothing. As he ate, he thought of the reason he's here in the first place.

  The Dark Willow forest is not a place any sane man would go in. Heavens, even the insane would think twice. It is a place of disease, rot, and nightmares.

  Many had tried to research this place, and while most ended up learning nothing, there is one fact that everybody accepts. This forest is unnatural, with some documents suggesting that it originated thousands of years ago due to unknown cause.

  Theories has it that a war happened here, some also believe that it was a result of forbidden magic, or beings outside this dimension.

  Nonsense, of course. With food finally in his stomach. Haze can now think straight as he surveyed his surroundings.

  However, it is true that something was cast here, a spell that's King-Class at least. Haze shuddered as he thought of the woman that hunted him a few days back. For some reason, the chase has stopped, but Haze did not let his guard down.

  She was, after all, an Elemental King. A being who can control her element like no mortal can.

  Anyway, I need to find that man. The situation is dire. Thankfully, his father has plenty of allies. Somewhere in this woods, a friend of his father should reside.

  Losing himself to his sea of thoughts, Haze kept eating until there was none left.

  After the ‘feast’, Haze crawled to a nearby tree. As he laid his back on it, a mysterious warmth enveloped him, too faint to notice, yet it existed. With this and his filled stomach, sleep took him quickly.

  *****

  Light razed the world.

  Haze awoke, yet his eyes cannot be opened, oppressive heat engulfed him, far greater than the flames he wielded.

  Scathing heat pierced his eyelids, yet with all his willpower, Haze forced his eye open, and what he beheld was a land both known and foreign to him.

  Farther than the horizon, a vast sea of flames envelopes everything, a desert that blazed in gold. Haze knew of this place, a tale told to him by his father, shared by the Duke to them .

  The land of Hell. Where the damned burned for eternity, a land where gods die.

  Haze moved his feet, a soft crunch can be heard with every step. Curios, Haze placed his hand towards the ground, grabbing a handful of the blazing land.

  Under the fiery sea, golden sand can be found. Shining brighter than any jewelry, yet as abundant as the air.

  Letting the sand fall back to the land, Haze stared far towards the horizon, his body slowly accepting the heat.

  As he walked in the sea of golden flames, Haze’s eye caught a silhouette, a tower that stood tall above the golden sea.

  He walked towards it, one step, two steps, a hundred steps. He walked far, however, the tower remained distant, simply out of grasp.

  Unrelenting, Haze walked towards it, the scorching heat slowly became a gentle warmth, giving him strength to move forward.

  With every step, Haze slowly became one with the flames. His skin began to burn, his bones melting to the soothing warmth.

  Haze felt no pain, only purpose.

  After a long journey, Haze arrived before the tower–an obelisk that stood alone atop the hellish plane.

  The structure is seemingly made of the same golden sand, adorned with nothing but a carving of an eight pointed eye in its peak. He gazed upon it, a strange wonder, here in a strange world.

  Haze raised his hand, only to see nothing but flames. Flames on where his hand should be, flames on where everything should be.

  He paused in surprise, a harrowing realization dawning on him.

  He has become one with this plane.

  One with Hell.

  A chill ran down his now-blazing spine, Haze, on impulse, looked up towards the obelisk.

  There he saw the carving of the eye, however, where there was once a single eye, now from the bottom to its peak, eight pointed eyes covered it, dozens of carved circles , all of it gazing upon him.

  Time stood still, Haze stared at the obelisk, his eyes unable to break contact with the tower of eyes.

  Crack

  The obelisk suddenly moved, the carvings began to slowly detach from the golden tower. Quaking, the tower started to show fissures, the stone slowly splitting as if something was trying to escape from within.

  Haze stood still, his body unresponsive as the obelisk broke into a thousand pieces.

  Or it should be.

  Flames began to move towards the obelisk, a sea of gilded fire surging, intending to engulf whatever it is within it.

  Seeing this, Haze finally regained his senses. His first instinct is to run, as far as possible, to be anywhere but this place.

  He turns around and moves his feet.

  However,

  He can't. His body is rejecting his order. No, rather, the flames do. He's nothing but one with the sea now, and like the blazing waves, his body followed the current.

  Towards the obelisk

  Remember

  As he became one with the wave, a distorted voice spoke to him, a voice full of apathy. A voice that spoke nothing but the truth.

  Before Haze could realize its meaning, he reached the obelisk. Where Haze became the tower, and the tower became him.

  The Tower behind Sol.

  *****

  Within the ebony castle blanketed in crimson glow. Leah walked in the dim hallways, each step echoing its pleasant rhythm. Beside her was Stix, his steps silent.

  Arriving before a giant door, Leah marvelled at its beauty. Engraved upon the ancient door is history long forgotten, a depiction of a battlefield under the gaze of a star.

  “I have arrived.” Leah spoke. Stix then walked towards the door and touched it. As his hand made contact, the door shone in red. Slowly, the sound of gears began to sound. Steady and repetitive, the sound of cogs began to resound throughout the hallways. The door then opened, revealing an empty throne.

  Leah walked in while Stix remained outside. As the door slowly began to close, Leah gave Stix a look of questioning as she wondered why Stix remained outside.

  Noticing this, Stix moved his mouth, speaking without sound, yet its meaning couldn't be louder.

  You're the late one, not me

  The already dim halls began to darken as Leah's eyes slowly widened. Lightly clicking her tongue, she cursed him in her mind as the door closed.

  “Traitor.” Leah mumbled as she focused his attention towards the empty throne. Holding the hem of her black dress, Leah curtsies.

  “Greetings, my Lady. you called?”