The Realm of the Forgotten: The Path to the Abyss

 

The Realm of the Forgotten: The Path to the Abyss

The creature loomed before them, its massive form shifting and writhing in the swirling mists of the barren landscape. Its fiery eyes glowed ominously, a piercing orange light that cut through the violet dusk like molten metal. The creature’s presence seemed to warp the very air around it, distorting reality itself as if the laws of nature bent to its will. Its voice was like a thunderclap, deep and rumbling, reverberating through the ground beneath their feet.

"Welcome, travelers, to the land of the forgotten," it intoned, its voice both terrifying and indifferent. "You stand at the threshold of your doom. You, who sought to escape the inevitable, who believed you could escape the cycle of suffering and death that binds your kind to this world. I am the keeper of the threshold, the guardian of the rift that separates this world from what lies beyond."

Haplo felt a chill run through him as the creature’s words sank in. He gripped his staff tighter, his knuckles white. He wasn’t sure whether it was the creature’s power, its sheer presence, or the sense of finality in its voice that made his heart race, but he felt it deep in his bones. This was no mere being; it was something ancient, something beyond even the Death Gate itself.

"You have crossed the line, mage," the creature continued, its eyes narrowing as it fixed its gaze on Haplo. "You and your race have brought ruin upon yourselves. Your world is a shattered reflection of what it once was, and now you will pay the price for your transgressions. The Death Gate was not meant to grant you salvation. It was never meant to offer a way out. No. It was a means to cast your kind into the void, to separate you from the world you destroyed."

Haplo’s throat tightened, and he forced himself to speak. "You can’t do this. You can’t—"

The creature’s laugh was like the sound of a thousand chains dragging across the ground, a cacophony of metal and agony. "Oh, but I can, mage. I can do much more than that. I am not just the guardian of the rift. I am its keeper, its warden. And I will serve as the barrier between your world and the next. You, your race, and everything you once knew will be cast into the abyss. There, you will remain, forgotten and forsaken, while the world you destroyed continues its slow spiral into oblivion."

The weight of its words hit Haplo like a physical blow. His legs felt weak beneath him, and for a moment, he thought he might collapse. Destiny stood beside him, her hand still clasped around his, her expression a mixture of fear and defiance. She wasn’t giving up—not without a fight. Neither of them was.

"You won’t get away with this," Haplo growled, his voice filled with a burning determination. "We may be trapped here, but we will find a way out. We’ll find a way to restore the world. You won’t be able to stop us."

The creature’s fiery gaze flickered, and a low rumble of amusement passed through it. "You misunderstand. It is not about stopping you, mage. It is about ensuring that you and your kind never return. The world you once knew is no more. It is beyond saving. And you will serve as a reminder to those who dare to cross the threshold. A warning to others who would think to play with the forces of the Death Gate."

With a sudden, violent movement, the creature raised one massive arm, its fingers curling into a clawed fist. The ground trembled beneath them, and a gust of wind whipped through the air, sending dust and debris swirling around them. A flash of light erupted from the creature’s outstretched hand, and a rift tore open in the sky above them.

Haplo felt a pull—like a magnet drawing him in. The very air around him seemed to warp, to twist, as though reality itself were unraveling. He staggered backward, trying to hold his ground, but the force was too great. The world around him began to fade, the ground beneath his feet crumbling away. The swirling, fiery eyes of the creature locked onto him, its voice booming one last time.

"You are already lost," it said, its voice reverberating in the very marrow of his bones. "You will be cast into the depths, to be forgotten by time, your existence erased from all that was."

And then, with a final surge of power, the creature’s form seemed to dissolve into the air itself. The rift above them widened, and Haplo felt himself and Destiny being pulled, sucked into the vortex that now dominated the sky. The last thing he saw before the world around him went dark was the creature’s glowing eyes, burning with the certainty of their fate.

---

When Haplo opened his eyes again, the world had changed. Gone were the swirling mists and violet skies. Gone were the jagged, barren rocks. Instead, they found themselves standing on a vast, desolate plain, the ground beneath their feet cracked and scorched as though it had been burned by an unseen fire. The sky above them was a dull gray, stretched thin and lifeless, with no sun to give it warmth. The air felt heavy, as if the weight of the world itself had pressed down on them.

Destiny staggered beside him, her hand still gripping his. She looked around, confusion and fear written on her face. "Where are we?" she whispered, her voice hoarse, as if she had been speaking in a dream.

"I don’t know," Haplo replied, his voice strained. He looked around, trying to make sense of their surroundings. The land stretched on for miles, a barren wasteland devoid of life. There was no sign of civilization, no hint of anything that could offer them a way out. It was as if they had been cast into a forgotten corner of the universe, a place untouched by time or history.

"This place..." Haplo’s voice trailed off as he stepped forward, his foot crunching against the dry earth beneath him. "It’s... it’s like it’s been abandoned."

Destiny’s expression darkened as she looked around, her brow furrowing. "Do you think this is where the creature sent us?"

Haplo nodded grimly. "It has to be. This is the place he mentioned—the realm of the forgotten. The place where everything is cast away and left to rot."

A deep, bone-chilling silence hung in the air. No wind, no sound, nothing to indicate that they were not alone. Haplo’s hand instinctively went to his staff, his fingers brushing against the cold runes carved into its surface. The magic within the staff pulsed weakly, but there was something different about it here—distant, muted, as though the energy of this place resisted any attempts to wield it.

Destiny stepped closer to him, her eyes scanning the horizon. "We need to find a way out of here. We can’t stay in this place."

Haplo nodded. "We will. But we need to be careful. This place—it’s not just empty. There’s something here. Something waiting for us."

As they began to walk across the barren plain, Haplo couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched. Every step they took felt heavier, as though the ground itself was trying to hold them back. And in the distance, in the swirling gray sky above them, there seemed to be shapes moving—shadows flickering just at the edge of his vision. But whenever he turned to look, they were gone.

"I don’t like this," Destiny said quietly, her voice filled with unease. "It’s like we’re not supposed to be here."

"We’re not," Haplo replied. "But we don’t have a choice. We need to find a way to reverse the rift, to get back to our world. If we don’t—"

His voice trailed off as they approached what appeared to be a massive structure in the distance—an enormous tower, blackened and twisted, rising from the wasteland like a broken spine. It was unlike anything Haplo had ever seen, a monument to something long forgotten, its surface covered in strange, glowing symbols that pulsed with an eerie light.

"That’s our goal," Haplo said, his voice determined. "We make our way to that tower. It’s the only sign of life we’ve seen."

And so, with no other choice but to move forward, Haplo and Destiny set off toward the tower, their hearts heavy with the knowledge that the path ahead was uncertain, and their journey through the realm of the forgotten was only just beginning.