Soon Valen walked toward the Great Abyss, passing places that once held meaning for him. He stopped at the Hill of Emptiness where his parents' bones rested. The wind carried the hushed whispers of dry leaf's, and the sun cast its pale glow upon the runes carved into the stones, worn by time. This was where he always came to release the pain eating his heart.
"Mother… Father…" he whispered, stepping closer. "Soon, I will learn who killed my brothers and sisters."
He said while placing a hand on the graves.
With a quiet rasp, he unsheathed a dagger with a silver blade. Sun light flickered along its edge as he raised it over his palm. Drawing a breath, he uttered the ancient prayer of his clan
"Syt tej agord… mja ty nime prowd…"
The blade sliced through his flesh, and dark blood trickled onto the barren earth.
"Dear Mother, dear Father… I offer you my blood…"
Tap… tap… tap… tap...
Drops struck the stone, their sound swallowed by the silence. Valen closed his eyes. He waited.
But no answer came.
He opened his eyes, wiping the blood away. Tearing the hem of his cloak, he wrapped his wound and rose. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword as he lifted it toward the sky, as if waiting for a sign. But the wind remained silent, granting him no solace. At last, he sheathed his blade and turned away, stepping toward the cliff's edge.
The tunnel below called him into the darkness...
Descending from the cliff, he heard a voice a whisper carried by the wind, unfamiliar yet strangely recognizable.
Val halted and glanced over his shoulder. She was there. Again. A chill ran down his spine, just like the day he had visited his old home. Death. This time, she said nothing. She merely stood still before turning toward him and vanishing. Her golden eyes, once radiant, now seemed...empty, stripped of their former light, as if someone or something had stolen the last traces of warmth from them....
Val exhaled sharply and pressed forward. Only one destination mattered now The Greatest Abyss.... More precisely, the Northern Desert, where rumors spoke of a small town called Rekka. Perhaps it still stood. Or perhaps only ruins remained. In the Abyss, time flowed differently. What existed yesterday might already be nothing more than dust, scattered by the wind....
A minute passed. Maybe three or even four.
Val had reached his destination the tunnel before the Abyss. A sudden gust of wind howled through the desolate expanse, carrying with it an ominous weight, as if something unseen was approaching.
Wshhhhhh
He shielded his face as the wind lashed against him, grains of sand stinging his eyes, as though the very abyss itself asked him to turn back.
He stepped forward. There was no return now.
The moment he entered the tunnel, the darkness consumed him. It was vast, oppressive like standing at the heart of the Abyss itself. Time distorted here. Minutes stretched into eternity. A single step felt like an endless journey. Though he had barely walked thirty meters, it seemed as though he had crossed an immeasurable chasm. Another twenty meters, and he reached something unnatural an undulating wall of shifting purple and green light, rippling like liquid disturbed by an unseen force.
He paused....Ate a single meatball. Drank the mana potion Luca had gifted him. Then, without hesitation, he stepped through the shimmering veil.
Laughter greeted him. Whispers, broken and scattered.
"Turn back."
"We don't want you here."
The voices wove through the air, snickering between their warnings. Then light. At first distant, then rushing toward him with malevolent intent.
A lizard with a crystal on his back.
Val's grip tightened around his sword Crimson. He swung, but before the blade could strike, it absorbed the creature's mana as if siphoning life itself. The lizard shrieked and withered into nothing.
Stunned, Val stared at his weapon.
"Since when could you do that?" he muttered.
The sword didn't answer. But for the briefest moment, it pulsed with a faint green glow.
Val exhaled and narrowed his eyes.
"Orlen… is there something you didn't tell me about that crystal you forged into this blade?"
He whispered to himself as he pressed forward, sword still drawn, ready for whatever lurked beyond the light...