Prologue 

                                                                                Valerius

                                                                                  Part i 

The unforgiving winter gales gush lashed against the ship, each gust more vicious than the one before, threatening to tear the ship asunder. The waves, like starving beasts, rose and crashed upon us with unforgiving fury. With each rise and fall of the ship, I struggled to hold my footing, on the slick, rain-soaked deck.  

“KEEP HOLD OF THE SHROUDS!!” The captain roared through the storm. Unfazed as ever. 

I held the ropes and pulled with all my might; The violent tempest whipped my hair into a frenzy mess.  The frigid spray of rain assaulted my face, stinging like icy needles, while the bitter cold gnawed at my very core. A constant reminder of the inhospitable nature of our surroundings.  

The ship groaned and creaked under the strain, as if pleading for mercy. The wooden planks quivered beneath my feet, and the sickening sound of splintering timber resonated through the hull, a haunting reminder of our fragile existence in this watery abyss. The ship was a mere toy, tossed about at the whim of the tempestuous gods.  

The biting cold clawed at my exposed fingers. Eleanor, I am sorry, but it looks like daddy will not be coming home this time. 

As lightning illuminated the sky, casting an ethereal glow upon the churning waters, through the blinding snow and monstrous waves, I saw salvation. It stood so proud and alone. I did not question why the sun shone solely on that area.  

“LAND HO!” I screamed with the little energy left within me, but thankfully the captain was within earshot and did not hesitate to change the route.  

Finally, after what seemed eternity, we landed the wounded battleship on the coast. We dropped the anchor with a deafening crush, the heavy chain rattling my bones. The exhausted crew had no energy to even get off the ship. But their persistence was second to none, for we are returning to meet our families after years on battlefield. Belwakin was no longer a threat. We won the war. The Western Union had failed. We were now in unknown territory, showing hostility to us would mean making enemies of the victors of the Great War. Stepping into the unknown territory, the sand beneath my boot, frost covered and unforgiving cut into my feet like shards of glass. 

What? Ice? But I saw the sun in its majestic beauty. Was it a mere mirage? 

“Look!” William pointed to the sky. I wasn’t wrong. The sun did shine. But not here. It shone somewhere far, but surely on this island. The winters were cruel this lunar year. The world had slumbered beneath a shroud of darkness for a half the lunar year. The sun’s absence, and with the ravaging war had cast a palpable weight upon the continent, plunging it into a monochrome world. But there it was. A kaleidoscope of colors awakened right in front of us. And there was no way we were going to miss it. Without any questions asked, we moved towards our doom.  

A bewildering site greeted us as soon as we entered the forest. Right after the first layer of the outer forest, the blanket of snow ended, a hue of amber, crimson and gold greeted me. A golden landscape greeted us with a breathtaking panorama of Autumn trees. Naturally, it disordered all of us. 

“By Shuar’s mercy, what phenomenon is this?” the captain asked.  

We continued to walk under the golden clouds, the gentle rustle of fallen foliage underfoot provided a comforting sound.  

“What is that?” Shuekh pointed at a sphere of dark green and blue together. It lay on the ground, but looking at everyone’s expression, no one recognized it. It was surely not a rock, nor was it a fruit. But Shuekh was curious. He stepped forward and stretched his shaking hands, weakened due to sleep deprivation, Well it wasn’t only him that was sleep deprived.  
“It’s slimy,” He said as he slid his hands on the unfamiliar object. He turned to us and continued, “You reckon we can eat this?” 
“Don’t be an idiot, it can be poisonous.” The captain scoffed. 
“SHUEKH GET BACK!” I demanded. The slime grew legs, like that of an ant, but bigger. It crawled onto Shuekh’s hand towards his shoulder. 
“Get it off of me! Get it off of me!” 
“Hold still” I unsheathed my dagger, hoping to kill it with one stab, but it didn’t stand still. While Shuekh panicked in front of us, the slime jumped onto his face and pushed him to the ground. He let out an anguished scream of pain that erupted from the depths of his lungs, shattering the stillness of the surroundings. Everyone on the crew unsheathed their swords. A Crimson torrent erupted from beneath the slime. The once pale skin of a sailor now vivid with scarlet blood that also spurt out which only served as a reminder of mortality.  

And then it ended. There were no screams anymore. The body lay on the ground as all the others looked in disbelief, after all the blood that gushed out of the body, stood tall in front of us. Still. Silent. The slime fell down onto the ground. With a chilling autonomy, Shuekh surged forward, his body moving with unnatural fluidity and purpose. There was something like crystals where his eyes were supposed to be. He did not speak. He did not wait to fix his footing on the ground, it was just animosity. I could smell his hunger to devour. That was not the Shuekh who strategically charged into battle was like. It was as if his very essence was usurped. It was as if his very mind was ousted. I pointed my sword. He was fast, but he was clumsy. He couldn’t catch me even if he wanted to. The crystals had clearly barred him from vision. 
Another gut-wrenching scream came from behind me.  
“Solomon!” Solomon stood still as the slime fell off his scarlet-painted face. He mimicked Shuekh’s “actions”. 
No no no no no no. I can’t kill Solomon. I can’t kill Shuekh. After all, we’ve been through. My brother in arms. I ran. The captain, Obaid, William, and others were behind me. We ran towards the area where the sun shone. But it didn’t matter how fast we ran. Solomon was the laziest among us. But somehow, he was keeping up with Obaid. Solomon dashed towards Obaid and tackled him. Blood sprayed in the air. I couldn’t look. I ran. I just ran. I didn’t care anymore. I ran. But instinct told me to run towards where the sun shone. But guts disagreed.  

Soon, without noticing I was running under the scorching sun. I looked behind just to see how alone I was.  
“WILLIAM!” I called out, panting. But it was as quiet as a church. “CAPTAIN! OBAID!”. But it was all the same. 
But, I wasn’t alone. I noticed figures standing by the boundary between where the sunrays landed upon the green grass. I wasn’t sure if it was right to call them humans anymore. To be precise, it was the crew. All of them. Obaid, Shuekh, Captain, William, and the rest of the crew. Growling. But something seemed wrong. It was as if they were afraid of taking the next step. Although I couldn’t see their eyes anymore, I couldn’t feel their gaze. They were afraid of something greater than me. But hunger and fatigue took the best of me. I rotated on my heels to see a hill.  

Under the scorching midday sun, I pressed forward. The grass was ablaze by the intense sunlight as if nature had this spot for something extraordinary. Not a tree to be seen under the sunlight. All the grass was evenly trimmed.  
I ascended the sunbaked hill, and each step felt like a heavy burden, With each step, my chest heaved. Alas, when I was on top of the hill I did something strange. Stranger than anything I have seen in the past hour.  

At the center of the meadow before me, stood a colossal wall of epic proportions. But what attracted me even more was the river beside the wall. I heaved another step before I slipped and rolled down the hill to the foothill. Using the last of my strength I ran towards the river and dashed into the shallow river. It was cold. My hands trembled as I cupped my hands and dipped them in the cool river. The first few gulps were almost euphoric. But I slowly drank. I savored each sip. To allow myself to be hydrated. It was almost rejuvenating. 

I lay by the riverbed and took a deep breath as I looked at the sky. This isn’t a dream, is it. I had to find a way back to Eleanor. I pushed the ground beneath me and stood up. I walked towards the giant wall that stood tall and proud. It was made of obsidian, pitch black. Its surface gleamed with otherworldly sheen. It was adorned with patterns. Intricate shapes and writings that I did not understand. And I was a scholar before I was drafted into the war. Seeing writings and patterns I did not understand awakened the inner scholarly curiosity within me. The wall also consisted of intricate motifs. It seemed to be an ageless craftmanship. I turned to the other side of the wall, where I found something astonishing. There were handles. Door handles.  
It was a door. 
It didn’t make sense. Although the patterns and the motifs were ditto on both sides, it was a door on only one side. I sat underneath the immovable sun. I had been there for at least four solar hours, and the sun hadn’t moved. It was peculiar. But it was either the forest filled with former crew members or this gate. Fear told me to choose the latter.  

Taking a deep breath, I stretched out my arm and grazed the patterns. I held onto the handles and pulled. It did not move. Now I pushed inwards. The door mechanism started to creak and whirl. As the gate opened wider, a mysterious wind rushed from the other side, carrying the ancient scent of forgotten lands. As soon it was wide enough for me to enter, I stopped pushing any further. It was strange in any way possible. I stepped back and turned to look at the back of the gate. There was no gate, but a simple wall filled with ageless carvings. But on the other side of the door was a dark tunnel.  

I plucked courage from the depths of my body and took a heavy breath before stepping in. As I stepped on the quartz floor, the tunnel was lit with torches. The walls were decorated with lit torches, and it led to somewhere I could not see from the entrance. But this was the only way right now. Logic did not apply any longer. I plucked one of the torches from the wall and started to walk through this corridor to an unknown destination, hopefully back to the accursed world. 

The torchlight flickered, casting my shadow on the ancient walls as ventured into this never-ending corridor. The air was heavy with the scent of antiquity. Every step seemed to echo through the ages. I brushed my hand through the walls with intricate patterns that I did not understand.  

Finally, the distance between me and the end of how far the light illuminated closed, as the light bounced back off a giant, yet another gate. Infront of me stood a massive gate, its surface adorned with the same symbols as the one at the other end of the corridor. The gate radiated a faint hum of ancient, otherworldly energy, sending shivers down my spine.  

I pushed open the gate, revealing a room full of darkness. It was strange, the light from the torch did not spread any further. All my instincts told me to turn away. I took a deep breath and stepped into the unknown territory. As I took my first step, the torch waved its farewell flare before spluttering out, leaving me in the dark threshold. A ray of light peaked through the cracks in the ceiling which dimly lit the room. My eyes adjusted to the dimness of the light, but soon I was able to navigate through the chamber. I could see the intricated carvings and patterns on the flood in the middle of the chamber in a circular manner, surrounded by pillars, each etched with their own carvings. Each of them was different, each of them had their own story to tell. 

"Human?" a voice echoed through the chamber. I turned on my heels to locate the source of the mysterious voice. From the shadows emerged a figure, covered in clad of ancient robe.