He groggily opened his eyes. His body seemed unnatural. It felt as if he had only just been born without knowing how to move.

How did I get here?  All I remember is hitting my head on that stupid tree.

 Looking around, he observed the large room, built of stone, designed intricately. It felt ancient, the type built for a king’s burial. In the center of the room, he saw a massive, ancient-looking statue. There was moss growing out of the cracks in the statue. It resembled a knight of a past age, one whose armor had gone brown with rust. 

“What is this place? Is this Hades’s palace? The House of Hades?”

He looked around, expecting Death to welcome him to the Underworld, yet his expectations were crushed.

Nothing… Absolutely nothing… What should I do? How do I get out of here?

He walked toward the statue, visibly in fear with a hint of confusion, noticing the engraving on the foot of the statue, written in a language he had never seen, yet he could somehow understand. 

Morighaan… Keeper of the Gate of Mortality…

He heard repetitive taps getting louder and louder, like a ticking time bomb. Almost as if he grew closer, something detrimental would happen. Then, from afar, he sees a group. 1, 2, 3, 4 People are running towards him. All it took was one blink, and they were here, restricting his movement and pulling him backwards. His thoughts stopped working, the gears went cold.

What am I doing, where am I? Who are these people?

While Tim was still struggling, these people weren’t. They were strong, almost too strong. They grabbed Tim with one hand and bolted away from the statue.

“That was close. How did a human even get here?”

Human?!

Now that they were closer, he could clearly see that they looked slightly translucent, like a ghost or spirit, while giving off a scent of energy, just like how his brother always smelled.

“Who are you guys? What are you guys doing to me?”  

“Kid, don’t get the wrong idea; we know this place better than anyone. But I will say this once, and once only. Don’t go near that damn statue ever again. ”

Yeah, right, what is the worst that could happ–

And before he could finish that thought, another member spoke.

“He killed two of us. Slaughtered us like chickens. We were dust compared to him. The pressure and fear he casts on you as soon as you–”

Now that he pointed it out, he saw blood painted on the sword tucked away on the knight's waist.

“Hey! Shut up, will ya? You're scaring the living shit out of the child! Calm down!” 

The largest spoke, then the smallest.

“We’re from a world called Kandhaar, and we came to this cursed place through that breach.”

He pointed to a large opening that appeared to float in the air.

“Let's move. No time to dwell on the past. We must live, even without them. Let's go to Kandhaar.”

Stepping through the breach, he felt completely different, like a weight had been lifted off of him. He felt lighter, faster, and stronger. The travel almost made him throw up. They appeared in the middle of a large forest, with a small camp and a large wagon and cart with goods set up and ready to leave.

“Get on the cart, we’re going to the market.”

He opened his mouth to ask what the market was and who they were, before being cut off by the oldest person. Observing the itch of curiosity in his eyes, he spoke.

“We just saved your life, kid, the least you could do is not ask questions.

He hopped on the cart and sat next to a sleeping, young girl who seemed to be his age. She looked at him groggily before falling back asleep. With his body still aching from his injuries, he blacked out as soon as he sat down, his muscles relaxing and his short stature melting into the cart.