Bark! Bark! “Quiet down Metis…” Cassius rubbed his eyes as he wearily got up. “I’ve got to find a better spot to sleep.” The hard stone floor was not pleasant on his back. Cassius, like the day prior, left the cave with Metis to explore near the lake. On his way he looked down at his hands. The creature meat worked wonders, but those cuts would probably leave a scar. However, to his dismay his hand looked like it had never even been touched.

Upon making it to the familiar fire near the shore, he was stumped for the second time.“What the hell is happening!” Once again, his fire was completely fine. Not only that, the corpse of the deer creature was gone. There was no trace of them even dragging it there. Things were too neat, and things kept on disappearing.

“Something is wrong with these mountains…” Dread rose up from his stomach as he beheld the grand mountains. While at first they were awe-inspiring, they had taken on a sinister undertone. He decided to leave the mystery alone for now, and focus on the necessities. After taking a few minutes to consider his options, Cassius decided to trace around the lake. If his friends were to be anywhere they would be along the shoreline.

“Come on Metis, we’ve got some people to find.” Metis followed happily along, with its tail whipping from side to side. Along the way they even saw the same deer-like creature they had killed the day prior. “It could just be another of its species, but I have a strange suspicion that it's the one from yesterday.” The fox paid no heed to Cassius, just staring mindlessly with drool dripping down its mouth. Cassius sighed aloud, “C’mon you doofus, let’s keep going.”

“This lake really is huge!” The lake had stretched for kilometers now, and still there was no stop to it. After a few more kilometers they finally stumbled upon something. A boat with a dark wooden hull, big enough for maybe six people. It looked aged, with bits of wood rotting and discoloration all along the rowboat. It had one oar on each side, and both seemed to be in working order.

The boat was perched upon some rocks. “Somehow this thing got beached. Probably that horrid wind…” It would make sense that the boat would get stuck on rocks on the shore considering how bad the wind at night was. He looked over the boat before noticing an inscription on the side of it. In fact, it had a faint golden hue. Cassius’s curiosity got the better of him as he reached out for the alluring symbol.

The fox let out a nervous yip as Cassius’s body went rigid after touching the golden symbol. His entire body had gone stiff, and his eyes rolled up. The fox tried nudging Cassius but got no response. Metis eventually settled down and laid down near Cassius’s feet. Cassius saw none of this as he felt a shock run through his body.

After the tingling left his body only darkness met his eyes. ‘Where am I?’ He tried to talk aloud but no noise escaped his mouth. ‘Huh?’ He looked to see himself, yet nothing was there. Was his body gone? Or was this just complete darkness? He tried to put his hands to his face yet felt nothing. It was like his mind was floating in an endless abyss.

‘How much time has passed?’

With no indication of time nor any since of being, what in reality could be minutes or seconds felt like hours or days. Cassius began to lose it after an unknown time. He tried to scream yet nothing but static met his ears. He tried to tear at his eyes yet nothing was there. All of his efforts were in vain.

‘LET ME OUT LET ME OUT LET ME OUT’

Darkness, endless darkness where no light could enter nor escape. No feeling, no stimulation, only his own thoughts. He latched onto numbers, desperately counting away. ‘Three million two hundred forty-seven thousand and six hundred eighty-nine…. HAHAHA, I’M NEVER GETTING OUT!’ Cassius had resigned himself to a fate of eternal darkness. Without any way to feel anything he had begun to lose his sanity. Even the memories of the abyss felt small as he lost himself in the darkness. However, it was at that moment that something finally changed. A yellow light that began as a simple line eventually twirled into three distinct marks.

They etched their way into his mind, flooding every synapse with that symbol. In a world where the only difference was that symbol he engraved it into his very being. The yellow light filled his vision and it felt like his eyes were burning as he gazed upon it. Yet he had never been so grateful. It broke the abyss which made him so hopeless. However, the cruel reality that even this symbol remained unchanging after a certain time left him even more broken. Even with the light he still lacked a body.

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‘Someone, anyone, please…’ Yet no one answered him. He wanted to scream and cry, yet nothing came out. He couldn’t even display his emotions, something necessary to the human psyche. He was nothing but a pair of eyes, listlessly gazing upon a single symbol. He had long given up on counting and instead looked at the symbol. It hurt, but at least the pain made him feel something, anything. Even then, the pain became second nature, and felt no different than anything else.

‘Ahh, so this really is the end… I never even did anything noteworthy…’

Distant memories of the abyss flowed into his mind. However, he failed to remember anyone’s name. The woman who brought him salvation in the desolate abyss. The friends he had made while trying to fight and grow stronger. The townspeople who treated him kindly. But no one was here to help him. He wanted to try and accomplish things in the Abyss, yet he tripped at the starting line. It was then that other memories crept its way into his head.

A distant place where there were no monsters, except humans themselves. A world that had a bright blue sky, and wondrous stars in the night sky. He had dreams in this world too. Aspirations that never came to fruition for unknown reasons. The only thing he remembered truly was a blood red moon, and blood red hands.

It wasn’t the first time he had thought of his memories in the void. But it was different this time. He was forgetting the memories themselves. He had been here so long that even the most core beliefs he had were left behind. He had forgotten even his own name, but he felt it was not the first time he had done that. Words that he once understood lost their meaning. There was only one thing in his mind. The yellow symbol. Every curve, every minute difference, every last detail had been shoved in his mind. He no longer knew how to cry or scream or even laugh. It was all lost within the void.

It was in this final state of complete desolation, that something finally changed. A vast mountain range filled his vision. In the middle was a large lake, so large it filled most of the valley. Above it was a blue sky, with the occasional picturesque cloud. Two warm suns shone upon the azure lake.

Time passed by at an astonishing rate. The seasons changed dramatically, and the land itself shifted after such a long time. Sometimes thunder would cause a forest fire, and the land would be reduced to ashes. Yet every time beautiful blooms and trees would grow again, like an eternal phoenix rising from the ashes. Past the mountains, a small village came into existence. What started out as merely a few cottages eventually grew into a large city, filled with humans. Every day they would experience joy, sadness, relief, anger, happiness. The city was honest, and the people strived for a better future.

Every once in a while groups would journey to the mountains, exploring the beautiful scenery. One day however a large monster landed in the vast lake. It was like the decaying corpse of a dragon, with rot coming out of its various scales. It blew out miasma and spread despair in the nearby city. However one day a valiant warrior went to slay the foul beast. The battle lasted for days as the very water of the lake moved due to the conflict. Every blow between the two let out huge gales of wind, and tremors extended into the mountains.

One day, the dragon fell to the knight’s sword. The knight was not unscathed however, with poison tearing through his body. He looked similar to the horrible dragon with his veins becoming black, and pus oozing from wounds. However, he put on a brave face and put his armor back on. He could not show weakness to the city that trusted him. However, once he climbed the mountain, the city was alight with flame.

An enemy city took advantage of the lack of the hero and the plague that befell the city to put them into ruin. As the cries of his people rang out into the night all the hero could do was stand still atop the mountain. He echoed not even a noise, but clenched his fist so hard his gauntlet shattered.

At that moment he swore revenge, and went back into the valley to never be seen again.. Once again, time passed by in a flash. The corpse of the dragon in the middle of the lake decayed until only its bones were left. Eventually a small island formed underneath its titanous skeleton.

The burned city was left to ruin until it eventually became nothing but rubble and moss. Eventually, a small group of people settled in the valley, drawn by its beauty. Their small village wasn’t much, but everyone took pride in their community. It was then that everything went black.

All of a sudden a bright light flooded in. Waves could be heard, and he even felt the cool wind on his skin. He looked up with squinted eyes at the two suns that hung above him. Then looked back down at someone in front of him. “Ahh! Bro, wait up for me!” He desperately ran to keep up with his big brother, but he was shorter and not as quick. “Try to keep up Alex! Otherwise mom is gonna punish us for not getting any dinner!” Alex’s lungs stung as he gasped for air.

He was still a few years younger than his older brother Lucas and ran with all his might. They were supposed to get fish today for their meal, but Alex got distracted while trying to find cool rocks along the shore of the lake. They finally arrived at their rowboat on the shore. Inside was their fishing net and oars, as well as a knife for fileting.

“Hmm… Don’t you think this boat is missing something Alex?” Lucas stroked an imaginary beard as he looked at their humble vessel. “Maybe snacks?” Replied Alex. “No no no, that’s not it… Ahh!” A light bulb lit up above Lucas as he reached in his pockets for a small dagger. “Every boat needs a name!”

Alex’s eyes lit up. He often read fairy tales of heroes embarking on grand journeys on their trustworthy boat! “What should we name it!” Lucas contemplated for a bit before deciding on one. “How about… Delphi!” Alex pouted at the name, “That’s just the name of your crush… how about something original like ‘The Great Heroes!’.” Lucas rolled his eyes, “Oh come on, that’s just awful…”

Both thought for a bit before Lucas said something. “You know, there’s a folk story that there was a great knight who slayed a dragon here in the valley! Man, what was his name?” Alex excitedly replied, “Oh I know, it was Boreas! Boreas the Dragonslayer!”

With that name in mind Lucas carved the rune for Boreas on the hull of the ship. As they pushed the rowboat out onto the lake Alex imagined for a bit that they were brave adventurers setting out for a grand voyage. Laughter from both brothers rang out on the lake until the two suns set.