Didn't know how to write flashbacks. I hope makes sense. If any mistakes, pls point out. Either way enjoy it!

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(*3 years ago*)

The surge of men of different ages with different shapes and sizes hit another current of human flesh ultimately equal in its baseness to each other. And he was in the middle of it all. Unable to walk back, pushed by the crowd forward, he was about to experience his first battlefield. He read in some book that the first battle is akin to a rite of passage, if he survives this one he will return a ‘better man’. He wasn’t sure what kind of a better man the book meant, he read it a long time ago and couldn’t remember half of it, except that it was a tragedy.

With a spear in his hands, dressed in peasant rags and a leather helmet on his head, courtesy of one of the veteran soldiers, he was desperate to find energy to push forward. Surrounded by roaring and war cries his own quiet moping was silenced by the noises of excited men. He knew some of those men. He knew them to be kind. Here, intoxicated by calls of battle, they seemed like a blood-starving beasts ready at any moment to taste the blood of their foes.

Spells and arrows flying above their heads, sounds of metal clashing with each other and a transparent watchword spoken within all warriors there, language of savagery and murder, resonating within each and every participant; and blood… falling everywhere, flowing through the mud in small sick streams, raining down with a storm of projectiles on their heads.

As they clashed the formation didn’t falter. The men that fell were replaced by another batch that continued their fighting on the land littered with their brethren’s corpses.

Eventually it was Kai’s turn.

He gazed in fear at his meant-to-be adversary, whom just cut down Uncle Rohg in the front. Uncle Rohg liked to tell jokes to Kai and always shared a meal with him after a long day of work in the field. He had a wife and two daughters, the family that always greeted him warmly and always let him stay in their house whenever the night was too cold or it was raining or if he simply asked it. He was the closest in this world to what Kai could’ve called a friend. And now he was dead.

The thought of him disappearing from this world, his wife and family grieving… didn’t bring Kai any anger. Instead it brought him more fear, made his legs a touch more unsteady and his hands shake just a bit more. He tried to step back in thought of fleeing from this hell but in return was pushed back in the front, towards a man soaked in Uncle Rohg’s blood.

Unsteady from the push and even more unsteady from his shaking legs, he stretched his spear forward, unintentionally, in an attempt not to fall on his face. And he didn’t.

The spear didn’t let him fall, but his body still fell to its knees. A trickle of warm red appeared on the spear staining Kai’s hands and mud.

Conscious of it he let it go and stood up stepping back. Strangely there was no one to push him forward. He turned around, the men behind him, expressions full of fear, were stepping back some turning around in a dash. He looked back in the front the corpse has fallen and he saw a person dressed all in colour which seemed to be both blue and purple at the same time, indigo, only to be struck by the white light.

His body flung in the air, leaving a trail of blood behind, hitting a crowd of men, each collision supported by a crack of his bones.

When he landed, he was still conscious, staring at the same dull grey sky he always looked at. It was always like this in Semeria if not all of Roan. Only sometime the tiny sun would come out of the clouds just to be covered by a giant shade of the moon.

His vision started to get blurry, conscience drifting; he didn’t feel any pain, just ease and a strange sadness.

The sky was covered in darkness and then his vision was cut off.

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(*back to now*)

He looked at the hole in the ground at his feet. Down there the light was illuminating the pale stone, surrounded by the dark.

By experience he knew it to be deep, very deep. He wasn’t one of those people that upon discovering a gape in the earth, possibly leading to a cave, struck by awe and curiosity, would jump into the unknown. On the other hand if he found something like this, he’d just walk around it, noting in his head the place to be dangerous.

But he fell in it anyway.

For some god-forsaken unknown reason he decided to march further west (at least that’s what his compass said) to the Iron Forest. From here it’s a 3 days walk and on the second night he got introduced to the inhabitants of that peculiar land. Biting at his ankles they chased him all day without rest. They looked like those creepy monkey plushies that some kids used to carry around in his previous world, except they had a huge razor blade claw sticking out from their limbs; were missing a jaw, in place of which were tentacles and had 3-4 sets of additional eyes on their faces that were glowing in the night. Yes, a plushy from hell.  He cut one of those things’ head off, but despite that it still manage to break his fingers, then wrist and then arm. Eventually they stopped chasing him, but then his mind, littered with paranoia and survival instinct, was screaming to leave the forest at any cost. Thankfully by then his plans had a sudden change and for once were in line with his common sense. He was not planning to go to the Iron Forest. Ever. After vomiting profoundly at the side of the tree he restarted his dash, until he eventually fell in the hole, breaking both of his legs, his back and cracking his head in the process.  

Kai sighed recalling the memory.

Around him a pine forest, stretching as far as the eye could see. The trees, some dull brown with ivory leaves, some cyan with yellow leaves, always intrigued him with their unique different colours, even now, despite him being here for 3 years already. The forests here always played with different colour panels, putting to shame the forests of his world with their dull brown, green, red and yellow.

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Dressed in just (mage's) black leather jerkin,(mage's) brown pants and (mage's) rune scribed boots, he dropped the sacks he was carrying on the ground and fixed his hair. He didn’t bother with the armour or weapons; they were packed in the luggage. He wouldn’t need it either way, at least yet.  

He looked down at the gap by his feet. Recalling his misfortunate fall and other restarts where he descended down. He knew it to be no longer than 15 meters deep.

He took out an improvised rope, made out of rags, from one of his bags, tied it around the tree, thrice which was a must, threw his entire luggage which wouldn’t brake in the hole and descended down through the aperture.

He recalled the times he tied it once and fell down after 5 or 6 steps down. On twice and dropping the luggage then following down the rope usually worked, except all the glass generally broke, water, wine, poultices with healing liquid and other potions and poisons. With his luggage (which at the start was just one bag) - 15-17 steps and then bam, broken back and broken poultices. The last one breaking generally meant contaminating the whole bag, making food inedible and depending on the poison could melt the bag and the items in it. This time he had three bags tightly packed with items. One full of potions poisons and drinks, other was foods such as dried meat, cheese and bread, which would last for a couple of weeks and third was clothing, weapons, sleeping bag and other equipment like map of the region, flint and steel and some wood. In the small bag attached to his belt he was also carrying a small glass ball, which he found on the mage. There wasn’t much use to it, but Kai decided to keep it, for no reason particular. He liked looking at it before going to bed in the dungeon.

On the first 3 floors there were no trees or any vegetation whatsoever, unsurprising considering it was a brick labyrinth, the fourth floor unlike the previous ones was surprising. A sprawling rainforest with all kinds of creatures you won’t see outside and a blue glowing sun attached to the ceiling full of small fissures glowing in shaded gold, like a chandelier.

His feet touched the smooth rock of the cavern. Without much delay, he picked up his bags and proceeded further in the darkness. He didn’t bother with the rope. He wouldn’t have any use for it in the dungeon either way.

Walking through the dark in the cavern wasn’t much of an issue for Kai. On his second expedition to the dungeon, he decided to map out all the known patterns and pathways to help memorizing them better. On the third he did the same. After that he couldn’t be bothered anymore, it took way too much time and always knocked off his focus. Seeing a new pathway or a trap his mind was constantly reminding him to put it on the parchment, rather than prioritizing what could come next.

He could hear a soft rustle of batwings as he was walking, the sound of the only inhabitants of this cave. Slowly walking, he was enjoying the cold and humid air. It was not putrid, by no means, which was surprising, considering the colony of bats above his head. The only reason he was walking in complete darkness, was only because he simply could. He felt cool and good about himself, implying that he achieved at least something after wasting so much time on this dungeon.

A minute or two passed, until he reached the gap in the rock, a small rupture, leading to an obsidian door.

He passed through it, put his bags down and took out a small leather pouch from his waist bag. It was made out of thick leather, easily capable to conceal any light from leaking outside. He opened it and his surroundings were filled with green glow, letting some of it escape through the rapture, making the rustle of batwings a tiny bit louder. He placed the pouch in the corner of room, then turned around and faced the wall beside the door. It wasn’t long till he found the button on the granite wall. Something clicked and then Kai’s ears were smashed by loud sound of metal hitting on metal, scaring the bats outside. Now it was time to push the door.

At first it didn’t even budge, feigning ignorance to his presence, but Kai remained obstinate and eventually, with a scrape, it opened, leaving a trace on the granite floor.

He picked up his items and proceeded further.

The first floor was just a classic labyrinth. No monsters or traps. Turn here, turn there, walk straight, turn and etc. It was rather simplistic and easy concept. There was one problem. To pass this floor you have to at least spend a full week walking and that’s disregarding sleep. Everyday walking through a labyrinth can grow onto you, draining your sanity and patience, especially if you don’t know where you’re going. He already died just on this floor 6-8 times. To be fair most of the supplies he actually needed were for this floor. He could easily live off the monster meat, though it was burning his insides every time he was eating it. The burning would generally leave him after an hour of constant pain, thanks to his healing factor.

The labyrinth itself had a glowing ceiling, illuminating the pathway. Every five meters the ceiling would go down, closing off the path back.

Looking at the long corridor in front of him, he sighed. He would have to do this again. Before he already braced himself for this, but standing here, right at the start of the labyrinth, recalling the painful memories, he started to have a headache.

Cringing he started to slowly walk, then he increased his pace till he was almost running.

Walking right then straight, then to the left, then left again, then straight, then left, then right, straight, left, left, right…

He couldn’t care about the path closing off behind him; he knew where he was going and that was enough to keep him going.

He ran out of breath a minute later.

Choking on his lungs, regretting his hot-headed impulse, he staggered further into the depths, towards the heart of the labyrinth.