Gabe stepped into the Fifth room not knowing what to expect after all this good fortune. What he found was the Treasure House. This was where Sisfar stored all of his more useful stolen goods. The space was bigger than the Alchemy room bust smaller than the training room or treasury. And it was lined on all Four walls with Treasures. Rare and unique items, heavenly or just hard to find, all of them were useful in some way or another and would be difficult to find even on the market. There were Hundreds of small things, with uses that varied from a vase that stored the dead souls of beasts and demons, to a pair of boots that increased the flying speed of those wearing them. All of these powerful devises were at their Highest quality already, from sitting so long in such high grade energy. Treasure after treasure. Like a Rich merchant's stock room. some of it a demon would have no use for, but Gabe sure would. It was hard not to run from one shelf to another and shove it all into his bags. Gabe even spotted a handful of treasures taken from the celestial continent that would be of endless use to Colin, as well as pills filled with celestial energies Colin would certainly have need of. Gabes eyes landed on a long shelf near the door that held noting but teleport scrolls. Long range, short range, all high quality, all with multiple uses left in them. Some not used even once. His heart quickened at the sight, all this time he struggled to try and buy even one of these. While this endless pile sat unused gathering dust. The first thing he did in this room was walk over to this shelf and tuck away twenty of them. Now he’d be able to reach this treasure store from almost anywhere on the chaos continent. Just having them at his disposal relieved a small part of his heart that was long tired of foot travel. All those years of endless walking were slowly being pushed out of his mind, replaced with the picture of just using gate scrolls to go anywhere in the future.

When he finely pulled away from the shelf of gate scrolls he gave the room a once over again. Looking at all the hard to come by treasures some of which he didn’t even know what did his smile would have yet again grown, if not for the fact it was still at maximum already. After looking around at all the shelves Gabe turned his attention to the elephant in the room. The one he’d ignored simply because he wanted to save the best for last. Besides for all the little treasures. There were a handful of things Sisfar had displayed in the center of the room. these things wafted with power, and charged the air with a feeling of danger. four pedestals Each standing waist high with soft red silk cushions on them. Theses pedestals held Heavenly treasures of the finest quality. And in the direct center of the four was huge Boulder. Made from some kind of hard mettle and pot marked with holes and dents like it had been dropped from the top of a mountain. It was the only item in this room that had no energy signature, but Gabe doubted Sisfar was using it as decoration. He briskly walked to each of the pedestals and examined the heavenly treasures to see what kind of powerful objects would be held in such high sanding while surrounded by so many other artifacts. To Gabe’s wonder and delight One was a Heavenly grade Bloody Giants tear. Heavenly grade was the most pure and perfect grade of any item Above high Grade by several folds of power. When you saw one you could tell it was Heavenly grade just by the way it buzzed in your senses. Gabe did not even ask any question and pulled off the low grade giant’s tear he had around his neck. he picked up this new one with reverence placing it where his old one had been. It was the same size, with a gold chain around it instead of a cheep string. And had white crystals inside the red transparent Surface. The moment he put it on all of his estimations about how fast his cultivation would grow here wnet out the window. he Could feel the power coursing through both him and the tear like a river that could not be dammed up. After sitting in this Treasure land atmosphere for so long it had reached the very high end of it’s quality. It started Cultivating for him the second it touched the skin of his chest and was doing a little over half of what he normally cultivated with all eleven of his soul beasts at one time. With this piece while just standing around in this high grade atmosphere, he was cultivating like a Channeler with five soul beasts who was in deep meditation. He was spitting into the face of every Channeler on primway’s hard work to cultivate and none of them even knew it. Not wasting time to admire this godly moment he stepped over to the other pedestal across from it. On this one sat a Fallen tiger Sundial. This treasure was also at it’s pique power and purred as he came near it. When activated this hand sized sundial with a tiger’s eyes drawn on the face would shoot a beam of sunlight so powerful out of it that a channeler of the avatar realm would not be safe. Only a deity realm Channeler in the flesh could withstand what this treasure could give out at it’s highest quality. But this one only had three uses before it would break down internally and the rare materials use to craft it would lose all their power. From what Gabe could remember about these legendary devises made only by a deity realm craftsmen and only after a year of hard rune work and alchemy, the notch at the top of this one meant that one of those three uses had already been wasted. Gabe picked it up gently and put it in his Pouch. Forget about anyone ever endangering him again. It would Take Vernon who was almost at the Deity realm himself to stop something like this. Gabe was really starting to feel like the heavens were on his side. The contrast of his life a few years ago, against this day of pure joy and magic was too much for his heart to take. But he couldn’t stop now, he was addicted already to finding out everything in this store house. He felt like lady luck was standing beside him watching.

Gabe anxiously walked towards the next pedestal. On this one was a heavenly Grade Chameleon coin. It was a solid gold coin with engraved power marks on each side. Power marks were different from runes, they could not be replicated and were only found on naturally made Heavenly treasures, almost like heavenly runes or Soul traits. This coin was exactly what one would expect a demon like Sisfar to have. it would allow him to Change his face and form, and completely change his signature into someone else’s, like a Shapeshifter. These treasures were rare, the kind of rare that meant only five or six would appear in all of Primeway every hundred or so years, and most of them were low in quality when they were found and only brought up to a useful level after a thousand years of hard labor by a family in secret. the one that Gabe was looking at was only a hair’s width from it’s full potential so It’s value could only be speculated. You would never find one for sale however. And to even get a look at one this powerful would take all of the influence a high standing family wielded. This thing would likely keep his identity hidden from anyone on Primeway that wasn’t a Deity channeler with a high grade foreseeing ability, who had a week of time to study him at close distance. It suddenly clicked in Gabe's head why Sisfar had been able to steal so much without ever getting caught or getting famous as a thief and hunted down. With this piece he could fool everyone into thinking he was a different person maybe even a human depending on the Coin’s unique traits. Gabe snatched it up off the pillow and focused hard to push his energy into the energy of the coin. It was not meat to be used be such a week Channeler but with enough concentration he Suddenly felt his body snap Into a different form. He looked down at himself and found he was in a strangers body. The coin wouldn't allow you to look like a particular person or change to your whims. It would Only change you into a set second identity that the power marks on it kept inside them. It was different for everyone who used it however and Gabe's second body would differ from Sisfar’s. Gabe was now a Six foot four giant of a man, with a Bald head, and rippling mussels. His cloths grew to fit him but didn’t change otherwise, and when Gabe pulled out a shined mirror to see his face a sinister evil man looked back at him; He laughed to see it, there was no’one in the world who would trust this face. He laughed again as even his laugh looked evil and unsettling. The coin didn't Change his Channeler's level, but it did make it impossible to soul sense his real identity. When he let go of his heavy focus his body snapped back into its rightful form. Again Gabe pocketed this treasure with a malicious glint in his eyes this gave him so many options. and would be twice as effective with his ability to change his Channeler's level too.

Gabe looked to the last heavenly Treasure and shook his head the moment he saw it. For most of his time in this room it had been behind the big rock in the center of this place, but now it was awfully close to him. It was just a blackish pearl with a red glint that he did not know from any of his books about rare treasures. He wasn't sure what it was but it was giving him a headache just to see the thing. He couldn't take his eyes off of it though so the headache only got worse and worse. He wanted to look away, to… walk away, but it drew him in overpowering his will like a parent overpowers a disobedient child. Before he knew it he was standing right in front of it. Looking down at the piece with a smile on his face that wasn’t his. "No master don't touch it!!" Malner shouted confused as to why Gabe acted like he didn’t know what it was when he was soul bonded to Sisfar and should clearly be aware of the danger. at the same time Sisfar let out a scream, breaking through the control that Gabe had over him keeping him quiet. "Wait kid!!!" but it was useless. Gabe wanted to take their advice he’d already had the thought that he should’t touch anything if he didn’t know what it was or what it was for, but his hand was already on the object as though it was placed there by a stranger. He hated being controlled like this again. But this was more then just fear, and it made Sisfar’s control over him feel weak in comparison. A small pop sound hit his ears the second after he touched the thing and he was teleported against his will.

Gabe was laying down face forward to black obsidian floor that smelt like charcoal and salt. He pushed Himself up with his arms and looked around. Everything was here was made from the same stuff. The walls, floor, there was no ceiling the walls just went up a few hundred feet and stopped. And there was nothing else here except an open passage way ahead of him. A blank slate of a room. He tried to use his soul sense to gauge where he was, but he couldn't. He felt fear creeping into his bones. Not natural fear, from way too much experience with this stuff he could tell this fear was just coming from the walls of this place getting into his head. The fear element was a mystery to almost every sage on Primeway, just like many things that came from the Chaos spectrum, such as why did Death energy bring life to many creatures, if the element of darkness was the opposite of only the light element then why did Darkness Channelers have some tiny degree of resistance against every element, and why did beasts on the chaos continent grow to full size twice as fast as on other continents. The biggest of all these mysteries was the Fear element. It’s name came from the sense of dread it instilled in those who came in contact with it but what it really was no’one knew. Some speculated it only caused fear because the human mind was too simple to comprehend what the element really was. But whatever it was, these walls were made of it. The solid manifestation of the Fear element, Gabe had no idea what kind of existence it would take to make something like this.

In the distance he heard water dripping and it echoed Like he was in a cave. But this was no cave. "Where are we?" He asked Sisfar. But there was no answer. Gabe pushed for his control over the Demon but the demon wasn't there. "What?" He looked at his right hand prepared to send his soul into his soul room but his channeler mark was gone. He was speechless. What had happened.... he touched that Pearl and it had taken away his Channeling ability. How.....? He immediately tried to channel something, anything. but he could only barely feel the spirit energy in the room and it felt like he had not a drop of it inside himself. All of his cultivation was gone. He'd lost everything. Maybe this was an illusion... he didn't see how that was possible but it was the best option. Anything else would mean that all his hard work for over a decade of channeling was gone just like that. after absorbing the situation for a few minutes looking over the walls and room carefully he began to walk through the passage way. It was clear this was the only way to go Whoever had made this place had made sure of that. The ceiling was seamingly nonexistent, or too high to be seen. And the walls of the passage were stretched up At least a hundred feet high With nothing but smooth surface. Unclimbable without his channeling ability. The odd thing was, There was no light source, but he could see just fine all the same. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before. As He came to a cross road in the passage he found his first clue as to where this place was. Written on the dividing wall, between the two paths that were both identical were these words carved into the stone. “the life of a channeler is a hard and long road. That only he profits from. On that road he might meat a million others just like him and everyone of them will only seek to take what he has. If a Channeler never meets a single good person in his life, never encounters anything other than monster in his path then why should he continue living?” Gabe Read it several times. Looking for something. Anything that might hint at what he needed to do to get out of here. He’d already tried a thousand times to break the illusion with his will and mind, so that wasn’t going to do it. This message seamed to be left here for a reason but it wasn’t an obvious one. It was a very pessimistic note, to live a life only meeting the worst of people. Perhaps whoever wrote it had lived like that or thought they had. Gabe thought of the people he knew and realized that most were somewhere in between good and evil, not fully for him but not exactly against him ether. And they treated different people with different mindsets. A man might kill other men and take their gold, but turn around and give his very life for his son. In this way everyone had both a giving spirit and a taking one. Or at least the majority. There were some stand outs who only took and never gave. Like Sisfar. These were more common to the world of primeway then they should be, but to only meat people like this and never a gentle soul. It would be a horrible existence indeed… Gabe considered this clue for a while before shouting out into the darkness. “He should continue on because he wants to, and not stop simply because the world or the heavens want him to. What are monsters, if not only obstructions between you and what you desire." his voice echoed off the walls and no answer came. He let out a long breath for the long shot that someone might answer and continued on, taking the path to the left. Then after a few minutes this passage came to another split off, this one with no message. He took the left, and it led to yet another. Before long he realized this was some kind of maze. He quickly decided to retrace his steps and start with that in mind to make a plan and not get lost. But when he took the path backwards following his trail step for step it only led to another fork without the message or the small room he had started in. He went backwards and tried again and again taking all the paths he could have taken and found that it just wasn't there. "Shit." He said. This was clearly some kind of twisted illusion, where it didn’t matter which path he took. Someone was playing a horror game with him.

Gabe spent Hours trying everything he could in this endless maze, beating the walls with his bare hands. Hurting himself to try and wake up. Meditation to try an cultivate. Climbing the perfectly slick and smooth obsidian walls to try and get a look around. But none of it went anywhere. His only option was to walk the maze, maybe if he walked it long enough he would find another clue or a way out. So that’s what he did. For days and days. Time ticked by in a blur of one turn after the other all of them looking exactly the same. He wasn't scared about losing his way now because he was already lost and had been from the start. He would hit a dead end from time to time which was the only break up of his hours of foot travel, these dead ends were just as blank as everything else, and for all he knew they could all be the exact same place with him just walking in circles. Several times he wondered what was happening to the outside world. Was he really here or was his physical body in a coma in the Treasure store. As a full week ticked by he started to wounder what the Greenwood family was doing without him. Had Vernon left back already? Did they think he was dead? He could be dead? Maybe he was in some kind of punishment or purgatory. Maybe he was just a soul and his body was dead. That would explain why his Soul-Beasts were gone. He started to feel like all his memories were blending into each other down here, and his thoughts were going blurry as all he ever saw was the same black walls. He started to see things out of the corner of his eyes that he knew weren’t there. The fear of this place building in his chest regardless of his resistance to it. He was usually very immune to fear. But with this place was plying mind games with him he was at it’s mercy. A few time he thought he should just stop and wait, but he knew that if he did that he would never get out of here, maybe it didn’t matter and these paths would never lead to a way out, but if there was even a one in a million chance they led somewhere, it was much better than the zero chance he would have from just staying in one spot. He refused to give in after having all of that wealth and treasure at his fingertips, he felt like he was really just beginning to live, and if it cost him everything he had he promised he would make it back to that mountain hideaway.

The sound of water in the distance never stopped. The dripping and dripping, becoming the only thing he would hear for the entire month he’d already been down here. By now he had realized that he never grew weary or hungry, this was not a physical body so he never even stopped to rest he just kept on walking on and on. After the month and a half mark the real Games started in this place. He was on edge now every moment, the fear in his heart slowly growing until even the water sounded sinister and as much as he tried he couldn’t ignore it, everything got on his nerves now. From the sound of his own foot steps to the feeling of his own clothes on his skin. Flashes of darkness and shadows were constantly going by his vision. He was certain he was just seeing things because his mind needed something to grasp onto that wasn’t these blank walls. Until one of the shadows didn't leave his sight, it stayed right in front of him. Up ahead at the next corner in the black maze that twisted and turned, a shadow stood hazy and humanoid its gaze focused on only him. Gabe felt his heart Beating like a drum he tried to calm down but every fiber in his being told him this thing was wrong, evil, and violent. It moved causing him to jump. Just it's head turned but it was enough to partially wake Gabe up from his stupor and realize this thing was out to kill him. The head turned sideways and two little tongues stuck out of the shadow with dozens of yellow colored eyes all along them blinking and staring at Gabe. Gabe gasped at the sight his mind on edge, but forced himself not to stop walking. Fear was an ugly Battle, and he didn't want to lose so soon to the games it played. He walked right up to the shadow figure and passed it by until it faded out of his sight. He didn't know if it had been real or just his mind going crazy but he would never forget the sight of such an unnatural thing. He walked on trying to calm his breathing and his mind. Everything about this place was wrong. Just wrong! And with every step he took it felt worse.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

It wasn’t long until this event repeated, The next form that appeared was a seven headed serpent made completely from dark shadows. Gabe slowed when he saw it open all of its horror filled eyes on all of it’s dangerous heads. They were Pure blackness surrounded by Pale white. "Ssssssssss...." It's long hiss made him pause it was the first sound he'd heard from something other than himself or the drop of water in the distance. He didn't let it faze him he had to continue regardless of these imaginations. But when he reached it this time, one of the seven heads struck out like a viper and bit him. He fell on his knees in pain, blood pooling in the two holes on his arm each at least an inch in diameter. The serpent just looked at him ready to bite him again. He Scooted back, away from it feeling mostly powerless without his channeling. His heart was heavy with pain and fear. He Suddenly felt like curling into a ball and hiding his face from the world. He didn't know what to do, this shadow wasn't going away like the rest... it was real! Very real!! He stood up trying to force his shaking body into submission. "to hell’s gate and through." He whispered to himself. And before he could over think it with his wavering mind he charged forward prepared for the pain this time. The serpent bit him again in his upper leg, but he didn't stop and ran forward and right into its body hoping to run through the shadow. The snake puffed away like a cloud, and he ran into the Corner section bleeding. His wounds still in pain and his heart still terrified. What was that thing! Why had it attacked him! Who was doing this?! Names rushed into his head, Sisfar the bastard had always had it in for him. Malner wasn't trustworthy! Vernon! Vernon could have Followed him! And put him under some kind of spell! His mind worked to pull out names so that he could have someone to blame for this torture. Nothing in his head was working right anymore. Seygo! The name came to his blurry thoughts She had been tricking him all this time and caused this! Colin! He wanted revenge for everything Gabe had done to him over the years! Gabe didn't trust anyone or anything. And for a moment he almost lost himself in the fear of others Getting over on him. he wanted to stay put and figure out just who had done this to him! But then he started walking again instead, not fighting the thoughts but just not focusing on them. It was all he could do to keep himself standing up right. What he was to busy walking to notice was that the moment he started back on his way the wounds on his body sealed up leaving only two scars in their place. More and more shadow figures appeared after that, each one More real and frightful then the last, all appearing at the corner right before a cross road, he mentally prepared himself each time he started to walk up to a Fork. A week later he saw a little fairy like figure, it wasn't much just something small with four wings and tiny hands. Made of pure shadow it seamed perturbed. It made gestures to him. Warning gestures. Gabe stopped in his tracks to try and figure out what it wanted from him… before long it shook it’s head and crossed it’s arms like it was disappointed in him It pointed behind him with a tiny finger and then disappeared. Before Gabe could look behind him a wet warm breath went down his neck. He turned around and there was a huge scorpion made completely of shadow inches away from his face. Before he could run it reached out with it's stinger and picked him up by the waist, injecting what felt like acid into his body through it’s sharp points and then throwing him hard against the wall. Pain shot through him like a bullet and the mussels in his back began to spasm from the burning sensation. He ached so badly he felt like never moving again. Just looking at the Scorpion made him want to freeze and die right here. He pushed himself back onto his feet and started running towards the fork in his path away from this beast. From out of nowhere he was picked up again and tossed against the wall. Even greater pain shot through him, this time there was acid injected into his chest, even his heart felt like it was lit aflame, and his legs shook so bad that when he tried to stand he couldn't get back up again. So instead he just crawled. He used his bruised arms to scoot forward. He was only a foot away from the cross roads when he was picked up again and thrown against the wall a third time. He groaned in agony why was he still conscious, how could he not pass out and die from this pain alone. “ leave me alone!!!" He yelled at the monster and spat, tears starting to form in his eyes. The creature he looked back at and feared hissed at him crawling forward to do it again.. "To Hell’s Gate and through!" It was Gabe’s favorite quote. Written by one of his ancestors during a great family war that filled the sky with blood. Gabe could only imagine what war was like, killing and dying, fighting and losing limbs. Pain and Fear coursing through everyone’s blood. But maybe it was a little something like this hell hole he was in right now. His ancestor had died in that war, the journal he carried with him found and published for all the Hellvines to remember. And that quote was the very last line, which stuck in many readers memory so many that it was coined as the family’s oath a thousand years after that war! Gabe crawled forward even further on his path and just as he felt the claws grab him he crossed into the open area where the pathways diverged and the monster disappeared like smoke. Gabe rested with heavy breath for just a moment before standing back up, his torn clothes revealing chemical burn scars all over his torso.

From then on things got worse, he was constantly on edge he couldn't even speak to himself or his voice's echo would spoke him and cause him to bite his own tongue. And he feared the sound of it might draw one of the monsters so he stopped talking at all. The shadow monsters no longer only appeared before the cross roads but now everywhere he went another one would pop up out of nowhere. Even when he was standing still. They came in different forms every time. Unpredictable and uncontrollable. Each time they got more powerful, and would torture him for longer, only allowing him to escape after mountains of pain and damage had been heaped upon him. Gabe felt his mind slipping every minute of every hour he was losing memories, thoughts, the ability to function, all he had was the felling of Self pity and the felling that that self pity would get him killed. So he went on, refusing to stand still and let the monsters play with him for eternity. He knew one thing, that as long as he was trying to escape eventually they would let him and he would have a short respite before another one came. This maze could go on forever he thought while staring straight ahead like he was dazed.. but if he died then it would definitely come to an end. A much needed end. he didn’t know how to die here though. For more then six months he walked forward on the hard obsidian floor pushing through the Shadow monsters that would beat him to the edge of sanity and back. He had to walk, run, and even crawl away from them. Sometimes screaming his head off, and sometimes screaming only in his mind he could no longer tell the difference between the two. After a much longer time he began to stop mid walk in his path just to try to remember who he was and why he was here. he had to do this more and more often as he forgot things each time it took longer and longer to remember that he had desires, dreams, hopes for a future that wasn’t stuck in theses wall and that he must keep going or he didn’t even have a chance to see any of it. But soon the beasts began to target these moments. Whenever he stopped to try and remember a monster would appear. A tiger with two heads, a bear with ribs in it’s mouth, a spider that spit venom. They would appear the moment he stopped. Wanting him to forget, to only keep walking and lose everything about himself in the path behind. It was torture, every day. None stop. Never knowing when he was going to be attacked again, never being able to stop and rest, never sure if something was behind him. Or if the sweat on the back of his neck was the touch of a Viscous beast. The fear radiated from the walls like a bad odder and filled him with no thought but that something bad was going to happen.

A year past, he knew because Channelers were good with time. Even here without his Channeling he knew how long it had been for some reason. His mind was screwed up though, always jumping. Always fading out without reason when he tried to muster a thought. His eyes scanned every shadow with worry, all the time. And his body was in constant pain. His previous life forgotten none of the people or faces form his past were still with him, all he had left were the monsters in the night and his fighting instincts. And boy could he Fight! He could kill! He'd learned that these beasts didn't last forever, they all had short life spans. And he could rip chunks off their dirty little faces, while they clawed at his flesh, he wasn’t sure but he had the felling that the more damage he did to them the shorter time they would last. His instincts were always right about things like this, always keeping him in control. They told him there was a way out, a way forward. Why would he be walking if there was nothing to walk to. He just had to endure. To survive! He was going somewhere so He couldn't give up. His instincts said he could live as long as he didn't give up. So he walked forward. Day after day, each one bringing a new monster with it. Week after week. Too many to count. Month after month. More time then he wanted to spend in this maze. Year after year. Everything was forgotten with time. Everything but the fear and the walking. Seven years in and he could only imagine darkness, only the obsidian walls. It was all he could think about fore it was all he knew. The monsters were all blobs to him, creatures with no meaning they had faces and forms but how could he place them if he had no memory of anything but walls. Only the walls were real anyway.

He had lost his will to fight the blobs a long time ago, only letting the monsters destroy him piece by piece until they faded naturally and he could continue. The pain blended into to the numbness of his mind like salt into water. The only thing he remembered was an abstract thought. It was the last thought he’d had lucidly. the Light. What was it? He didn't need it to see down here. But it had been a good thing, he knew it. He wanted to see it again. Light. It had been beautiful. Unlike anything else he knew in his black world. his Instincts needed something to latch onto now that they were fading and dying so that was his goal. Light. It must be what he was walking towards. So it must be better than where he was. He dreamed of a thing he had no ability to understand. No pretext for. No emotion towards. But he still wanted to make his dream come true, so he kept walking. And when his goal came to be right before his eyes… a weird thing floating off the floor… a thing that was the opposite of the shadows that caused him pain. What was the opposite of pain? Would this little light cause it? he felt a sudden feeling of hope rise like a Bubble in his chest..

In the next cross way, the next fork in his path he could see it. A little star. A hand sized ball of glory. He wanted it the moment his crazed mind saw it. Wanted to touch it, feel what light felt like on his skin. But then the monster appeared. A shadow was cast before him, but the shadow wasn't the monster, it was a real shadow that belonged to a real monster. to a furry Black lion ten feet tall. Gabe stopped. This one was unlike the others. It was real. It could kill him for real. He knew it because He felt it in his heart. He was suddenly very afraid, even more then he usually was and this fear was overcoming. If he died he would never get to touch that light. He looked at the foot long fangs on the monster before him, and it's giant claws. And the only thing he wanted to do was run away. His instincts agreed. And he was shaking as he turned around wishing to survive so he could touch that light. But then he stopped. He was just as afraid of going back as he was of dying If he ran bac he would never see the light again ether. Was there no way to have his dream come true… he felt that much more profoundly then he’d felt anything while he was still sane. So, against everything he knew and felt, He turned back towards the lion with one thought, a thought that his mind shouldn’t have been able to remember or even think at all, but somehow it felt like it was more a part of his soul than a thought. "to hell’s gate and through!”

But the lion was gone. There was nothing in it’s place except A clear passage to the light he so badly wanted. Gabe hurried to take his chance wishing to have his dream in this moment before the lion returned. Not understanding where the beast was as he approached the light and grabbed it with both hands uncaring of anything else. The white star radiating out of his fingers and feeling warm on his face like a loving touch. Then as he cried tears of joy to hold his dream in his hand the blackness around him faded and he was in a beautiful grass field instead of the dark. There was Just short grass in every direction bright green and living, the light he was holding was gone now. But the sun above his head was more then enough to satisfy him as it touched and warmed his entire being. Even with his eyes closed he could feel it, his dream come true. "Young man?" Gabe didn't answer the voice that called him, he just stared up at the sun that hurt his eyes to even look at, The pain was nothing to him though and The light was everything. The sky was a glorious blue and he was smiling. It hurt to smile too, as his face was scared and disfigured, just like much of his body. But who cared, surely he was the only one who would have if he saw himself, but how could he see himself if he was looking at the light. "Young man?!" The voice of an old man called at him again. Gabe sighed, hearing his own voice again for the first time since he forgot what it sounded like. He hadn't used it for years except to scream in pain. He was going to answer the man as he kept looking at the sun, but after hearing his voice again he felt like singing instead. So he sung a little song. A balled his mother taught him about a Channeler who had touched the sun and ascended into the heavens, where his Father met him at the gate and showed him his reward. It was a sad tone as his family still left on Primeway was mourning for him like he had died. Gabe didn’t remember any of that though he just sung the first song that came to mind. Songs had a way of sticking with you even when you forgot everything else. "Young man!" The old man's voice interrupted his song, which he was enjoying almost more then the light. Gabe finally got frustrated and turned to the man looking away from the sun but still feeling it on his skin. The old man was White haired with a long snow colored beard and a wooden Cain. He wore a simple brown robe and looked both interested and annoyed. "What?" Gabe asked him, a bit annoyed himself at having to stop his song. The old man sighed. "I see the test has not left you sane." He said, confusing Gabe with to many words. "But Worry not, I was prepared for that. Your Mind will be restored when you leave." Gabe nodded. "Restoration sounds good after what you put me through." Gabe said clearly. Already he felt better from the light. a part of him woke up in this very moment that was very angry and very sad. He might have forgotten who he was but he was well aware of what was going on. The word test had registered as a memory in his mind, it had been one of his many guesses as to what the dark place was. "Ah, not so gone now are we." The old man said his eyebrows raised in surprise and delight. "Good, then you'll remember what I'm about to tell you. First I congratulate you. You've been the only person to last long enough that I can be certain you are stronger then your fear or doubt. This is a thing to be proud of. Just look at those who came before you." The old man waved his hand a box of space opened up showing the obsidian Maze. A scene of one man curling up into a ball in front of a shadowy scorpion played out inside it. Then it changed to a scene of a women back up against the wall screaming like a mad woman. Falling to her knees and not stopping with tears running down her face as a Seven headed serpent watched her. "How about the last Two Weaklings." The old man said. And a Pale white skinned demon appeared shaking and shouting curses over and over as he began to beat his head against the wall trying to kill himself. "he was a demon of fear himself, but gave into it only after one year." The old man said while shaking his head. "The next one was the most impressive besides you. Took him three years to give in." Gabe saw the familiar face of Malner on his knees with his arms spread wide in front of a giant shadowy spider yelling "Kill me! Just get it over with already!" Then the box disappeared and the old man smiled. "But you are different, I can tell from the way your mind works that you were exposed to the fear element as a young child. And didn't give in. A brave little man it would seam. How impressive indeed. It wasn't the fear that you struggled with at all, it was the insanity." Gabe stared blankly at the man his gaze only paying attention to the light. "What gives you the right to test people like this?!" He demanded out of nowhere his face remaining blank. The old man ignored him. Pointing his cane and grunting. "My advice young man, Find something to live for! A purpose, a cause, even a woman. Then you won't have this struggle. the desire for power or wealth is not enough to keep a man sane. He needs a real powerful cause, something or someone he values above himself. Something that he will remember even at the end of a test like this. I can see that you don’t even remember your family, how sad. You have nothing to hold onto." He put his Cain down and scratched his beard while sighing. "But I'm no'one to take advice from, just a powerful primordial object made by the Souls of Countless deity realm Channelers. You can make your own way, anyway you see fit to do so. The real question is do you want to continue the tests now, or Take a sabbatical?" Gabe frowned. "You mean that wasn’t it? There's more?" while his eyes showed no movement, his mind was slowly figuring itself out again. The old man nodded vigorously. "Three tests. Three, designed just for you. If you are prepared to tackle the next two just touch me again. I'm always ready for a show. But I have the feeling you want to leave. Which is for the best, I have no idea if the next tests will leave you in a repairable state of mind." Gabe nodded, his eyes coming too the moment he realized what was being offered. "Yes! Let me out of here." with an expecting nod The old man snapped his fingers and everything went dark once again.