Like trailing comets, streams of blazing light roared past Samuel. His overloaded mind swam with cryptic shapes that felt like lasers burrowing through his skull. The pressure was tremendous, but Samuel was strangely numb to the pain. His perception was cloudy. He saw himself in the third person, like a stranger watching from a distance.

The world around Samuel appeared in slow motion as he looked around, yet the days flashed by at hyper speed. Dozens of cycles flowed by before the mass of Samuel’s consciousness was pulled back to his body with the force and speed of a bullet. Samuel’s vision instantly darkened, like he was falling through an empty galaxy.

With a mighty gasp, Samuel lurched up. He desperately felt around his body, confirming it was real. Cold sweat covered Sameul's sickly pale skin. Samuel shivered as his body ached as though he had been hit by a truck, finding it hard to move.

Samuel tried to center his wild mind, but it was useless; his body gave out. He stumbled back and fell on his butt onto a large flat hexagonal stone. Samuel’s mouth was dry, and his lips felt chapped, his head pounded with a crippling intensity that only seemed to get worse as he tried to focus.

The world spun as Samuel fell back, looking towards the misty blue sky. Slowly but surely, his ragged breathing lessened. Samuel was finally coming back down from the hysterical experience of being reborn. Yet still suffering from the apparent effects of shock, he felt weak and helpless.

As Samuel lay there shaking, a loud splash sounded behind him. Incapable of responding, a freezing spray of water struck Samuel. The icy liquid stiffened Samuel’s body, causing him to jump up onto the closest rock.

The bewildered Samuel looked down and finally noticed his appearance. Black leather boots, soaked with seawater, stretched up to his shins. Rough straps with silver buckles held the boots tight against Samuel’s wobbly legs.

Tucked firmly into the boots' shaft, dark brown fabric pants, sporting a thick banded belt, rose to Samuel's waist. The form-fitting pants had large patches of leather sewn on both hips and patches on both knees for added protection.

Samuel soon explored the leather chest piece covering his torso. Like a thick vest, the brown leather supported Samuel. It had thin seams between the thicker plates, allowing him to retain a full range of motion.

The long black sleeves of Samuel’s undershirt poked out from his veiled shoulders and covered down Samuel’s knuckles. Samuel had fingerless gloves protecting his clammy hands.

Although covered in rigid leather plates, Samuel didn’t feel as weighed down as one would expect. Unfortunately, though, that didn’t mean it was easy. Samuel’s body was still weak. He staggered, and his pounding headache returned.

Samuel dropped from the pedestal, his boots thumping against the smooth stony shore. He plopped down on the wet rock, steadying himself with his hands.

Samuel shivered as a strong gust of cool wind blew over him. He belatedly looked around and surveyed his surroundings.

Gigantic mounds of stone were formed from various-sized pillars of hexagonal rocks. The posts merged beautifully into tall wild plateaus. Flat planes of smooth sand and cobblestones flowed between the ridges and sank beneath the crashing water waves. Finally, the foamy swells of navy blue water reached the ridges before falling back into the churning ocean.

Samuel’s mind became tranquil as he took deep breaths of the salty sea air, his headache finally subsiding. The cool, briny mist wafted over him as he collected his thoughts. Eventually, a beam of warm sunlight breaching a colossal cloud enveloped Samuel, allowing him a few brief moments of warmth and clarity.

Samuel attempted to wrap his mind around what was happening to him. He tried to understand where he was and how he got there. But, no matter how many ways he approached the situation, it seemed unbelievable.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Samuel was pulled from his chaotic thoughts by the unique sound of boots crunching the grainy sand piercing the serene scene. Samuel was startled and jumped. He whipped around quickly and froze as two men approached with confident strides.

Black robes concealed their slender frames. The men had copper-colored embroidering flowing along the seams of their folded black robes. Flat plump hoods covered their faces, with only thin streaks of blonde hair dripping out from the bottom.

Samuel couldn’t move. His body was rooted in fear. He anxiously watched as the men stopped just a few feet before Samuel.

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“A fellow initiate. It’s good to see an actual human finally.” The slightly taller of the two men spoke. His honeyed voice struck Samuel.

“The guilds are overly secretive. If it weren’t for the map we stole back home, we’d never have made it out here.” The other man grumbled, followed by the click of his tongue.

“W-What are you two talking about?” Samuel squeaked in a low tone, sweat beading on his forehead.

The two men eyed Samuel up and down. Their judgmental gazes were harsh. They glanced at each other before shifting back towards Samuel.

“Eh, you seem well off. It probably wasn’t as difficult to get here for you.” The more prominent man’s passive-aggressive tone went unnoticed by Samuel.

“Whatever, we’ve been traveling for days. Let’s get this over with!” The other man demanded before pressing past Samuel. The shadowy edges of his lips curved into a strange smile, then his companion joined him.

Samuel turned and watched as the men climbed over several stone pillars and vanished over the edge of a crumbling ridge. Although the men exuded dangerous vibes, Samuel was like a lost puppy. He had no options; he knew nothing. He looked down and contemplated his options.

Despite the alarming red flags, Samuel made his decision. Whatever the men were doing here, it seemed connected to Samuel. Why else would Samuel have woken up here? Or so Samuel believed.

Samuel used this temporary confidence and chased after the two men. Dropping down from the plateau, Samuel joined the two men. Together they all three stood speechless before a colossal cavern.

The circular entrance was jagged and covered with barnacles and moss. The putrid stench of rot billowed from within the cave. The faint breeze flowing out of the cave whistled like whispers. Samuel felt a vigorous wave of fear course through his body. Every fiber of Samuel’s being was telling him to avoid this cave.

However, unlike Samuel, the two men showed uncanny interest in the cave. They didn’t feel fear. Instead, boiling excitement filled their hearts. Unknownst to Samuel, the two men, had spent years of their lives for this very moment. They wouldn’t let anything stop them from achieving their goals.

As the three men stood motionless at the entrance, an unearthly croaking started building inside the cave. A mighty shudder visibly washed over Samuel as he heard the sound. A primal terror was ignited.

Samuel slowly backpedaled himself away from the entrance; however, he felt two sets of hands retrain him on his second step. The two men seeing Samuel begin his retreat, became furious. In an instant, they firmly gripped Samuel’s shoulders and wrists, causing Samuel to look between them like a frightened child.

Samuel tried to squirm free, but the slender men had impressive strength and wouldn’t budge. Samuel’s movements only worsened the situation as the men tightened their hold.

“Let me go!” Samuel pleaded while attempting to rip himself free.

“No!” The man to Samuel’s left spoke over the struggling Samuel. “We’ve worked too hard for you to back out now and ruin everything. So you’re coming with us, like it or not!”

After his spit-slewing scream, the man and his companion walked into the cavern. Samuel defeatedly dragged his feet as the men forced him in.

“You’re scared of nothing. There’s barely anything in this cave that’s big enough to attack humans, at least not in a group.” The other man comforted the distressed Samuel before forming a shady smile.

The sound of crashing waves and sea birds mellowed into quiet white noise as they delved deeper into the cave. The bright sunlight quickly vanished, leaving the men in almost complete darkness.

The croaking grew in volume as the men continued walking. It was dark and difficult to make out the surroundings, but Samuel could feel that they were nearing the source. Not only was the sound becoming louder, but it was also becoming more frequent.

Sloppily navigating through the darkness, Samuel and the two men squeezed around a sizeable circular pillar in an otherwise jagged cave. Once all three of them stepped past the column, an enormous gust of wind pushed the men back against the pillar without warning before vanishing without a trace.

Braziers hidden by the darkness exploded to life. The powerful wind and explosions frightened Samuel, but the powerful flames enchanted him. The braziers held green fire, giving a dark emerald hue to the moist cave walls. It was like nothing Samuel had ever seen before.

Distracted by the fantastical display, Samuel and the others belatedly realized the two creatures on the ground before them.

The two men groaned in disgust simultaneously while Samuel visibly recoiled. There was an unbelievably giant spider bent back on its hind legs. The small dog-sized spider was waving its forelegs up and down in an alternating pattern towards a huge lizard.

The lizard was half the size of a caiman and just as vicious. But, despite the spider’s warning signals, the lizard stood its ground. The muscly lizard hissed while a bulbous sac on its throat expanded. The swelling of the sac was creating a hoarse croak, threatening the spider.

The two monsters lashed out at each other. The lizard's sharp claws flailed wildly while the spiders began spewing sticky web traps. Despite their size, the creatures completely dominated the space. Samuel and the men cowered in fear, but the men were determined to succeed.

With a quivering lip, the larger man swallowed his fear and started to tiptoe along the wall slowly. Samuel didn’t need convincing. He willingly followed the man and behind him the other. Slowly the three men hugged the wall and shifted their bodies past the vicious battle.

So caught up in the moment, the instant the three men gained enough distance, they sprinted deeper into the emerald-tinted cave.