ENLIL

Three days before the attack on Iolite

Ian was grabbed by the bookwyrm and plunged into the never-ending darkness. After falling for a while, constellations lit up in the darkness, each individual stars guided him. The constellations of Orion and Taurus shone before him, leading him through the vast expanse of the cosmos. He stretched out his hand, yearning to grasp hold of the shimmering light before him, but the stars seemed to dance away from his grasp, beckoning him further into the tranquility of the endless void.

As the strange spell ended, Ian felt disoriented until he was violently thrown onto the cold, hard grass. As he struggled to regain his bearings, he realized that Lucia was nowhere to be seen.

Ian was greeted by an unfamiliar and unsettling sight. There were no bookwyrm or magical artifacts, only a vast expanse of unfamiliar terrain. He looked around, feeling disoriented and confused. It was a strange and unsettling feeling, to be so far from the comforts of his familiar world.

As he surveyed his surroundings, a sense of dread washed over him. The towering shelves of library books and the usual flickering candlelight were nowhere to be seen. Had he somehow stumbled out of the library? The thought made his heart race. He frantically searched for any familiar landmarks, desperate to find his way back before his amnesia set in.

As he ran his fingers through the rough, dry grass, a sense of calm washed over him. The sky was dark and painted with stars, each one twinkling in its own unique way. There was something about this place that felt familiar, as though he had been here before. It was as if the very land was calling out to him, urging him to stay. The initial shock gave way to a growing sense of excitement.

He found himself standing atop a hill, connected to other hills by rickety wooden bridges. The darkness surrounding him made it difficult to see the landscape clearly. At the foot of the hill, there was a white mist covering the land below.

Softly, a masculine voice spoke to him, “My child, you have finally returned. Welcome back to the village of Enlil.”

Ian's gaze turned towards the source of the voice, and he saw a young sapling on the highest hill. A faint blue glow emanated from its base, beckoning him forward.

“Cool. First, a bookwyrm, now a talking tree.” Ian muttered to himself. He gathered his strength to stand up.

“It has been ages since a human entered this space. And my strength… The strength that was bestowed to me is fading. There is no time, come to me, child.” The sound was fainter than before.

Ian got up and took a few steps, unknowingly drawn to the tree. When he stepped on the grass, the path lit up like twinkle of little yellow fluorescence, showing him the way. But his footsteps were not the only ones he heard. His focus was distracted by the light footsteps threaded behind him.

In the distance, Ian could see a figure approaching him, but he couldn't quite make out who it was until the man reached him. He had a frail, weak voice, and asked, “Hey there, can you hear me?”

Ian sat up and looked at the man. He appeared to be about the same age as Ian and was panting heavily as if he had run a long distance. “The name's Sawl. How did you get down here?” he asked.

“I… I don’t know how,” Ian answered. It was quite hard for him to explain that an ancient being appeared in the library and dragged him into this place. Wherever this was

Ian looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. They were on a narrow wooden bridge connecting two hills, surrounded by dense fog. “Where is this place?” he asked.

Sawl looked at Ian with suspicion, wondering if he went crazy. “Cut the act, man. Whether attracted here by wealth or by fate, human folks should stick together,” he said.

Ian studied the man before him, he does look like a human. No pointy ears, his skin has tints of red blush. He wore a typical adventure outfit with a white cape strung across his shoulders. A sword was tucked neatly in his red belt.

“I don’t know where I am, really. I fell from the sky.” Ian said honestly.

Sawl didn’t know how to react, “Right… I guess weird things do happen in Axtral.”

“You… believe me?”

“No offense, but not in the slightest.”

“Right.” Ian agreed. He wouldn’t believe it if someone told him that too.

“I’ll take you back to the village to meet everyone later. For now, follow me.” Sawl said, pointing to the tree.

As they made their way across the wooden bridges, the cool night air brushed against their skin. The sound of their footsteps echoed across the quiet village, and the soft glow of the path illuminated their path. Ian followed Sawl closely, his heart racing with anticipation as they drew closer to the mysterious tree on the hill.

“Really. Just to be sure. What sort of weird things happen in Axtral?” Ian asked, peering over.

Sawl continued to regale him with tales of the strange and wonderful things that could be found in Axtral. “Hmm… Let’s see. There’s a place in Berlag where the season changes every few days. The priest claimed that they are controlling the weather, but I call that a bullshit.”

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Ian raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by that?”

“Honestly, there’s no way someone can switch the weather just like that. Rumors go around saying that someone did a meddled with dark magic over there.”

Ian nodded his head, impressed. “I meant the seasons.”

“The weather can change from summer to winter in a night. The seasons changes every few days. It’s really bad to live there, but people manage. It recently became a big tourist spot I heard.” Sawl said, nodding his head.

Ian stood there in awe. His eyes fixated on the Sawl. This was what he had been missing all along? The unquelled curiosity within him burned brighter than ever before. “I-I want to go there!” he exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement.

Seeing to how the boy was excited, Sawl continued, “In my travels, I have seen something even rarer than the mythical Golden dragon. A pink bear.”

“A pink, what?” Ian repeated.

“Yes, a pink bear with blue paws. You wouldn't believe the look on my face when I saw it. It was kind of small.” Sawl said, holding up his hands mimicking paws.

Ian's mind was racing. A pink bear with blue paws? What sort of evolutionary disaster was this? He had never heard of such a creature before. Was it a new discovery or just a rare species that he hadn't come across yet? He longed to explore the world and uncover its mysteries, but his amnesia made it difficult to remember anything for long.

The tree from far above whispered to Ian softly, “Be careful… He is not as he appears to be.”

Ian listened, but he chose to observe a little longer.

After a while, they reached a forked road. One had a stable bridge, while the other had questionable safety features. The glittering lights on their path showed that they should take the less stable path, but Sawl went to the stable bridge. Ian’s suspicion rose, as he asked, “Why are we going there?”

“Seriously? Is that even a question?” Sawl chuckled, holding his head high and crossing the bridge. “We’re in the heart of the chaos dungeon. Be careful, alright?” Sawl said.

“Sounds familiar,” Ian said, nodding his head, not really understanding the danger that comes with it.

“What, did you lose your memories or something? The chaos dungeons! Everybody knows about it.”

Should he tell Sawl that he only had memories from a day ago? Nah, he will mention it if it’s of importance.

“Come, walk with me.” Sawl grinned, gesturing to come over. Ian followed closely at the back.

As they crossed the wooden bridge, Ian couldn't help but stare down at the thick white mist enveloping the foot of the hill. It seemed to coil and writhe like a living thing, almost beckoning him to come closer. Sawl caught Ian's gaze and spoke up, “That's the Mist of Lost Souls. They say those who wander into it never come back.” Ian shuddered at the thought.

“Each dungeon has their own characteristics. It really sucks. This one lured the people of my village in here. And they were never to be found.” Sawl said softly, his voice growing increasingly louder. A sense of realization hit Sawl. “They say those who never left the dungeon never aged. Maybe you were wandering around here for centuries!”

“You might be my ancestor’s relative!” Sawl exclaimed with loads of sarcasm.

Ian raised his eyebrows, “I’m quite positive that I fell from the sky.”

“Figures,” Sawl said in a cool tone.

Ian asked, “What do you need to do now?”

The man looked far beyond. “We need to burn the tree up there. That’s the seed of chaos.”

Ian was slightly confused, looking around the area. “Seed of chaos, huh? This place doesn’t look very chaotic to me.”

Sawl’s eyes widened, “Be careful what you wish for. But you’re right. I expected more since we’re near the center of the dungeon. Unless this is not the center?”

Ian gazed at the sword by his belt. It was clean and sharp, free of any stain. “Maybe this is not a chaos dungeon at all. Maybe we don’t have to burn the tree down?”

“Highly doubt it,” Sawl answered, noticing three figures appearing at the opposite end of the bridge. “Look, the miasmic wolves.”

Ian narrowed his eyes, finding three shadow wolves growling in a low rumble. Sawl unsheathed his sword, “See this miasma monster? It just confirmed that this place is the chaos dungeons. Other than in Iolite and the Abyss, miasmic creatures only exist in chaos dungeons.”

Sawl looked at Ian. Ian was unarmed, staring back at Sawl with unease. “You don’t know the way out, right? Wait here.”

Sawl charged towards the three wolves, the glint of his sword as he prepared to strike. With a swift slash, one of the wolves was sliced neatly into half, its miasmic form dissipating into the air. Sawl pulled his sword back, reading the other two wolf’s movements. He swiftly dodged their attacks with graceful footwork, spinning around to deliver a powerful strike to the flank of one of the wolves. It let out a howl of pain as its miasmic form dissipated into the air, leaving only one remaining.

Ian watched in awe. His eyes transfixed on Sawl's movements. He was like a leaf dancing in the wind, dodging every bite and claw from the wolves with ease. With two swift strikes, the remaining wolf was defeated, and its miasmic form dissipated into the air like smoke. Ian let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

“That’s cool,” Ian muttered, soft enough so that Sawl doesn’t hear it.

Sawl looked front, facing straight at the tree. “Come, we have more ground to cover.”

Ian grinned, following at the back excitedly. Sawl cleared out more miasmic monsters in the form of bears and orcs. The closer they were to the tree sapling, the stronger the monsters became.

“You’re a human, right? How did you become so strong?” Ian asked him.

Sawl stopped a while, pulling his sword out of the monster. “Strong? I’m barely strong.”

“Then, did you just train hard? I thought humans were meant to be weak.”

Sawl turned quiet. “Never ever say that humans are weak. And never, ever give up on humanity.” He spoke.

“But… we don’t have anything, right? No magic like the elves, or physical enhancements like beast man.” Ian muttered.

“Humans have something that Creations never will have.”

“What is that?” Ian asked curiously.

Sawl thought a while but shook his head. “I can’t tell you, you will be in danger.”

“It’s not something like ‘empathy’ and ‘power of friendship’, right?”

Sawl turned back disgusted, “What? What can you even do with that?”

“Figures.” Ian mimicked Sawl.

“No, I just can’t tell you. You will have to discover it on your own.”

Before he realized, they were already standing in front of the sapling. It was barely taller than Ian’s waist, its brown leaves drooping down. The bark was ashen black, as if it was burnt before. The blue crystal glowed dimly in blue, as if it was calling for help.

“Stand back Ian. You don’t want to be involved in this. I’ll burn the tree down,” Sawl advised, pointing to the other direction.

Ian just walked closer to the blue light, as if mesmerized by it. The blue light was calling out to him.

“H-Hey, get away from the thing. You don’t know what it will do to you!” Sawl warned again, pushing Ian away with his body. Ian backed away slightly, with his eyes locking into his.

“Why don’t you hear it?” Ian asked. His gaze didn’t move from the blue shine. He reached out his hand to the blue glow. But before he could do that, he felt a certain murderous aura from Sawl.

“Hey Ian, this is for your good, don’t touch it.”

Ian's lips curved into a small smile, his eyes shining with a glint of amusement. “This is just like those mystery stories. At times like this, I should be saying that line, huh?”

“What’s so funny?” Sawl responded, curious about the sudden demeanor.

Ian's smile widened, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. “How did you know my name is Ian?”