Archil is in a room. The room has two mirrors to either side of him. Looking to both sides

allows him to see dozens upon dozens of copies of himself, but these aren't mirrors. For

when Archil looks right so do all the images.

"What is this place?" Archil wonders.

Archil walks over to one of the walls. As he reaches out to it the room shatters and Archil

falls into eternal abyss. He isn't sure if he is screaming or not, because he can hear

nothing else than the air roaring around him. After what seemed like an eternity, Archil hit

the pitch black bottom, hard. He slams into it and a jolt of pain arches through his body.

His ribs feel broken and shattered. It feels like something sharp is sticking into his back.

Yet somehow Archil lives. Stranger still, the pain soon fades as if the wounds were never

there to begin with.

A light appears in the darkness. It slowly creeps up to Archil. As it gets closer the bottom of

the abyss is revealed to be a simple flat plain. Upon contact with the light the plain itself

starts to glow.

After a moment a voice echoes through the chasm. A voice all too familiar to Archil.

"Welcome Archil!" The fake god says. "How are your wounds?"

"It would seem they healed completely, Axsel." Archil says. "What brings you here?"

The fake god frowns.

"The real question is, Archil, why are you here." He says. "This is my world after all, not

yours."

"Then I assume you summoned me?" Archil asks. "I do not see any other reason for me to

be on your side."

"In a way I did bring you here, Archil." Axsel says. "However this isn't like before, where I

guided your soul to a state where you can watch from your side. This time I made you

cross the line as if you were a medium. We gods, you see, can guide souls 'close' to us in

specific directions, including bringing them into our realm. That is how Lycon became a

god after all. For souls to be 'close' to us though, we need them to believe that we are with

the same cause."

"So what is the difference now?" Archil asks. "Do you need something from me?"

"No, Archil, quite the opposite in fact." Axsel says. "But more of that later. Now you must

follow me. There is a rather interesting journey ahead of you. A journey which I will not

follow you on. Follow me!"

They walk up to a deep dark hole in the plain.

"You will go down here and see for yourself what lies ahead." The fake god continues.

"After that we say goodbye."

Just before Archil reacts the fake god turns and grabs him by the neck and pushes him.

Archil is tossed into the void.

"Good luck, my friend!" Axsel yells after him.

Archil is falling. Unsure of the time that has progressed he has even lost the sense of

falling. No wind blows in his face. It is almost as if he were motionless. As Archil reaches

about him however, he can still feel no solid surface anywhere. Before long he falls asleep.

A great, radiant city looms over Archil. A marble city in the snow. As Archil wonders over

the dozens of spires he notices something unsettling. The eery silence is off-putting

somehow. Soon Archil notices the smoke rising from within the city. The corpse of a

strange creature leans agains the wall of the city. It looks up at the sun. It greatly

resembles a human, but it has pupils shaped like lines and its skeleton covers the outside

of its skin. The skin itself is of a dark purple colour. On its breastbone rests a great radiant

jewel.

Just as Archil walks forward to more closely examine the Atracarian, the world fades.

Archil raises his sword to deflect the blow of the axe of a peasant wearing nothing but

cloth. He deflects the axe left and hacks a big cut into the man's shoulder. He falls to the

ground screaming in pain. Archil is standing on a wall, but too familiar to Archil. It is the

wall at the bridge in the city of Oliron. Behind him the city is ablaze. In front dozens of men

are streaming across the wall. They run past Archil into the city.

A great hall suddenly appears around Archil. Torches light the far apart walls. Small

intelligent looking men seem to be having a discussion. Pentilians maybe? Archil can't

know for sure, because all he knows of Pentilians is that they are small and that they live

on the mainland. The latter can't be certain.

He is back in the marble city. He now stands on the great tower. The one that rises high

above the others.

"Interesting to meet a human in such a fashion." A deep voice says from behind Archil.

Archil turns around. Before him stands a tall Atracarian. Unlike the dead one from earlier

this one radiates energy. "Warped through time. You are a most interesting fellow."

The door behind the Atracarian shakes wildly. Someone or something yells from the other

side of the door. "Again!"

"Unwanted visitors it seems." The Atracarian says. "My name is Uterion by the way. Good

to meet you, riftwalker."

"Archil." Archil says. "The name is Archil. What is happening here?"

"You are seeing what is most likely to be." Uterion says. "I would tell you more, but I fear I

know no more."

Archil's vision breaks and shatters. He is suddenly standing in the large hall again. It is

different now. There is no discussion and the torches are dim. A crack appears in the

ceiling. Large rocks rain down and smash the floor. The walls start to crumble and all the

patterns lose their shape. Before long everything around Archil is covered in rocks. As one

lands on his head causing him to fall.

As he gets back up he notices he is back in Oliron. He is stood on the buildings behind the

wall. As he looks to the south along the bridge he notices the horrific truth displayed there.

Rows upon rows of corpses litter the bridge. City guards are cleaning their armour and

weapons. They do not seem to celebrate their victory. They merely look sad.

A loud noise suddenly fills the air. A horde of Goblins rushes onto the bridge, consuming

corpses as they go. The guards get their weapons ready, but to late. Too many Goblins hit

their lines and dozens of men are killed. Before long their lines are broken. The Goblins

are climbing the walls now. Archers desperately try to hold them of by shooting them as

they climb, but it is in vain. Before long they too die. Only moments later they are climbing

the building Archil is stood on. Archil swiftly kills two of them with his sword, but ten more

arrive and Archil loses his footing. He falls to the ground which is now crawling with

Goblins.

Archil closes his eyes expecting to hit the ground hard, followed by him being ripped to

shreds. The ground never came. Archil seems to still be falling, even though he should

have hit the ground moments ago. He opens his eyes and to his amazement he sees the

marble city around him. A few meters to his right is the Atracarian, also falling.

"Goodbye then, walker." He says. "Good luck with the journey."

They both slam into the ground. Archil mysteriously lives, but Uterion is instantly turned

into a red pile of goo. Archil's eyes lose focus and he faints.

He wakes up in Oliron. It is more desolate now. No Goblins, no guards, no corpses. Just

battered buildings and the eery silence. Soon Archil realises he is stood where the spire

was once placed. Realising nothing will happen if he doesn't move, Archil heads to the

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south in order to find the bridge. It only takes a few minutes to get there, which is strange

since the island is bigger than that. As Archil looks across the bridge he sees nothing but a

desolate empty field. No forests, no grass, no plants. The island is empty as far as the eye

can see. All that remains is a type of black soil.

Suddenly Archil notices movement. Phantom images fly by him and before long the city of

Oliron is alive and well again. The peace only lasts a moment. Egg-like structures start

raining from the sky crushing buildings and destroying streets. The eggs then break open

and out comes a horrifically big insect. It is green of colour, has six legs and its front legs

appear to be massive razor blades. The cut down everything in their path, consuming it as

the go. Before long the screaming in the city stops and is replaced by an empty silence, all

humans devoured by the beasts. The creature head out across the bridge and start eating

the forests. Once again all that remains is Archil. Archil falls to his knees. The horror he

just saw hitting home. That was worse than Goblins. Nothing could save man from a

creature like that. Not now and probably not ever.

As Archil prepares to get up the ground underneath him drops and he falls into a large

ocean. Behind him lies a port. In front of him sail four sturdy looking ships two smaller

ships leave the port to intercept them, but the bigger ships simple ram them instantly

causing them to sink. Short men jump over the sides.. The ships beach themselves and

dozens of men armed to the teeth run towards the port.

Archil is dripping water on a wooden floor. He looks around himself and notices Axsel next

to a fireplace, sitting in an extremely comfortable chair. Next to him a similar chair is stood.

"Please Archil, sit!" Axsel says. "We have talking to do. Do you want some tea?"

"Some what?" Archil asks as he takes seat. The chairs seem to be made in such a way

that no matter who takes a sear in it it will always be perfect. Archil needs to pay close

attention as of to not doze of into sleep.

"Tea, Archil!" Axsel says. "Have some. I can almost guarantee you will like it." He hand

Archil a small cup filled with a steaming liquid. "I am surprised humans forgot how to make

this stuff. You humans invented it after all. I guise you simply can't grow the herbs on Oliron. Do you

like it?"

Archil is surprised to find that as he takes a sip from the glass the liquid poured lacks both

temperature and taste.

"It is a true shame that I can't simulate taste." Axsel says. "It is not quite like the real thing, is

it?"

"Can you explain the insects to me please?" Archil asks, putting down his cup. "Why did

they show up and eat everything?"

"Insects?" Axsel says. Suddenly his eyes widen. "That is not good. For now I want you to

tell me everything. I have not seen what you saw, you see?"

Archil quickly tells Axsel a summary of what happened.

"Most interesting indeed." Axsel says. "This is most usefull information Archil. Thank you."

"So what is next." Archil asks. "Do I go back now?"

The fake god gets a faint look on his face. "What do you think about being immortal

Archil?" Axsel asks. "Would you like to be a god?"

"A god?" Archil asks surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Purely hypothetical." Axsel says. "Would you like to ascend to godhood?"

"I might very well chose that option if it were coming my way." Archil says. "Why do you

ask this of me?"

"You might not quite survive a Dragon's tail, Archil." Axsel says. "You may be my priest, but

you are by no means invincible. That is reserved for gods alone. Even Atracarians have a

weakness. They are weak to the loss of blood."

"Are you saying that..." Archil begins.

"Yes, you are at deaths' door, my friend." Axsel says. "You have served me well and I

thank you for it. This is were we part ways. Our last meeting so to speak."

"But you can save me right?" Archil says. "You can make me immortal or something,

anything!"

"I will not." Axel says. "It is not right for me to do so. Bestowing that fate on you is

something I will not do, even if it is to save your life. It would not be fair to you."

"How is dying fair?" Archil yells.

"How is living eternally fair?" Axsel says. "Do you know how long eternity actually is? Do

you even have the slightest idea? It exceeds 'a long time' a thousands times over and

even then eternity is a long time away. I will not terrorise you in this manner."

"I insist you reconsider!" Archil says. "Living must be better than ending."

"It does seem so the first few hundred years." Axsel admits. "Then you start seeing the

repeat in history. Before long you lose all interest in the world. After that what is left for you

to do than create new situations to ease your boredom. Before long you have turned into

that which we are fighting now."

"And what makes you so special?" Archil asks. "What keeps you from the boredom?"

"I am an exception among gods, Archil." Axsel says. "Unlike any of them I know how to

manifest a physical body using interriftal energy. I use it to move among you freely. You too

have this power, but you are no mage. You cannot manifest it. A shame really."

"So you will just sit there and watch me die?" Archil asks.

"Yes, yes I will." Axsel says.

That moment Archil feels himself slip away. That which anchored him is no more. Slowly

his thoughts fade. His form slips away into the abyss. Nothing follows.

"Now then." Axsel says rubbing his hands.. "To resolve the matter of the insects..."

Archil's coffin is simple. Just a rectangular wooden crate. Two more are present for the

burying of Hansel and Steven. The three of the are being buried on one of the hills near

Southbank. A trio of heroes they call them. The dead always achieve more credit than the

living. The burial is accompanied by most of the townsfolk. They too mourn their dead.

The person that is most devastated though is Gilbert. He has gone silent since his master

passed away last night. Xandrian seems only mildly phased by Archil's dead. A reminder of

their mortality.

Xandrian learned something from the encounter with the Dragon though. The backlash he

emits when he casts a spell is access energy that is unused. So if he wills it to fill a certain

purpose, the backlash would not be as bad.

That night, during Gilbert's short night's rest, he has a dream much unlike a dream. He

stands on a wooden floor. Two chairs and a fireplace are placed in front of him.

"Good morning, Gilbert." Axsel says. "Please take a seat."

"Why?" Gilbert says. "Why did he have to die?"

"For the cause, Gilbert." Axsel says. "Our cause caused his death."

"Then why should I follow it?" Gilbert says. "Why should I follow that which killed my

master?"

"Will his death be in vain then?" Axsel says. "Will you not proceed to finish what he

started? Would you rather stay in that solitary town and rot away, while your master

wasted his life? Continue fighting, Gilbert. Honer Archil and fight for what he believed in."

"No." Gilbert says. "This is ridiculous! There is no way for us to accomplish anything with

this godforsaken quest. I don't want any part of this! Where is the exit?"