The forest that has sheltered me all my life now seems to have twisted against me. Where once leafy boughs sheltered, now skeletal branches probe and tug at my clothing, further drawing into their into their embrace. A thick layer of cloying detrius squelches unpleasantly under my feet.

Further along the trail, I spot something altogether much worse.

My faltering pace quickens with each step, the sheer scale of the forest surrounding me only crushing me with every step. I feel a slight tremor in the earth. Is this the end?

I see... a void.

A slight sob escapes me as a noise breaks the deafening silence.

However, this is no ordinary solitary night howl. This is different. A multitude of different voice join in, each weaving their own song, interlinking together into a melodious call from beyond. I'm swayed by this song. Sonorous harmonies descend into swooping arpeggios, each more lavish and solemn than the last. A piercingly haunting trill sounds, far removed from the devastation of the bass, a beacon of light amidst the chaos. The trill fades into wistful silence, an altogether more ethereal, discordant harmony overtaking it. The song reaches its zenith, climbing into watery skies far beyond. The note suspends, held aloft by nothing. It speaks of sunlight dancing, starless night covering the bitter day.

A jarring spiral donwards warps from almost nowhere, a sharp pain lancing through me with its onset. An almost frenzied, panicked surge roils in my ears, threatening to overcome me. There's no order or structure to it, only a wall of undulating, undying turbulence. An almost tremulous heartbeat throbs, deep within the abyss, bringing an almost imperceptible calm to the maelstrom.

A high-pitched ringing layers itself stealthily over the top, and I struggle to keep it at bay.

Let go. It whispers to me, and sudden I feel an almost irrepressable urge to let go, to be one with the abyss.

"Please..." I hear myself say, but it feels muffled, as if I am only sinking further into murky depths, far beyond the day. Everything slows. The light begins to fade, quashed by the night. The night reigns supreme, eclipsing the light, entering every crack and crevice where once light shone.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Let go. it whispers to me, and sudden I feel an almost irrepressable urge to let go, to be one with the abyss.

It's futile to resist. Every heartbeat returns slower than before.

Everything is gone. I stand in an abyss, caught between two rifts, each one as precarious and uncertain as the other.

There is no light. Only shadow remains. I feel as though I'm wading into deep water, my movements erractic and sluggish. Maybe I have come to Iáea. An endless of plain of the undying.

Only Marien can help me now, if I am trapped between planes.

Iáea is a place of shadow. The place where those who forsook either side, or died with great regret. Those lost here remain as little more than shades of their former selves.

I feel the cold embrace of the darkness, an inescapable pull that threatens to consume me entirely. Shadows twist and writhe around me, whispering secrets I cannot understand, promises of release from the relentless struggle. My body feels heavy, lost to what lies beyond.

Ariena, tē hantê deá. Hanté.

A voice, soft yet resolute, calls my name. It is a beacon of warmth, cutting through the encroaching night. I grasp onto it, clinging to the faint hope it offers.

"Fight," the voice urges, and I can feel a flicker of strength returning to me. The darkness recoils slightly, as if wary of this newfound light that touches it. Slowly, painfully, I begin to push back against the void, inching towards the light that now seems just within reach. Maybe Marien has come to me. To aid me in my hour of need.

This awakened evil makes one last futile effort to lure me into its embrace.

"You want your family back. I can give that to you. Just let go, Ariana."

I pause, unsure of what to do. Should I heed these words? Do they lead to what I've always dreamed of?

I take another hesitant step towards the threshold, conflicted. I feel a slight warmth on my finger, and I look down, more out of instinct rather than anything else. My ring is alight. The warm glow suffuses my body, lending me some strength. All of a sudden, the warring side within my soul, temptation in a physical manifestation, quiets. Its whispered promises appear shallow, and it's easy to wrench my mind away from it. But, doubt still gnaws away at me. I have wanted to find my true family. Maybe this is the way to find out, by following a dark path.

"Is it not what what you've always wanted?"

"Yes." I silently affirm. The heat on my finger throbs, increasing with pulsing intensity. The shadows shift, as light splits the abyss into fragmented halves. I take a step towards the light.

"I will not heed your call, Chaos. Even if you wish me to. I am a descendant of the Wardens of Maldréa. You fight a battle you won't ever win." I speak to the void.

"I look forward to seeing you again, daughter of Marien." Chaos speaks inside my head once more.

Fractured images of faces appear in my vision. One in particular seems familiar, but the vision is gone before I can properly think.

"I have taken many forms. I will exist long beyond your passing. Your line is finished.

Have we, the Wardens of Maldréa, succeeded? And why has Chaos spoken to me?