Aevum rises on a cold, empty and dark island. He shivers even though he can’t really feel the air. Surrounding the land is a large mass of solid ice. He looks over at a cave nearby. Sitting by a crackling fire is a withered man clawing at his beard.

“Excuse me, sir? Are you alright?” The Elder mutters something under his breath in a fast, raspy voice. “Hey, buddy. Where are we?” He grabs my shoulder and with a loud gasp for air bellows,

“Under the River, over the Sea. Death comes for you and me! Get over regret and live with glee, only then will you be free!” He jerks back and pulls out a clump of his matted hair. The old man claws Aevum’s hand leaving marks but Aevum also does not feel the pain. Aevum looks at his hand until the wound miraculously vanishes. He leaves the man be and walks to the island edge. He sees a few men near the water either huddled into balls or completely frozen. He went to touch the frozen statues but they collapse entirely with little force. He looks across to the frozen water. Peering outward he can almost make out a man crawling toward him.

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“Damien!” He rushes onto ice, almost slipping as he makes his way over to the man. He finds Damien with Lifeless eyes, extending out to Island. “No no no, please don’t let this be it. Stay with me!” He grabs his outstretched arms and starts dragging the body behind him. He stops when he sees a crack appear in the ice. The cracks grow in number and size until the surface they stand on starts breaking apart. Aevum rushes to the island, leaving Damien to slide into the waters below. A large chunk breaks off and he falls back into an empty void. No water nor air, nor sound exists. Aevum wakes up grabbing his chest with sweat beating down his forehead. He grabs a quill before heading to the study.