It was frightening how different the world really was.

Riven swallowed hard, staring at the giant eyes in the sky. It was as if he couldn't look away; he was scared to face the reality. To think an illusion can hide this sight from you. He didn't even want to breathe; who knew what the air was in this place?

It was as if they were in the stomach of a monster, the market they had built, it too was made out of bones and flesh... it made his stomach hurl watching the others continue with their work, not knowing what they were selling in reality... '

At least, he was able to make Lyra wake up. The girl was smart; she had lived a hard life in the Withered, just like him. And he wasn't Aether's left hand for nothing... only left, though, he was the right hand of course.

It was also nice bragging to her that he had woken up first, and that she needed him to do so. Even if the girl had done it soon enough.

Still, it didn't matter who did it first when Aether still existed. Tot thinks the guy had been living in such a world until now, all alone. He didn't understand how their boss had been able to see through the illusion on the first day they got sent here.

He knew that he had some experience with illusion because of his earring, but he had more, so it couldn't be it. Was it will? It could be it, after all, he couldn't name someone he knew with a bigger will than that guy.

...

There was also his theory.

They had fallen under the illusion more easily because they saw the fake world and accepted it. Living in a place like the Withered made them wish for a safe place, where the sun blessed them, which was exactly what the Glass Kingdom was. Their exact dream world. They had fallen under the illusion because they hoped for salvation, and had accepted it without even questioning its purity.

But if this were the case. It meant that for whatever reason, when Aether saw the world, he had rejected it. He didn't know why, after all, he didn't think he wanted to live in this kind of world, to. So was it just that he was too fixated on his goal that he would reject a perfect world?

He knew that Aether had a different goal than theirs, but since both aligned, he didn't care.

They wanted to find a way to make the Withered independent from the Blue Rose, to finally become their own kingdom, and maybe even make the Withered somehow livable, and more importantly, united.

But Aether wanted revenge. That was clear; both he and Lyra knew that. Yet they still followed him. Because if there is someone who can get their revenge on the Blue Rose, it would be the Abyss.

So, was it because of his hunger for revenge that he could walk through the illusion like it was nothing...?

..."Scary." Such determination is scary; who knew what else he would do for his revenge? If it came to it, would he kill them for it?

Either way, it wasn't the time for such an unimportant hypothetical question. They had work to do, specifically, to check the castle in the sky.

They had to find Aether, and if he had to guess, this is where he probably is, or at least was at some time.

And after finding a rope leading up, he was proven correct. The boy had to have been here at some time. The castle itself was terrifying. When he saw it in the sky, it was majestic, but now that he saw the world for what it really was, he wanted to vomit looking at it.

But they had to continue.

...

Walking through the many empty halls, he was losing hope, hope that Aether had really been here, but, after stumbling upon the bodies of two priests... he knew exactly who had done it.

While they were struggling to get out of the illusion, Aether was already fighting, already trying to find a way to change the ending. They were doing nothing but walk in the footsteps he had left behind for them.

Examining the bodies, he realized they had been dead for quite a while now. Meaning Aether had left this place, and by now...

Riven got back up, walking to the edge of the island, and looking at the Sanctum.

"He is probably already inside."

...

...

After such an impact, Aether had taken a lot to recover; if it wasn't for his hunger, he wouldn't have survived. He couldn't let himself die, not now that he was close. The Heartforge had to be near. Somewhere, inside the darkness. There was no light in this place, only darkness... meaning, he was going to do this fast, or his mark was going to activate. He had probably already wasted a lot of it, so he really needed to go.

But, he still had to do something.

Aether looked to his right, where, somehow, Jay was resting. How the boy had gotten here, and how he had survived, he had no idea.

...

'Plot armor.'

...

And it wasn't like it was a good thing, after all, he had to carry him if he didn't wake up. But he was going to do everything to make sure that doesn't happen. He slapped him many times, shook him violently, and tickled him; he had done everything he could. The boy just wouldn't wake up.

He frowned, whining, knowing he was going to have to carry him.

Grabbing his hands, he wrapped them around his neck and moved his legs, wrapping them around his waist. The worst part about this thing was the fact that Jay was heavy, really heavy. But he couldn't let him alone, and neither could he wait. After all, his marks would kill him if he did. After all, not only had most of the time been wasted, but his body wasn't in the best condition, meaning his soul was more vulnerable than usual.

Walking through the darkness, he felt the gaze of many; he was watched, his every moment the shadows saw. Their sharp eyes pierced through him, watching over his soul, as the mark slowly damaged it. Watching as it was slowly getting more painful. His soul was durable from all the training he had done, but not invincible.

...

With several minutes passing, he felt his body becoming weaker. He had to take many breaks where he wasted precious time, time that now, with his soul starting to hurt, was coming back to bite him.

With his soul starting to hurt, he knew it wasn't long until it was going to become unbearable, and if he didn't find a light in time, he was...

Going to die.

"Shit..."

He didn't even know if he should push his body. If he did so, it would become weaker, also making his soul weaker. It was something he didn't want to risk, at least not now.

But even without pushing his body, the pain was intensifying, and slowly his walking pace was slowing, as he had to gasp for air more. The worst sign, though, was his vision blurring slightly. Even if it was only a little blurred, it was still a bad sign; he was close, and there was no sign of a light.

...

With his vision almost completely blurry, he didn't know if he was hallucinating or not. On the verge of death. He noticed a giant golden door, casting light over the darkness. He hurried to it, if you could even call it that. It was more of a... desperate, slow walk.

Yet... as he was about to pass out from the pain, he reached forward with his hand, the tip of his finger barely touched the light, sending a surge of energy through his body, and the pain stopped. His soul was still damaged greatly, almost to the point it was destroyed, but... at least, he was alive.

Walking fully into the light, he let himself finally rest.

...

But not for long, as not long after he had fallen asleep, Jay had woken him up. The boy was wicked; it was his fault he got in that state, and now he wasn't even letting him recover.

But at the same time, he was right, even if he had not seen anything inside the darkness, that didn't mean there was nothing.

Aether took a deep breath, opening the door to a gigantic room. The place was grand, the floor made out of pure white marble. He could see his reflection looking down at it. Pillars of quartz stood tall, glued to the walls made out of carved stone.

There were many statues of knight towering over them, each holding a different weapon in their head.

At the end of the room, a throne rested, where a stone statue of an angel stood; it was much smaller than the rest, about their size.

...

Yet the most important thing in the room was none of the statues.

...

But the Heartforge.

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