Fates and Thrones

Foreseen

There had not been a single night since I returned when I'd slept more than three hours. Tonight was no different. Sleep, when it came, was fractured by dreams of black gates and endless lines of waiting souls. Ever since the first shared dream with Aleesia, my nights seemed split: haunted by either shadows or those gates.

Tonight, Aleesia had slipped away to her garden, a usual routine for her. But unlike other nights, none of her trio stayed behind. Normally, one of them would play cards with me or linger in quiet companionship. This time, I was left entirely alone.

At first, I welcomed it. The quiet allowed me to catch up on my reading, particularly the research I'd been neglecting. Underworld: Myth & Magic promised insights, but page after page, it proved to be another hollow collection of myths and theories.

The shadows in the room shifted uneasily, mirroring my growing frustration. I slammed the book shut, the noise sending the shadows skittering like startled birds. "I'm so tired of reading the same useless ideas over and over! All I want is to know how to reach the underworld without dying."

The shadows swirled in agitation; their movement chaotic. "Calm," I murmured, running a hand over my face. "I'm fine." But the lie felt thin, even to me.

"If only Nekrosyl were around," I muttered, half-joking. "He'd know."

A voice, smooth as velvet and cool as a winter wind, answered: "You would be correct, little darkness. I do have the answer you seek."

I froze. His words curled around me, filling the room before he appeared—a figure draped in black, his lantern casting an eerie, flickering glow. Nekrosyl, the God of Death, stood before me.

"You could have asked at any point," he said, stepping closer. "I would have answered."

A sharp gasp escaped me, muffled quickly by my hand. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Did you truly believe we'd leave you alone? Your godhood stirs, and the struggles you face are no secret to us. I've been here all along, watching." His tone softened, calming the restless shadows.

I blinked, guilt threading through me. "Sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I just... thought I was alone."

"You are not so easily rid of me." He lowered himself beside me, the lantern casting shadows that seemed to dance in his presence. Hesitantly, I leaned my head against his shoulder. For a moment, he stiffened, then set the lantern down, wrapping me in an unexpectedly warm embrace.

"Who's covering your job?" I asked voice muffled against his shoulder.

He chuckled softly. "Worry not. I am older than time itself, little darkness. There is little I have not prepared for."

"Okay, so what do we do to get down there? The dreams are driving me mad." I turned my head to look up at him.

"Easy, you will ride Xolovar's boat across the Letheos. He will do it the once, without you owing him. However, if you need to cross again the two of you will have to figure it out on your own accord." He pauses and looks down at me. "There is still a cost to this mission though. You two must travel alone."

I nodded. Of course, there would be a price. There always was one. Nothing ever came for free. "Alone? Aleesia and her boys will not like that."

"They know. That is why they are with her tonight. Just in case." His words flowed off before he grabbed his lantern. "I must go, little darkness."

As the door closed behind Nekrosyl, a profound silence settled over the room. The air felt heavy, thick with something I couldn't quite place. The shadows, always a quiet presence, now felt oppressive. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to change.

Then it came.

A sharp, sudden jolt like the earth itself was trembling. My breath caught, my pulse quickened, and before I could brace myself, a vision exploded in my mind.

I was standing at the edge of a vast, endless void. The sky above was no longer a sky. It was torn apart, blackened, with jagged cracks running through it like a shattered mirror. Dark clouds swirled in the distance, ominous and thick, crawling toward me with an unnatural hunger. I felt it, even from where I stood: the pull of that darkness, like it was calling to me.

The world below was a ruin. Entire cities lay in rubble, streets empty and scorched. What had once been bright, full of life, was now a hollow, lifeless shell. The ground itself seemed to warp and twist, the earth sinking into shadows. There were no more sounds, no birds, no wind, just silence. Absolute, suffocating silence.

And in the center of it all; the Darkness. It loomed like a living, breathing thing, its tendrils stretching out across the land. It reached for everything, suffocating it, consuming it, until nothing remained but the cold, empty void.

I couldn't move, couldn't speak. I was trapped in the vision, unable to look away as the Darkness swallowed entire realms, entire lives, erasing everything in its wake. I saw Aleesia, her face pale and stricken with horror, standing beside me, but she was too small, too fragile against the enormity of the shadow that was taking over.

Then, from the heart of the Darkness, a shape emerged. A silhouette, cloaked in shadow, its eyes burning with a cruel, insatiable hunger. It stood tall, towering over the remains of the world. I knew, somehow, that this was the thing that controlled the Darkness, the source. And in its wake, it left nothing but ruin, devastation, and the final silence of death.

The voice came then, deep and resonant, echoing through the void: "You cannot stop it. The world will fall, and there will be no one left to save it. Umbros will claim all, as he wills."

A cold shiver ran down my spine, and I wanted to scream, but no sound came. I was frozen, helpless.

And then, just as quickly as it came, the vision shattered. The world snapped back into focus, but the weight of it, the reality of it, remained. My heart hammered in my chest, my breaths shallow as the room around me seemed to close in.

"What was that?" I whispered, my voice shaking.

The shadows around me stirred, restless. They hummed, almost as if they, too, had felt the weight of the vision. The darkness, the true darkness, was coming, and there was nothing to stop it. The world was dying, and it was only a matter of time before it reached us.

I staggered to my feet, my legs unsteady, and rushed to my bag, hands shaking as I grabbed it. The urgency hit me like a wave. There was no time to waste. I couldn't sit idly by while the world was consumed by this force. I had to prepare. Had to be ready.

I grabbed Aleesia's bag, adding the essentials: her cloak, food, water, a few weapons. My mind raced, the images of the vision still vivid, still burning in my mind. The Darkness wasn't just some myth, it was real, and it was coming for us.

I couldn't let it take her. I couldn't let it take me.

As I stuffed the last of the supplies into the bags, the reality of it all hit me like a punch to the gut. There was no turning back. We had to go now.

We were the last hope, the only ones who could prevent the Darkness from claiming everything.

And if we didn't succeed...

The vision told me everything I needed to know.