Recovering my lost Qi, the sounds of trickling water echoed endlessly through my mind. Many would assume such a sound would be comforting, but with each drip, I felt my heart scream in terror.
The air was foul, littered with impurities, and corrupted by the dense demonic energy emanating from the very rocky walls. I had thought that such an evil power would diminish over time, but as the seconds trickled by, the dense demonic Aura only grew to cling to my dark shadowy flesh like leaches.
Kneeling against the wall to support my weary form, I continued. I had no idea of the state of my original body, but since I have not returned to my human appearance, I needed to move on. No matter what may happen.
Taking it a step at a time, the echoes of trickling water continued to grow stronger, pulling me deeper into the darkness... Into my home. The longer I remained, the softer the echoes became, until there were like a breeze of sweet honey.
It was calling for me. I did not know who, but someone was calling for me—the fools. Did they actually think a monster such as I could be fooled? For an entire year, I slaughtered till my throat began to bleed. I killed without discretion and swam within the lake of my creation. Most of my victims were up close and personal. I felt their lives drain by my hands, watched as their very eyes popped like ballons leaving only my laughter and their wails.
Did these fools truly believe this water noise could affect me? That it could make me reflect or lower my guard?
Pressing through the hallow caves, I could feel the years begin to pass, but I knew only seconds or days could have. Simply counting the amount of time that could have happened, I knew Sitri himself would have appeared to kill me.
So I continued, simply counting the years passing like seconds, enjoying the darkness I considered to be family. I would speak to Mother, knowing she would not answer. She would not answer a shadow, but I still continued to talk to wain my loneliness.
My qi had long returned. Through the countless years, I continued to walk. Without stopping, no matter how enticing the echoes of water became. There was even a moment where I had heard Lilith's voice. Yet, for some reason, such a voice never echoed again.
"Why not give up?" A cryptic voice resounded, filled with a dark undertone. It sounded muffled, even weak as if one was on the verge of death itself. "You will never break out the Darkness."
"The Darkness?" I responded with a condescending scuff. "You call this darkness? Darkness has no sound, no image, no thought. It is both everything and nothing. She does not need to do such tricks, for being within the darkness itself is both an honor and a torment."
"A mortal wishing to argue the laws of darkness? Then come with me, boy," The voice said as I felt the Dao of Darkness twist around me. It was disgusting, contaminated unlike what I saw earlier. However, I still allowed it to teleport me.
Appearing in front of an aged man that appeared nothing more than bones, I could not help but feel contempt. Contempt for the man that held such an ignorant path of darkness.
"A Demon?" he spoke with shock, gazing into my dantian overflowing with demonic Qi. "Such a rare sight. Which layer do you hail from, boy?"
"None," I swiftly told, peering into the Mist of Darkness that hid something profound. Holding the intent of Mother behind the veil, I bowed in reverence.
"You can sense it, can't you. The will of Tenebrae." The crippled old man said, with nothing but skin and bone. Getting a faint thud from his heart pressed against his chest, I nodded.
"Of course, but it was your Demonic Qi that brought me here. To think I would meet my first... What do they call you? Your race, that is?" I asked.
"Hellion, Devilkin, we go by many names, boy. But you may call me, Gurvel," He spoke with short utterances.
Gasping for air, he dazzled me with a boney smile, "Two thousand years, yet all you did was speak to yourself. Why is that?"
"A man may assume, but the question is, who it was I was speaking to. You summoned me to speak of Dao, but you do not understand who I speak to."
Faintly fluctuating with powerful demonic Qi, his hollow gaze grew deep, attempting to peer through the impossible. " Tenebrae." He shortly uttered, "You are one of her Lambs."
"Lamb? No, her child." I corrected, " but the better question is, what is this place?"
"You came without knowing?" Gurvel bitterly echoed. "This place, my boy, is the Temple of Endless Darkness, crafted by the Prince in reverence of his Mother, Tenebrae. It was said that when Iluthath vanished, the Seven Concepts of Origin for each element flew through the Bed of Chaos. Never remaining in one spot for more than a cycle."
"There are Seven Concepts?" I asked.
Sparkling like that of a sun, Gurvel aged expression seemed to come alive, "Yes. Each Monarch of a said element was said to engrave a single concept within a temple in honor of their origin."
"So each element has their own Monarch... So who is the Monarch of Heaven?" I asked, holding Gurvel within my sights.
"Aldrich, of course." he factually stated, "Although he may be the weakest out of all the other Monarchs to exist beforehand, during the Age of Iluthath."
"I see, " I muttered, sending a deep glance into an aged man. "So there were six monarchs before the Prince."
"Indeed. This temple. However, I do not know which Monarch created it. Or which era it could have existed in."
"Who the hell are you?" I could not help but ask, "I thought most records of Iluthath were lost through the passage of time."
"Nonsense. If one heads into the Eternal Lands in the Ethereal Plane, there will exist a Library guarded by the Monarch of Time. He or should say they will reside there till the Dawn of End arrives, recording the history of All."
"Any you just happen to be from the Eternal Lands?"
"No, the Ethereal Plane is not meant for the living nor the dead. But if you wish for information, one simply needs to call upon a ghost from the Ethereal Plane and hope they are well informed."
He is hiding something. What the chances one would simply summon a person that holds the knowledge of this library and be willing to share it. It sounds like an impossible tale.
Chuckling at my chaotic Aura, his body crackled to move. Seemingly about to turn into dust at any moment, he rose to his feet, "So boy, tell me shall we have a Dao competition?"
Neither feeling entertained or hopeful of a fruitful ending to this trip. I pondered his words regarding the ethereal plane. It was an odd turn of phrase to say the Ethereal Plane is not meant for the living nor the dead. How does one be both, or is it a strange realm similar to limbo?