The next day, Adonis decided it was time for them to leave. Not just to any place, but to depart the entire realm. There was only one way to achieve this: by traveling through the Dark Realm. In a soft, calm voice, Adonis spoke, "There is only one way we can truly escape and not have to stay on the move. But if we do, it will require venturing through the Dark Realm."
Echene immediately felt uneasy at the mention of the Dark Realm, having no knowledge of what kind of place it was. The others, however, seemed ready for the adventure. As they prepared to depart, Adonis pulled out a strange-looking compass. Its needle did not point north but swayed from side to side, guided by a strange light within a glass bubble. This light appeared to be the source of its power, indicating a general direction to head in.
They started their journey, with Tana still feeling confused about the man called Adonis. She had heard the stories of how he was a frail child, and she found it difficult to reconcile that image with the man who now stood before her. "Could someone like that really kill the gods, let alone the Twin Kings?" she wondered to herself. She remembered someone had recognized him as the one who faced Odroduc, the Dark Emperor. "Is this kind of power even possible for normal people?" she thought aloud.
Nyx glanced over at Tana, catching her whisper. "Did you say something, Tana?"
"Yeah," Tana replied, hesitating. "You said he killed gods, right? He claims to be the Slayer and Butcher of Gods... But if all of that is true, how did he go from being a frail child to this?"
Nyx smiled softly. "I'm not fully sure how he became so strong, but he is still the same Adonis I remember. He's as kind and caring as he's always been. Look at Athena—he saved her and her brother."
Tana interrupted, "It's been 300 years since the Seventh Rim collapsed. I remember when they found you, all those years ago. They forced you to drink the Elixir of Eternal Life, like they forced me to do when they captured me."
Nyx was about to respond when Adonis cut in. "If you truly want to know who I am," he said, "you can just ask."
Tana, startled by his sudden interjection, found herself at a loss for words. But Athena, in her usual enthusiastic manner, called out, "I want to know! Can you tell me? It'll be like storytime!"
Adonis's voice grew softer. "Everyone, sit down for this. It's not a time I like to remember." The group gathered around as he pulled a strange scroll from his bag. "This scroll has a curse on it," he explained. "One that allows you to bring images to life."
Nyx's eyes widened in shock. "L-like the one the old man used to tell stories?"
"Just like the one the old man used," Adonis confirmed with a smile.
Athena, growing eager, interrupted, "Aww, I can't wait anymore! Can you please tell the story?"
Adonis began to unroll the scroll. As he did, a soft, haunting melody emanated from it, and he began to speak. "It all started in the Seventh Rim..." The scroll continued to unfurl, rolling across the ground until it bumped into Athena. Then, in a flash of light, images began to dance in the sky, brought to life by the curse on the scroll.
Adonis narrated, his voice heavy with emotion. "I was found as an infant drifting down the River Styx, caught between life and death. My mother, Monna, the Celestial of the Moon, found me. She, along with the other Guardians of Fate, had given up their celestial forms to become human. Though they retained their powers, they were weakened by their physical forms. All but one changed—Atrieocx. He was merely a human, but one capable of battling the Celestials. Born in the Age of Heroes, alongside Hercules and many others, though he was nowhere near as powerful as the Celestial Sun, Apollo, who could destroy entire realms at his prime. Yet, with his power came impossible standards. For me and my brother Cain, even as children, failure to destroy mountains earned us scolding. I was frail and weak then, while Cain grew stronger and met those impossible tasks, but even that wasn't enough for our father."
Adonis paused for a moment, his gaze distant, before continuing, "Though I was physically weak, I had a natural talent for magic, particularly elemental powers. Darkness was my greatest strength. My mother feared I would corrupt myself with this power, but instead, it made me stronger. I soon became capable of unleashing flames that could destroy entire mountain ranges, though it came at a cost—I would lose control in that state, so I seldom used it. Cain, however, learned similar powers, but his mind was weak, and they corrupted him, turning him into what he is today."
He hesitated again, his voice softer. "On the day of my ceremony, my father pulled me aside before giving me Excalibur. He said I didn't deserve the powers I was given, that since I didn't use them to command but instead to protect, I had no right to them. Those words linger in my mind to this very day. Right after he announced that the spirits saw me as worthy, I watched as Cain decapitated him. In his last moments, my father saved me from him. The entire ceremony erupted into a battle against Cain. Atrieocx froze when he saw who was responsible, leading to his and everyone else's deaths."
Adonis's voice grew darker. "But my mother managed to gift me the rest of her powers and her sword before I watched Cain cleave her in half, her last words being, 'I love you, Adonis, my sweet baby boy.' In that moment, something overcame me. I felt cold, and time seemed to slow. I drew Excalibur from its sheath and plunged it into Cain's chest. I watched as my own brother killed my family... and I watched as I killed him."
He swallowed, then continued, "Shortly after, I fled to find Nyx. But as I reached the hill north of my village, I watched as the heavens ripped open and the wrath of the gods rained down upon my home. The shockwave threw me back through the forest. Clinging to my baby sister, I stood and ran to find Nyx. I saw Valkyries slaughtering the villagers. Then, the ground tore open, and a hellish flame erupted, eviscerating the village. I thought I had lost Nyx in that moment, but before the flames reached me, I was pulled through a portal. I lost my grip on Freyja; she fell to the Sanctuary as I was carried to the Lost Realm, home of the Forgotten King."
He took a deep breath. "I trained there for five years before I battled him and defeated him, watching as he fell into the void below. After that, I left and searched for my sister and Nyx for all these years. Each day that passed, my ambition grew weaker, the corruption stronger. But each time I was almost consumed, a voice would call me back to the light. I have no knowledge of this voice, but the Watchers spoke of a celestial of ancient power, one who stood alongside the Eternals. Yet, she is not mentioned in any legend I have ever heard... nor is the man simply referred to as 'Him.'"
The group sat in stunned silence, a mix of confusion and sadness hanging in the air. Finally, Tana broke the quiet, asking, "Wait, the Seventh Rim collapsed nearly two hundred years ago. How are you still alive? Did time flow differently for you in the Lost Realm?"
Adonis nodded. "Well, actually, in the Lost Realm, time moves much faster. What was only a few seconds for you all would have been nearly a thousand years for me though I only stayed five."
The group, now realizing Adonis had been alive for nearly two hundred years, looked puzzled. Nyx then asked, "So, did you drink an elixir, or is it the powers that grant you this?"
Adonis looked at her with a cold expression. "The blood of the gods curses you with eternal life."
Athena gasped. "Wait, you drank blood, like a vampire?"
Adonis chuckled before standing and proclaiming, "We have arrived!" The compass in his hand spun wildly, its needle pointing downward, signifying they were standing over the entrance. With a leap, Adonis chanted in an ancient language, and as he landed, winds descended, clearing the dust from the entrance. The gates before them were covered in intricate designs depicting countless demonic beings—Lucifer, Mara, Amun, Abraxas, and others, many Adonis had never heard of.
"This is the entrance to the Dark Realm," Adonis explained. "A place filled with evils that even Hell itself spat back out—the birthplace of the Father Realm. This is the land of hellish beasts that kill for pleasure, that butcher anything that moves. It is the most dangerous place in existence. There are thirteen layers to it, and even the strongest haven't ventured past the first. It was created by a man known only as HIM."
The gates creaked open slowly, releasing the hellish screams of the damned. Echene, his voice shaking, stammered, "Y-you expect me to jump in there? You're crazy!"
Athena, with a mischievous grin, ran up and tackled Echene into the pit. Adonis quickly jumped in after them, ready to catch them so they would all land safely. As he dove, he shouted a cheer, his voice echoing against the walls of the abyss. Nyx and Tana stood on the edge of the entrance, exchanging a glance filled with uncertainty. Slowly, they reached for each other's hands, holding tight as they prepared to take the leap of faith, trusting that Adonis would catch them.
With a deep breath, they jumped together, their hearts pounding in their chests. The descent was swift, the air around them colder and thicker as they fell. The screams of the damned grew louder, filling their ears with a cacophony of anguish and pain. Adonis was below them, his form visible through the dark mist, his arms outstretched to catch them. They landed softly in his grasp, his strength absorbing the impact, and he set them down gently on the ground beside the others.
The group stood together, surrounded by the oppressive darkness of the Dark Realm's entrance. The ground was slick and uneven, the air thick with a foul stench that made them wrinkle their noses in disgust. The walls around them seemed to pulse and breathe as if alive, and shadows danced across their surfaces, taking on strange and nightmarish shapes.
Adonis took a deep breath, steadying himself. "We are now in the First Layer of the Dark Realm," he announced, his voice low but firm. "This place is known as the Vale of Despair. It is where the lost souls wander, their cries echoing for eternity. The path ahead will be treacherous, filled with traps and creatures that hunger for our very essence. Stay close, and do not stray from the path, no matter what you hear or see, things here can create images and memories you've never seen or had."