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Scene: Approaching the Village, Silent Night
The cold wind whispered through the barren trees as Mordryn and Kang Wo Hu approached the village. The faint light flickered ominously, casting long shadows over the ancient stone structures. Despite the age of the buildings, the village felt alive, pulsing with a dark, unsettling energy.
Mordryn's steps slowed as they neared the village's edge, his eyes narrowing. Something about this place tugged at his memories, but they were blurred, like trying to recall a dream. The faint shapes moving in the distance—the strange architecture—it all felt disturbingly familiar.
Kang Wo Hu:
whispering
"This place... it doesn't feel right."
Mordryn didn't respond immediately. His mind was racing, piecing together fragments of his past, long-buried beneath the weight of centuries. And then, it hit him—a wave of realization so sharp it was like a dagger to his chest.
This was no ordinary village.
Mordryn:
grimly
"Valendar."
Kang Wo Hu blinked, confused.
Kang Wo Hu:
"What? Valendar?"
Mordryn's eyes were fixed on the village before them, his expression darkening with each passing moment.
Mordryn:
voice low
"This... is the Village of Valendar. A place that feared me. A place that I once protected... before they turned on me."
Kang Wo Hu stared at him, wide-eyed. She had heard bits and pieces of Mordryn's story—his life from over 10,000 years ago—but this... this was something else. To find a place that was tied to his past, here, inside a gate... it didn't make sense.
Kang Wo Hu:
hesitant
"Are you sure? How could it be here? The world's changed so much..."
Mordryn's jaw tightened.
Mordryn:
"This village hasn't changed. Not truly. Time works differently in places like this."
He knew what this meant. This wasn't just any gate—they had wandered into a place trapped in time, where the past and the present were tangled, and the rules of the world didn't apply. But the villagers... they couldn't possibly still recognize him, could they? He had been gone for millennia. The name Mordryn had likely faded into myth.
But as they stepped closer, something stirred within the village. Shadows moved faster, and the faint whispers grew louder.
Suddenly, without warning, a sharp sound echoed in the air—the unmistakable scrape of metal against stone. Kang Wo Hu froze, her body tensing as she felt the shift in the atmosphere. Before she could react, a group of villagers emerged from the shadows, their eyes glowing with an eerie, otherworldly light. They moved with purpose, surrounding the two of them in a tight circle.
Kang Wo Hu's heart pounded in her chest as she realized what was happening. Spears were pointed at her from all sides, their sharpened tips gleaming in the dim light. The villagers didn't speak, but their message was clear: she was a threat, and they would not let her pass.
Kang Wo Hu:
panicking
"Mordryn—"
Mordryn stepped forward, his face a mask of cold fury. His eyes burned with the power that lay dormant within him, and for a moment, the air around them seemed to darken, charged with his silent rage.
He scanned the faces of the villagers—men and women who should have been long dead, or at least descendants of the ones who betrayed him all those years ago. But these weren't normal humans anymore. The energy around them was twisted, corrupted by the gate's dark magic.
They no longer remembered him—or worse, they believed him to be dead.
Mordryn:
voice like ice
"You dare raise your weapons... against me?"
The villagers didn't flinch, their glowing eyes unblinking, but there was a shift in the air. The tension was palpable, as though they sensed something powerful, something ancient, standing before them.
Kang Wo Hu:
voice trembling
"Mordryn... they're not going to let us pass."
One of the villagers stepped forward, their spear inches from Kang Wo Hu's chest. Her breath hitched, but Mordryn's presence kept her from panicking further.
Mordryn's eyes flashed with dark fury as he raised his hand, the faint trace of energy sparking at his fingertips. He could end this in an instant—wipe these villagers from existence like he had done to countless enemies before. But something held him back.
Was it worth it? Were these people even aware of what they were doing? Or were they just puppets, trapped by the same twisted magic that kept this village frozen in time?
Mordryn:
quietly, to himself
"You don't know me anymore... or perhaps you never did."
But he couldn't afford to waste time. Kang Wo Hu was in danger, and he wasn't about to let her fall at the hands of these corrupted souls.
His gaze darkened further, his voice cutting through the tense silence like a blade.
Mordryn:
commanding
"Lower your weapons, or you will learn what true fear is."
For a moment, the villagers hesitated, their glowing eyes flickering as though struggling against some unseen force. The energy in the air shifted, as though the very village itself was listening to his words, weighing his power against its own.
But before anything could be decided, Mordryn's gaze swept over the village again. He wasn't interested in these people—not anymore. His mind was already racing, trying to piece together the puzzle before him. This village... this twisted version of Valendar... it had been warped by time, just like the monsters that inhabited the gate.
And there was something more. Something deeper.
Mordryn:
whispering
"Why are you here? What is this place hiding?"
The villagers remained motionless, their spears still pointed at Kang Wo Hu. But Mordryn could feel it now—the pull of the dark magic, the reason this village had been preserved, why it had been drawn into this gate.
There was a secret here, buried beneath the twisted shadows of the past. And he intended to uncover it.
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End of Chapter 17