The night stretched on, and the moon hung high in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the forgotten village. Elias stood at the threshold of the stone building, the ancient sage's words echoing in his mind.
"The Source... it lies beyond the mortal realm. You'll need more than strength. You'll need allies, the ancient ones."
Rhea stood beside him, her eyes scanning the darkened village with a mix of caution and impatience. "We don't have time to waste. The gods are out there, and they won't wait for us to gather our forces."
Elias nodded, feeling the weight of the old man's warning like a heavy stone in his chest. The Source was not something that could be found easily. It wasn't just hidden in some forgotten corner of the world—it was beyond it. And to reach it, they would have to face trials that tested their very essence.
"We don't even know where to start," Elias muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration. "How do we even get beyond the mortal realm?"
The old man's voice drifted toward them from the darkness behind the door. "The path will reveal itself when the time is right. But you must seek the ancient ones, those who remember the old magics, and be willing to risk everything."
Rhea was already stepping forward, her resolve hardening. "Then we find them. Whatever it takes."
---
The journey toward the ancient ones took them across treacherous landscapes, far from the safety of the village. The air itself seemed charged with a strange energy as they ventured deeper into the land of forgotten things, a place where reality blurred, and the very earth felt like it was on the cusp of unraveling.
The road was not a physical one, but one formed of magic—a strange, winding path that led them through dark forests and endless plains. Every step seemed to take them further away from what they knew, into a realm where the laws of nature seemed to bend and shift.
Days passed, and the landscape became increasingly otherworldly. The trees were twisted and unnaturally large, their roots pulsing with a strange glow. The sky above was darkened by swirling clouds, casting the land in a perpetual twilight.
"This place feels wrong," Elias murmured, his senses on edge. "Like we're walking through a dream—or a nightmare."
Rhea's hand tightened around the hilt of her sword, her instincts sharp. "I don't like it either. But we're on the right path, I can feel it. Whatever the ancient ones are, they're close."
As they traveled deeper, they came upon an ancient ruin—a structure so old that its origins were lost to time. It was a temple, much like the one they had fled from, but this one was different. Its architecture was jagged, as though the stones had been shaped by hands long forgotten. The air around it hummed with power, and Elias could sense the magic that clung to the structure, ancient and powerful.
"This is it," Elias whispered. "The place the sage spoke of."
They entered the temple, the massive doors groaning as they pushed them open. The interior was vast, filled with towering pillars covered in strange, glowing runes. The air was thick with the scent of incense and something far older—something primordial.
At the far end of the temple, a figure stood in the shadows, its outline shrouded in a cloak of darkness. The figure did not move, but Elias could feel its gaze, piercing and ancient, as though it had been waiting for them.
"You have come," a voice said, resonating in the still air, deep and melodic. "You seek the Source, but you must prove yourselves worthy."
Rhea's hand instinctively went to her sword, but Elias stopped her. He could sense the power emanating from the figure—it was not an enemy. Not yet.
"We're ready," Elias said, his voice steady despite the weight of the situation. "We need to find the Source. The gods are coming. We don't have time to waste."
The figure stepped forward, its cloak flowing like liquid shadow, revealing a being of ethereal beauty—tall, with skin that shimmered like starlight, and eyes that burned with an ancient fire. Its face was neither man nor woman, but a combination of both, timeless and ageless.
"The gods are indeed coming," the figure said, its voice filled with a deep sorrow. "And you, Elias, have disturbed the balance. You have brought the power of the Heart into the world, and now the veil between realms is thinning. The Source is the only thing that can stop them, but it comes at a great cost."
Elias swallowed, trying to steady his breath. "We're prepared to pay whatever price it takes."
The figure studied them both for a long moment, as though weighing their souls. "The Source cannot be reached without sacrifice. To enter the realm where it lies, you must first confront the darkness within yourselves. Only when you can overcome that which you fear most will you be able to cross the threshold."
Rhea's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean? What darkness?"
The figure did not answer directly. Instead, it raised a hand, and the air around them seemed to ripple. The world itself seemed to bend and twist, and Elias felt his body being pulled in every direction at once. The temple faded into a swirling vortex of colors, and for a brief moment, he thought they had been transported somewhere else entirely.
Suddenly, they were standing on a barren plain, the sky above them an unyielding shade of black. There were no stars, no moon—just an endless expanse of nothingness. Elias's breath caught in his throat as he realized they were no longer in the temple, but in a realm entirely apart from the world they knew.
"Welcome to the Trial of Shadows," the voice of the figure echoed in the distance. "Here, you will face your deepest fears and regrets. Only by overcoming them can you move forward."
A cold shiver ran down Elias's spine as the ground beneath his feet trembled. He turned to Rhea, but her expression was unreadable, her grip on her sword tense.
"This is it," Elias murmured, his heart pounding. "We're not just fighting gods—we're fighting ourselves."
---
The Trial of Shadows had begun. The realm around them warped and shifted, and Elias could feel the weight of every choice he had ever made bearing down on him. His past, his mistakes, and his darkest fears were rising to the surface.
Rhea's sword gleamed in the darkness, but Elias could sense that even she was struggling. The shadows here were not just a manifestation of fear—they were something much darker, something alive.
The path ahead would not be easy. The darkness within would challenge them both, testing their resolve and forcing them to confront the very things they had tried to bury.
"We must face this," Elias whispered, his voice barely audible over the oppressive silence. "If we can't overcome our own darkness, then we'll never stand a chance against the gods."