Nikki drips with sweat, her body fighting against an atmosphere that seems designed to break her.
Cassius's shadows writhe defensively, trying to create some barrier against the oppressive temperature.
Even Mortimer—ancient, dragon-shifting Mortimer—looks distinctly uncomfortable.
Only Zeke seems relatively unaffected, those extraordinary cat-like eyes scanning our new surroundings with a mixture of awe and recognition.
"This is the Infernal Realm,"he whispers, the words carrying the weight of magical essence beyond mere observation."We've crossed its boundary."
I’m unsure of what that’s supposed to define. What all of this supposed to pertain to, but I’m sure we’re going to unravel it all, piece by piece, like a new found discovery begging to be acknowledged by the world.
Mortimer nods, his scholarly composure barely maintained.
"Very few students ever reach this point," he explains to Nikki, who looks about ready to collapse from the heat. "Year Three isn't spoken about because most never make it this far."
Year Three.
So we’re really about to walk down this rarely endured path…
The heat ripples the air like a malevolent mirage. But I remain centered.
Unscathed by the heat that continues to rise and blister in rebellion.
The obsidian throne feels like an extension of my body, of my very essence.
I can feel the memories pressing against me—fragments of a life I'd forgotten.
A conquest.
A purpose that extends far beyond the trials of Wicked Academy.
Fire bursts from the ground, forming a perfect circle.
Shadow monsters lurk at the edges of our perception, somehow unable to penetrate the barrier we've created.Their forms are indistinct—more suggestion than substance—writhing masses of darkness that speak to horrors beyond comprehension.
My eyes feel hollow.
Changed.
A being of power awakened…always waiting and ready for the moment it would be unleashed.
Deep within, I dare to admit this frightens me.
For I’m certain, this is the beginning of the real trials ahead.
The trials that are desperate to be won by the true Master of these wicked realms.
The scorching world has been waiting for this vital descent.
Awaiting for my return home…
Realm Of Forgotten Nightmares
~GWENIEVERE~
The Infernal Realm breathes.
Not metaphorically.Literally. The entire landscape pulses with a living, malevolent consciousness that defies every natural law I've ever understood. Crimson skies bleed into horizons of obsidian and molten stone, rivers of magma carving through the landscape like open wounds.
