Chapter 6

Since Demea had revealed who she was things had gotten a bit quiet at the castle. It seems like though, for the most part, everyone has silently agreed to staying the night to see how things play out.

Lily sat with Eleanor and tried to talk her through all the weird language she'd been hearing up until that point, taking it surprisingly well… she was seemingly quick to understand and didn't freak out… was she truly sentient or just didn't understand?

Laurence and Demea sat in the library, trying to examine the various texts further. She explained all she knew at that point… which granted wasn't a lot, only that everything was different from the product they had actually shipped out.

Even down to the existence of a boss in this place, as originally it was nothing more than the scrapped hub area from the alpha builds.

Ryder meanwhile found himself wandering back downstairs.

Something about the boss and the arena was still stuck in his mind, it was like an unshakeable unease had taken hold of him.

With the sun set now an eerie gloom filled the castle as well, building the tensions even more.

Lantern in hand he walked down the stairs and into the arena once more.

The battle flickered through his mind for a moment, just thinking about how he fought surprised him. Ryder had never been the athletic type, nor the wisest among his peers, yet there he'd been hours earlier… fighting and beating an ancient knight with moves he had no idea would actually work.

If only he could-

"No, enough thinking like that… it won't change things." Ryder mutters to himself, snapping out of his half trance and walking up to the anvil.

It was made out of a pitch black material, something he couldn't recognize at all, it certainly wasn't obsidian.

It looked way too tough to be any material he knew, yet how, how had it been cracked?

The glowing blue markings in it were clearly from where it'd been fractured.

He couldn't recognize for certain what the glowing material was, but it almost seemed crystalline in nature.

Lightly he traced his fingers along the lines, trying to make heads or tails of the damage.

What he didn't expect however was for the material to react to his touch, glowing ever brighter and making a hushed noise, akin to that of whispering.

The noise grew louder and louder until it sounded like full blown voices in his head, voices he could not recognize at all.

"Are you sure you want to leave this here? My lord, it could serve you well yet!" a concerned voice spoke out.

"I have no need of it now, for it has served its purpose well and deserves its rest." a more masculine, wise and kind sounding voice spoke softly, as if it was speaking to a living creature. "It has let me create the tool I need, I could not ask for more. Just as I could not ask more of you."

"My Lord?"

"Erina, my time is coming to an end here, we all know that… soon the world will forget everything, that is why I cannot let you proceed with your plan."

Ryder could see them clearly now, the anvil was showing him a glimpse into what took place here.

A figure wearing a green hooded robe with gold detailing stood in front of the anvil, lightly resting a hand on it. Snow white hair peaked out from under the hood and slightly tanned skin could be seen thanks to the gap between his glove and sleeve.

Yet whenever Ryder tried to look at his face it always seemed to melt and distort, he couldn't visualize it in the slightest.

Standing next to him was a woman with brunette hair and deep azure eyes, she wore the same armor as the Burial Knight and held their helm in her hands.

"What plan are you talking about?" she tried to act as if she didn't know what he was talking about, backing up slightly while looking away.

"You plan to keep watch over this place, guarding it from afar." the robed man crosses his arms. "Please just allow yourself to rest, you and the others must move on, move past this age."

Erina grips her helmet tighter before the vision changes and she's left standing alone in the darkened room, her eyes focused intently on the helm.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, you were the last true lord we had… and as your loyal guard, I shall bury all those unworthy of taking your mantle."

Slowly the vision fades away, leaving Ryder alone in the room once more, however now he feels something in his hand.

Turning it over he sees a pendant lying there, one made of the same material as the anvil and engraved with a burning spear glowing bright blue.

"Burial Knight's Pendant." Ryder mutters to himself as he looks at the item description.

'One of many pendants belonging to those who served The Forgotten'

'Erina the Burial Knight was his loyal vanguard and faced every challenge head on, using her mighty sword spear to cut through any and all opponents'

'To Erina nothing was more important than seeing the future her Lord dreamed of come to fruition… by any means necessary'

'Grants higher dex, strength and vitality while equipped.'

Ryder gripped the pendant tightly before putting it on, he had a feeling that he'd be needing it.

Especially if more of the forgotten's servants still existed in this world.

All that was left to examine now was that stone gateway standing behind the anvil.

It didn't appear to be anything special at first, just a simple stone gateway that led to nowhere, possibly an old blocked off passage.

However two details stood out to him.

The first was a highly detailed stonework of a wolf's head sitting in the top center of the gateway, its eyes seemed hollowed out and it looked as though something could fit within the mouth.

Secondly the pillars seemed to be damaged and covered in an odd amount of dust.

Lightly wiping off the dust Ryder sees that each stone making up the gateway did have some kind of rune etched onto them, however they'd been damaged.

Someone or something slashed through the runes, destroying whatever power or significance they once held.

"This place just gets more and more confusing." Ryder mumbles aloud as he traces his hand along the various runes, glancing over them and hoping for any more clues.

Yet it seems to be a dead end, as without any more details on this gateway it's just a piece of damaged architecture.

As he steps back Ryder feels a chill run down his spine, something about the room had changed. He felt like he was no longer alone, yet he couldn't hear anyone behind him nor did he see any enemies around.

Yet this feeling of paranoia would not leave him, it felt like someone was hovering above him, watching his every move.

Then he felt it.

Something took him by the hand, something he couldn't see but could feel clear as day.

Where he should've felt dread instead a wave of relief and relaxation washed over him, his mind seeming to cloud up a bit.

A voice spoke to him, sounding like a chorus of people all speaking in harmony, their words only for his ears.

"Fear us not, we only wish to show you the truth."

Ryder's body slowly began to move on its own, as though guided by what was holding his hand.

His hand.

He looked down and saw it was now covered in a peculiar and other worldly inky black substance that was viscous and warm.

Any other time it might've alarmed him, yet here it felt natural, it felt comforting.

The voices hummed a soothing melody into his ears, a tune unlike anything he'd ever heard.

It was relaxing and felt almost like a lullaby, yet he couldn't fall asleep.

His steps, it was the sound of his footsteps keeping him conscious during this whole thing. The clicking of his boots on the floor keeping his mind from fading completely.

He wanted desperately to understand what was happening, though his mind refused to work. It was as though his mind was shutting down with each step up to the third floor.

Though he could see Laurence and Demea as he passed the library he couldn't register a single thing they were saying. He wondered what they could be doing at this time, he wished to ask but the words couldn't form.

His body was asleep, being carried away by whatever this feeling was.

The march seemed to stretch on forever in his mind, time becoming non-existent as each step felt slower and longer than the last.

A prisoner of his own mind Ryder could only watch in confusion as his body walked to a door on the third floor, its old wooden exterior feeling icy cold to the touch, now also being stained by the inky darkness on his palm.

After pushing the door open he felt the cold night air sting his face, the moon's light barely illuminating the sea of darkness before him.

Quietly he looked over the railing, the forest was below. It was the only thing he could make out from here.

No, that wasn't exactly right, there was one other thing he could see.

Just below them, somewhere between the railing and the forest was an odd spot of flickering darkness.

It flickered fast between black and white, sometimes looking like the world itself was breaking apart.

The force guided him up onto the rail, the feeling of this being real setting in for him.

He should've been worried, yet he was relaxed beyond belief. If anything, the feeling of the wind blowing freely around him was… liberating.

Without warning the grip on his hand lessened and he could feel the presence embrace him from behind, a warm hug that soothed him to his core.

The voices spoke once more.

"Fear not, you will not perish here outlander. You will awaken to the truth."

Somehow the voices put his mind further at ease, convincing him this was right.

This was it, he'd learn the truth of everything here.

The truth?

What truth was he searching for?

Why was he here in the first place?

"Ryder!" a familiar voice called out from behind, the voice giving him just enough freedom to look back.

Standing there with horror plastered on her face was Lily.

Why was she scared?

There was nothing to be scared of here.

After all.

"There's nothing to be scared of Lily. I'm going to learn the truth." Ryder's voice was tired sounding and barely above a whisper.

Lily broke into a sprint, trying to reach him in time.

But she couldn't.

Ryder slowly fell back, seeing Lily approach he smiled and just let the fall embrace him.

The wind blowing past his hair felt nice.

Yet he still couldn't understand.

Why?

Why was she crying?

Why had she reached out for him?

Oh well, it didn't matter, he could just ask her when he woke up.

Now that the voices had stopped singing and he'd been let go he felt very, very tired.

It was no use struggling against the exhaustion as his eyes just got heavier and heavier.

Then there was darkness.

His mind was at ease as he fell asleep in the free fall.

It was a deathly calm that shouldn't have been possibly for him, yet he couldn't fight it.

The darkness had swallowed him whole.

Yet it wasn't death.

No, the voices hadn't lied, they had told him the truth, at least about surviving the fall.

As he started coming to his body ached all over, the feeling was like he'd been ripped apart and reassembled hastily.

He struggled for air, his lungs not wanting to function initially until he finally managed to get one large gasp of air in.

Then came the coughing as he hacked up a large amount of dark water onto the ground below him.

Once he came to his senses though he realized the entire ground around him was that dark water.

Quickly he looked around and was shocked beyond belief at what he saw.

He wasn't in the fantasy world anymore, no this was some weird dreamscape.

The ground was nothing but the dark water, the sky was made up of gray clouds that stretched out endlessly into the horizon.

Broken down buildings of all sorts were sticking up out of the water, some looked to be older fantasy styled buildings. Others though… there were more modern buildings like skyscrapers, modern houses, schools, all sorts of things.

Ryder looked around in confusion and amazement at this place before looking down at his hands.

He was still wearing his knight outfit, so he was still in the game.

But where, or rather, what was this place?

Whatever it was it definitely didn't seem natural in the slightest, like an amalgamation of assets and data just thrown together.

Carefully Ryder stood up and took a deep breath before shouting.

"Hello! Is there anyone there?!" his voice boomed and echoed off into the dreamscape, however a response never came.

He stood there for a second contemplating what to do. "If this is the place that changed that priest… there must be something here, something huge."

Readying himself he began to walk into the dreamscape, searching for, well, anything.

Whether that be an exit, deeper information or "the truth", he didn't care.

All Ryder knew for certain was standing around wouldn't get him anywhere at this point.

His footsteps didn't even sound like steps, it was closer to that of dripping water.

Each step creating a loud drip that echoed off into the unknown.

Had it not been for the feeling of his sword on his waist and the pieces of armor on his body he likely would've dismissed this as a dream.

The first building he came up to was what appeared to be a half dissolved and sunken office building. The decay of the buildings looked heavier than the rest, as if it'd been here longer than all the other sunken buildings.

Quietly he found an open window and climbed in to explore, though much to his dismay the inside was worse than the outside.

The inky black substance was covering everything, mold was forming on everything, even the ground seemed ready to give way to who knows what. However there was a distinct lack of any noticeable smell.

It stuck with Ryder as it felt more unusual than anything else so far, as between the mold and liquid the place should smell rancid. Yet it didn't.

Just what is this place? What was the truth that the voices were talking about?

Nothing made sense anymore and frankly he was getting sick of it.

Quickly he made his way to what should've been the stairwell, but upon opening it he was met with nothing.

Pure darkness gazed into him as he looked down into a never ending abyss that went below the water.

A primal sense of fear began to fill his very being as he gazed down into the unknown, yet he felt like the darkness held it, some form of answers for what he sought.

Taking a deep breath he stepped off into the abyss, allowing himself to enter a freefall once more.

The darkness quickly enveloped him, blinding him in the process and muting and sense of perception.

Yet just as soon as he began to fall he felt as though he was standing on his own two feet again.

Being unable to even see his hands caused a huge problem though as now he was wandering around this area completely in the dark.

The ground was impossible to make out, there was no noise from his foot making contact anymore, the only sounds were his armor rustling and his breathing.

Slowly he walked through the darkness, looking for something, anything.

Yet he couldn't find a single thing, not until he heard what sounded like a heartbeat nearby.

A slow methodical thumping, yet upon listening to it closer it couldn't have been a heart. It was far too slow and weak, as if it'd been damaged.

Following the noise Ryder eventually came across a door, pushing it open to a blinding light.

The light burns, feeling like he'd been just hit with a wall of fire, he struggled to even keep his eyes open.

Once the pain and blinding light died down his eyes adjusted to his surroundings and now it seemed as though he'd been teleported once more.

What he sees before him is what looks to be someone's private office, there's nothing outstanding about it but it's certainly better than an endless void.

With a slightly heavy sigh he begins to look around the room, hoping to find anything of interest.

Among the shelves are dozens of books, each one of varying size and thickness, yet none had a title to them. Empty spines of varying shapes and colors were all that could be seen.

A bit curious, Ryder reaches out and grabs what would seem to be a sketchbook at first glance. Dark brown cover, thicker than the average journal and the pages don't seem as flimsy either.

"Now what could you be?" Ryder mused to himself before casually flipping the book open and examining the pages.

The first page contained nothing but a hastily scrawled note, it seemed like someone was in a panic when writing it.

'I see now what he meant with all those cryptic warnings.'

'It wasn't all bad though, it let us truly further the DIA, something that likely would've been impossible otherwise.'

'Partner, if you're seeing this somehow, i'm sorry for what happened, but i cannot stop now.'

'This thing keeps speaking to me, showing me drawings of the other world or worlds, i can't tell if they're a singular place anymore.'

'Without you here though it is no longer possible to decipher these images on my own.'

'So with some hope, you are still alive in there, somewhere.'

'I leave these visions here for you.'

-L.S.

"Another cryptic message with no discernible meaning." Ryder pauses. "Guess I'll just ask Demea about this L.S when and DIA when I get back."

Shortly after he lightly begins thumbing through the pages of the sketchbook, hoping for any clue.

His eyes are met with terribly penned sketches of random objects, buildings and markings.

It all looks like they were drawn in a hysteric fit of some kind as the lines fly all over the place, not only that but he can barely tell what half of these are.

It all just seems to be random lines of ink… until one image catches his eye.

A familiar stone gateway with an anvil in front of it.

Ryder fixates on the page, there was no way this could be the same exact gateway right?

No… it was, all the details line up perfectly.

The wolf head, the broken sigils, the odd little cracks here and there, it was all exactly the same. Even the anvil's broken lines were right where they should've been.

"What the hell is this?" Ryder asked himself as he tried to examine the page further, before noticing the previous drawing had notes written on the back.

Hoping for the best he quickly flipped the page, sure enough there were the notes he'd been hoping for, plain as day for him to see.

The writing wasn't as hectic as the initial note but it was definitely the same person writing.

'The Beast King's Gateway, that's what the kid calls it.'

'Supposedly it's some kind of magic portal that bridges time and space when activated.'

'That's what he said anyways.'

'This place is located in his castle somewhere, he kept it just in case.'

'The anvil on the other hand is something else entirely, a gift from another lord I guess.'

'He used it to forge something he calls Destiny Breaker, a key of some sort.'

'I can't get him to tell me what it is though, he seems to be too tired for that still.'

'He did say they disabled the gateway for safety reasons and that it'd only be possible to fix it with the right materials.'

The notes stop for a second before continuing a little lower down the page.

'I honestly don't know what to think anymore.'

'It's getting harder and harder not to lose myself in his memories.'

'How are these his memories anyways? How could he have done and seen all this?!'

'Maybe he was more special than we could ever know.'

'I can only hope I last long enough to see DIA come to fruition.'

'To last long enough to see you in there again.'

'I still haven't given up hope on you, or our dream.'

-L.S

These notes were more like the ramblings of a madman in Ryder's eyes. Then again, he thought to himself, if he told anyone about this situation they'd think he was the madman.

First he gets trapped in a game world and now he's in some kind of purgatory reading someone's personal notes.

Ryder lets out a sorrowful chuckle as he turns the page. "Oh if only you could see me now…"

More drawings he didn't recognize as he flipped through the pages. Yet he kept searching, after all if this person had known about the gateway surely there'd be more valuable information.

Though as he kept flipping through the pages his mind couldn't help but wander a bit.

Who was L.S talking about? Who was the kid they'd been listening to and what did they mean about looking into someone's memories?

Had the gameworld been reconstructed from someone's memories? No, that was impossible, there was no way it could be true. He could understand if it was just a few references from the real world, like an old English castle. But this?

No, this world felt too detailed, too lived in. So if it was made from someone's memories then… where the hell were they? Where had they gone to in order to see all this stuff.

Was this the truth those voices were telling Ryder to look for? Surely it had to be, this seems like something that would make even a devout man turn mad.

"This is probably what got to you, didn't it Tellius?" Ryder asks, turning to another page.

There he sees a sketch of what appears to be some great city with massive walls around it. Large towering buildings emerge from within, all seeming to be colored in gray.

Lightly Ryder turns the page, looking to find the notes only to be caught off guard with them this time.

There's two sets of writing, one clearly belonging to L.S with the unkempt and panicked nature. The other however was eerily familiar to Ryder and written neatly, as if the person writing was perfectly calm.

'Resovult, the Kingdom of Iron, the beacon of peace for Terminus.'

'It looks so beautiful in his memories, like a safe haven for every outcast that wanders the world.'

'It's current ruler at his departure was apparently a former student of his, the first one to take a new mantle, not a Great Lord but rather the Ashen King.'

'I can only hope that the simulation shows that this kingdom withstood the test of time, though it's doubtful.'

'I hope I can take her there one day if it's still standing brightly, like a shining beacon amidst the darkness.'

'If you're still around we should go together, partner.'

-L.S

The new writing begins shortly after this, its writing being almost off putting compared to everything else in the book so far.

'Resovult huh? I've seen it a few times.'

'It's still standing, in fact it's still the same city you likely have seen.'

'Many now use it as a last bastion of hope in this fractured world, even though little Cecil seems to be slumbering endlessly.'

'If he is then I'd like to know what caused it, as gods do not normally slumber for long like this.'

'I do not know if you'll ever see these replies, especially now within these dreamscapes, but if you do just know I'll be waiting.'

'I'll be waiting to meet again where the world ends and the void begins.'

R.D

Ryder's hands shook for a moment, his eyes couldn't believe what they were reading, it had to be fake. No, it had to be just some coincidence.

There was no way that this writing could belong to who he thought it did. Yet between the neatness, the signature and the overall style of writing it reminded him of them.

Of that one that was no longer here.

Taking several deep breaths he calmed himself, it was just a coincidence, that was all.

R.D isn't exactly a unique set of initials after all, there had to be a better explanation for all of this.

After all, the dead don't just come back to life, especially not in some stupid vr world. But he couldn't stop his mind from raising the question in his mind.

What if it was them?

What if there was more to this whole thing than anyone knew?

Despite his hands still shaking a bit he closed the book and moved towards the door, whatever it was he wasn't leaving this book behind. However he'd seen enough of whatever this place was for one lifetime.

He did still have to get back and chat with Demea after all, if she really was a dev then there should be a lot of things she could answer for him.

As he opens the door Ryder finds himself back on the surface once more, the endless dark water and gray skies greeting him as he steps out. Quickly turning around to confirm his surroundings he sees that the door he'd walked through was now gone, only the scenery remained.

Now lost and tired he casually just started wandering aimlessly through the dreamscape, looking for any sign of an exit or another person.

No such sign was ever found though, in fact it seemed like the area looped in on itself over and over again. Each time he thought he found something new his hopes would be crushed to see the familiar scenery return once more.

Out of sheer boredom he began leaving cuts in the buildings with his sword to show how many times he'd passed one.

As the hours passed each building began to grow more and more scarred, first it was 5 slashes, then 15, then 30.

Soon the buildings were lined with these slash marks and Ryder began growing more and more comfortable in swinging the sword around.

He had slowly mapped out the place in his mind, learning where each and every teleport point was and how far the boundaries truly went.

"A boss arena, that's what this place should be." Ryder mumbles to himself as he looks around. It was a big area, sure, but it was smaller than what a dungeon should be and most of the buildings were outside the boundaries.

In total there were only around 4 buildings actually within the boundaries, and they all seemed easily destructible.

Ryder had no clue how long he'd been stuck but this area did let him think a bit more freely.

It was a nice calming place yet he couldn't shake this uncertainty in his mind.

If this wasn't a boss arena or an actual area… then what was it?

Just as he was about to put another slash into one of the buildings he felt the ground shake around him.

Was this it? Was a boss about to spawn? Or was some big event about to take place?

The buildings shook and parts collapsed, crumbling as the arena only shook more and more violently.

Ryder barely could stand, instead having to resort to leaning on his longsword for support. That's when he noticed what was happening.

The dark water was rising and moving in one direction, slowly forming into something bigger than life itself. Initially it only looked like some sort of blob, but slowly the water warped and formed into something else, looking like a giant missing its lower half.

Glowing yellow eyes gazed down at him coldly.

Yet even though this is what he was witnessing he couldn't even feel scared at this point, no only a bubbling madness formed within as he stared up at the entity before him.

What was real or fake at this point? All of this felt like just one bad fever dream!

"Well?! What are you waiting for you big thing?!" Ryder called out, letting go of his sword and standing with his arms stretched out wide. "I'm right here! Do what you're going to do before I march over there and make you do it!"

The entity remains silent, its yellow eyes fixated on Ryder with curiosity before it stretches itself to its full height.

It lifts its hand high into the air, the size of it was ridiculous and there was no hope in fighting it.

This one attack would surely be the end if this was reality.

But that was something Ryder was willing to gamble on.

Nothing about this place screamed any sort of reality in the slightest, and with no exits there was only one way out in sight.

The arm comes falling down slowly, the darkened water blotting out what little light there was from the gray sky.

Ryder grits his teeth and braces for impact, feeling the water already dropping on him. Soon it began to feel like a downpour as the water rushed at him.

A wave of pain rushed over him as all of it made contact, the dark waters easily picking him up and sweeping him away.

There were no more gray skies to be seen anywhere as Ryder felt the dark waters invade his lungs and his mind began to fade once more.

Only darkness remained now.