Hill was on the edge of a cliff face when he opened his eyes. Beyond the edge, a massive sea of lava churned some fifty yards below. The heat rose in waves, buffeting the cliff walls as the hot air rose.
The air smelled of rotten eggs and was difficult to inhale.
Above him, instead of the blue skies he had grown accustomed to on Earth, all he could see were monstrous stalactites that hung from the dark ceiling.
This is… some sort of lava cavern, He realized, pushing himself to his feet. Or perhaps this is hell. Those runic letters… they said that I died.
He sighed as he stepped away from the cliff's edge. Rubbing his hands all over his body, he inspected himself for any wounds. He even pulled up the hem of his shirt, a dirty maroon hand-me-down that he had received from Haida, to check for injuries.
Instead of angry bruises, his skin was unblemished, and his insides seemed okay. He frowned.
Was that all just a dream? It felt so…
Suddenly, runic markings emerged from out of thin air, clashing together into readable text.
… real.
[Welcome to
[The path back to
The text sputtered out of control as it glitched out, shivering in the air before bursting into sparks again. But now Hill was somewhat confident of a few things:
First, he was somehow transported away from Earth and into some unknown world called Igashia.
Second, there was some sinister supernatural power at play here. Hill had been sure that something strange had happened in Persul when the plague beasts arrived from nowhere. The past few minutes reinforced that understanding.
Third, something was wrong with this supernatural power regarding himself. This was the second time that it had glitched out like that.
I can't tell if I should be worried or not, He wondered to himself. But it's clear that there is a way for me to get back home, so that's what I should focus on.
Finally, the runic markings appeared once more.
[You are an anomaly.]
Hill's eyes widened, his heart thumping loudly within his chest. Anomaly?
[As a result, you have been bestowed with a curse named
The text shimmered out of existence, leaving Hill stunned and incredibly confused. The tone shift that he had just witnessed was diabolical, to say the least.
Cursed? But why? Hill thought back to his experience within that sandy realm, which he assumed was the soulscape based on what the text had said.
After he had 'defeated' the Future Deity, he had been transported somehow to this new world. During that transportation, he vividly remembered the text stating that he had 'died.'
He didn't know the reason for his death, but he was sure that he must have died just after the deity had passed away.
Is that why I'm cursed? Because I technically didn't survive?
He couldn't think of any other explanation, and as sweat began to drip down his forehead, he realized that he had to get moving fast. His body wouldn't be able to withstand the heat much longer anyway.
Looking behind him, he saw that the cliff he was on was connected to a cave opening within the cavern walls.
"I guess I'm exploring some caves toda—no, tonight? Damn, I don't even know what time it is." He muttered to himself as he entered the mouth of the cave.
It turns out the cave was just the opening to a massive cave system full of looping tunnels and dead ends.
However, Hill knew that there was a pathway to the surface due to the atmosphere of the cave having enough oxygen for him to breathe, unlike the lava cavern. He just had to find it.
The lack of light was an issue, though, and he had to feel his way around the caves.
After twenty minutes or so, his eyes achieved an acceptable level of night vision. Allowing him just enough sight to avoid bumping into the cave walls.
But he was wandering aimlessly, for his mind could only focus on one thing: family.
The series of events that he had just experienced were unlike any other period of his sixteen-year-old life. He went from being devoured by a winged monstrosity to wrestling with some ghostly deity to being spat out into a lava cavern, all within what he believed to be an hour.
It was as unbelievable as it was heartbreaking. He wanted to know what happened to his family, especially his sister and mother, with whom he had a strong familial connection, unlike his father.
Had they met the same fate as him? He knew their chances of surviving the onslaught of monsters were nearly zero. But he desperately wished that they had been transported like he was.
He couldn't bear to think of what would have happened if they hadn't.
Don't worry, Hill, He assured himself. Just focus on getting back to Earth. Worrying about them will do absolutely nothing for you right now.
And so he kept moving forward, feeling his way through the caves until he saw a faint glow in the distance.
Oh? What's that?
The light was flickering as if it were coming from flames. His heart began to beat faster. He had just left the expanses of the lava cavern, and if he had somehow made his way back to that hell...he would have been simply devastated.
But as he drew closer, he heard several coughing sounds followed by vulgar curse words.
His eyes widened. That's a human! And a female one at that…
He stepped forward quietly, pacing around the bend of the cave until his eyes fell upon the figure of a teenage girl.
She had sky-blue hair that seemed almost orange in the firelight. Her clothes were a black t-shirt with baggy jeans that were drenched in some dark liquid that he assumed was blood.
Across from her was a small campfire that was filling the area with so much smoke that he immediately began to cough.
The girl whipped towards him, having not noticed his presence at all until he appeared, and an ornate dagger appeared in her right hand from out of nowhere as she scrambled to her feet.
Hill flinched backward as she angled the sharp blade towards him, her amethyst eyes piercing through his crimson.
"Wai—" Hill began, being cut off as she charged at him with a murderous look in her eyes.