Chapter 10: The Great Pendulum War

  When Raiden finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, he found himself at another junction. There were five tunnels, all heading in different directions. Raiden picked one of the tunnels to the right and was about to head that way when the amulet under his armor grew warm.

  He pulled it out. The amulet drifted toward the tunnel straight ahead. Instead of going right, he decided to follow the amulet and tucked it back under his breastplate. Raiden walked for a long time. He moved at a quick pace, but didn’t run. He had been pushing himself really hard and was pretty low on mana right now as well. He needed to conserve his energy in case he needed to fight. As dangerous as the giant millipede was, it wasn’t the only horror that lurked down in the deep.

  How did the giant millipede know I had the amulet?

  He had no idea. The fact that it could also telepathically communicate with him was unsettling. The creature didn’t have eyes, so maybe it had some way to sense the amulet. It was definitely strange, and Raiden did not want to come into contact with it again. Hopefully, it stayed stuck in the building.

  After nearly an hour of walking, he made it to the end of the tunnel. When he reached the new area, he was surprised when the entire cavern lit up as if it were noon. The space was massive. It was as if the shape of a pyramid had been hollowed out inside the earth. At the very top of the pyramid shaped void sat a massive mana crystal. It emitted a warm light that radiated brightly to fill every nook and cranny.

  Raiden had entered off to one side of the pyramid shaped space. He stood a few stories above ground level and could see a number of orderly buildings and streets. At the very center sat a massive dome building made of white marble. There was a ramp that led down from where he was to the ground level. He walked down and made his way through the orderly buildings. He could feel the amulet pulling him toward the dome, so he didn’t stop to check the buildings, and he hit the main thoroughfare. The road led right to the entrance of the dome.

  It was strange that this space was so well lit. Nothing stirred around him, but he didn’t let his guard down. After walking for a good while, the dome loomed directly ahead of him. The inside of the dome was also well lit. It had no doors, so he walked inside. Massive stone columns stood at the entryway. Beyond them, there were statues that ran along the walls. Many of the statues had broken apart and lay shattered on the ground, yet some stood. They were powerful looking figures. They were comprised of the different sapient races and creatures of the world. Some were elves, some were human, some were dwarves, some were beastkin, beings who were humanoid in shape but displayed animal like qualities. Raiden saw a humanoid tiger baring its fangs as it wielded a two handed greataxe. Other figures were dressed in robes that reminded Raiden of mages.

  After Raiden passed the columns and the statues, he drew close to the center of the dome. This place reminded him of a temple. The dome itself was hollowed out, and he could see all the way to the ceiling. At the top was a clear crystal, and it filtered in light from above. Along the walls of the dome were murals of battles and of beings fighting great evil. The beings reminded him of the statues that he had seen when he had walked in. They fought undead armies, great creatures that came up from the sea, legions of demons, and so forth. The murals were massive, and it was easy for Raiden to pick out the details.

  One of the murals caught Raiden’s eye. In it, a number of powerful beings stood gathered together to fight against one particular enemy. Before them, a mist covered a field, and a great number of beasts roamed within the mist. Across the field of mist, there was one creature shrouded in darkness. It had no discernible features. Despite the fact that it was just a mural, it gave Raiden a very eerie feeling. He peeled his gaze away and kept walking toward the center of the dome. Light shone down from above like a beam and rested upon a platform. Raiden continued walking forward, feeling the amulet begin to grow hot under his armor. He pulled it out.

  As the necklace began to glow with a radiance that matched the light streaming in from above, it pulled him toward the platform. It was perfectly round, and he stepped onto it. As soon as he stood under the beam of light, a whirring sound echoed, and the platform shifted. Before Raiden could react, he plunged with the platform into the ground below, descending at an incredible speed. He looked up as the floor closed shut above him. He descended far into the ground below. Soon, the pedestal began to slow, and it finally came to a stop, resting gently on the ground.

  Ahead was a brightly lit room. The room was perfectly circular, and its ceiling arced up in a half sphere. It was completely empty, and the floor was made of golden metal. A domed ceiling was made from a perfectly smooth blue crystal that glowed dully, reminding Raiden of the sky. As he walked into the room, a figure materialized before him, and he drew his blade, ready for a fight. Before Raiden was a man, although the man looked almost ethereal in Raiden’s eyes. The man wore a dark blue robe that was embroidered with gold edges. The man had his hands clasped together. A white beard hung down from his face, and his bald head shone dully.

  “Present the splinter key to break the seal,” the figure spoke.

  “A splinter what?” said Raiden.

  The figure spoke again.

  “The splinter key rests around your neck. Present it to unlock the seal.”

  “I’m not exactly sure I want to do that. Who are you, and what is this place?”

  The figure looked at him quizzically but smiled.

  “I see that introductions are in order. I am a hologram, a magical construct that was created to watch over this place and protect the secrets that lie within. My records indicate that I have been down here for an age. As you can tell, I am not a living being but more of a memory that was left behind a long time ago.”

  Raiden stood there uneasily, with his sword still drawn. The old man waved his hand.

  “There will be no need for those. You bear the key. You belong here and have nothing to fear from me.”

  Raiden lowered his sword but didn’t put it in his scabbard.

  The old man spoke, “My name is Arovis. I am a partial mental copy of my creator, and I have been watching over this temple for a long, long time. I can see that you have no knowledge of this place. I have access to the temple above and the area directly surrounding it, but I can no longer connect with other areas of the facility. Based on my scans of the surrounding area, it seems that it has been a very, very long time since I was last awakened. Much of the facility has fallen into disrepair. Even many of my old memories have faded, but I will tell you what I can. Let us start at the beginning. What is your name?”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Raiden didn’t think there was any harm in telling the—what did he call himself? A hologram, his name, and it didn’t seem malevolent.

  “My name is Raiden Starshroud.”

  “Starshroud. Not a name I am familiar with. But there’s no doubt that the amulet belongs to you.”

  The man said, gesturing to the amulet around Raiden’s neck.

  “It’s a key, and the one that you bear is bound to a certain lineage. That means that it’s locked to anyone outside of your direct ancestry.”

  Raiden shook his head.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what any of that means. This amulet has been in my household for a really long time, but I don’t know anything about it.”

  The old man nodded.

  “Some secrets are only kept secret when their purpose remains hidden. It would also explain why the key hasn’t been used up until this point. It seems that fate has brought you here, Raiden. If the purpose of that key had been known, it would have surely been used a long, long time ago. But before we get to that, tell me, Raiden, what do you know of the gods?”

  Raiden was taken aback by the question.

  “The gods? The gods used to rule this world thousands of years ago. Well, the gods are a bit taboo. They haven’t had anything to do with our world for ages, as far as I know. Honestly, I don’t even know if they’re real.”

  “I can see how that would be the current sentiment of the world, given the circumstances. I have something to show you, Raiden. Watch,” said Arovis.

  All around Raiden, throughout the half dome, swirling images began to coalesce in the air. Arovis came to stand next to Raiden, and he gestured up at the swirling images. Raiden finally put his blade in his scabbard, willing to trust the old man at least that much. The images finally coalesced, and Arovis pointed at them.

  “The gods created the worlds and populated them long ago.”

  All around Raiden, the lights in the dome faded away, and all that was left to see were the glowing images. There were countless stars and numberless worlds. The picture shifted as they zoomed in on a planet. Raiden could see countless cities as they hovered above the world. Next, they shifted vantage point, and they were standing at ground level in one of the cities. There were a myriad of races that Raiden didn’t recognize, but some that he did, humans included. There were children laughing and playing in the streets. People sold their wares at the shops. Adventurers strode by in their resplendent gear with swords and staffs, and all manner of armaments.

  They shifted to another planet to behold a similar scene. Life, cities, forests, people. Arovis spoke.

  “Countless worlds, Raiden. The gods created countless worlds.”

  There was another scene. Raiden saw a city floating in the folds of space. At least that’s what he assumed space looked like. They zoomed inside a room in the central palace. There, a council of gods deliberated among each other about the creation of these countless worlds.

  Next, the gods stood in the folds of space, harnessing the material as they created planets. Raiden watched with fascination. Arovis spoke again.

  “These gods grew in power and strength and ruled over all of life.”

  The scene shifted again, and Raiden saw a group of three gods standing together on the mountainside of a beautiful world. There was a man dressed in golden armor who wielded a great sword. A woman stood next to him. Her features were elvish, and in her hands, glowing orbs levitated with a fierceness like the sun. The last figure was one that Raiden recognized from the statues of the temple above. It was the tiger kin who stood with broad shoulders. His heavily muscled frame wielded a giant double bladed battle axe. The figures stared off into the distance at a valley below. At the bottom of the valley was a massive jagged gash in the fabric of reality. Out of the tear poured an army of the undead.

  Down below, there was a massive battle in the valley, and destruction littered the landscape. The forces of the gods had already arrayed themselves against the undead. Countless skeletons faced off against armored soldiers and teams of mages. The undead were relentless and continued pouring out of the crack. No matter how many of the undead the defenders killed, the enemy just kept pouring through the gash in reality. Arovis pointed at the tear.

  “That, Raiden, is the Abyss; they are also known as the Abyssal Realms. After an age of prosperity, the Abyss came into contact with this plane of existence. At first, it was just one world. They came from somewhere else, merging their reality with ours, conquering everywhere they went like a flame of fire. The gods fought against them, and all who followed the gods rallied to their cause as they fought to protect our reality.”

  Images shifted again, and Raiden found himself looking at a new world. The land was a hellscape. Every form of vegetation for as far as he could see had been burned to ash. Dust drifted about on the barren landscape. In the distance, he could see the woman with the elfish features, throwing her glowing golden orbs at a giant winged serpent as they battled. The ground shook; light and explosions littered the sky as the two mighty beings attacked one another.

  The image shifted again to go to yet another planet. In this vision, an army of insectile creatures poured out of portals all across a valley. They poured out endlessly as they destroyed everything in sight. A walled city stood at the center of the valley, and soon the insect creatures descended upon it. Once again, the scene shifted into the future. The insects had completely overtaken the city, and it lay in ruins and smoke. The insects shrieked and hissed up into the air as the last of the defenders were slain.

  The scene zoomed out once again, and they were back looking at the stars and the myriad of planets. Arovis spoke once again.

  “As you see, the forces of the Abyssal Realms take many forms: the undead, the demons, the insects, and even other darker realms. There are many factions and kingdoms within the Abyssal realm. They are known by many names. They differ in their powers and in the forms that they take, but they all have one thing universally in common: an unquenchable desire to consume all life.”

  “The Abyssal Realms invaded our existence. They merged with the worlds here and consumed them. Countless battles were fought. Many worlds were lost to the universe as the Abyss destroyed them and all life within them. The tide of the battle swung back and forth throughout the millennia. Next, another scene showed the human god with golden armor descending upon a desert world that the Abyss had conquered. The god and his forces arrayed themselves against a vast army of demons. On a battlefield of sandy dunes, the man in the golden armor hewed down a large demon that looked like a bull. More demons were also slain soon after, and the demons were defeated. The next scene showed the man in the golden armor bringing people back to the planet to start life once more.

  “The mortals and the gods fought against the invaders. Sometimes they prevailed; other times they did not. The battles were without number, and the slain were without count. The Great Pendulum War, as it came to be known, waxed for ages upon ages, but the enemy never ceased. Despite their occasional victories, the gods were unable to win this fight, and seeing the inevitable, they knew that they had to find a way to become stronger and cast out the Abyss. The next scene showed the council of gods sitting at a table in the floating palace in the void. At the head of the table sat a few gods who seemed to be in charge. They wore hoods, and so their features were veiled, but they gave off powerful auras. There was a man at their center who spoke with grim determination. He slammed a gauntleted fist down on the table.

  “The Great Pendulum War shall come to an end. Let it be done.”

  The rest of the council nodded to one another as if in agreement.

  In the next scene, Raiden watched as the universe seemed to split in two. Fragments of the universe were completely torn away, and terrible cracks seemed to tear the very fabric of reality itself. It was a terrible sight to watch.

  Arovis spoke: “They shattered reality and broke the Abyss off where it had merged with our existence. Worlds that had succumbed to the enemy were lost forever as they were cast away. The gods disappeared shortly after. I have no record of them or what the shattering of reality truly meant. The gods, however, did not leave the worlds without aid. The gods left power behind for mortals to wield and harness so that they might overcome evil should the Abyss return.”