Paragon of Destruction

"I've seen Essence Remnants before," Arran confirmed. "Though none as large as that one."

He cast a wary glance in the direction from which they had come. Although an hour's travel had put several miles between them and the monstrous creature, he still half expected to see its lumbering figure appear in the distance.

"So our world has them, as well," Karanos said in a soft voice, his expression troubled.

A frown crossed Arran's face. "Before we entered this world, you said it held a warning I should see." He gestured at the ruins around them. "Is this it? You think the same fate might befall our own world?"

They had barely left the cave an hour ago, but already, Arran had seen enough to suspect that this Shadow Realm had once been a world like his own, filled with people and cities. Yet something had happened to it — some great calamity had plunged it into darkness and inundated it with Shadow Essence.

"Correct," Karanos replied, giving a small nod. "In the years I spent traveling this world, I encountered many ruined cities like this — thousands of them. Once, this world must have held numerous civilizations. But now, none of them remain."

"Are there any people left?" Arran asked.

"None that I have met," the mage said. "Though I suspect that I have only explored a small part of this world. It is possible that some people still remain."

Despite the words, his tone made it clear he thought it unlikely, and Arran could only agree with that. If the rest of the world was plunged in Shadow Essence as well, he could not imagine any settlements or villages holding out against the darkness.

Some powerful mages might have survived whatever happened to this world, but weaker ones would definitely have fallen.

As for commoners — there was no need to even consider them. In a world like this, no commoners would survive more than a few days.

Yet having seen the effects, Arran now wondered what the cause had been. The amount of Shadow Essence covering the world seemed endless — far more than even millions of mages could produce.

"Do you know what happened here?" he asked with a curious look at Karanos.

"I do not," the man replied. "Something allowed a flood of Essence to enter this world, but what it was, I do not know. It happened long before I arrived here." He paused briefly, his expression pensive. Then, he added, "And it still continues. The Shadow Essence is far denser today than when I first arrived, and it grows denser still — and faster than before."

Arran spent some moments considering the reply. With the difference in time between this world and his own, countless thousands of years must have passed since the first time Karanos set foot in this world.

If that was the case, and the flood of Shadow Essence still continued, it could not merely be the result of mages bringing Essence into the world. Something had opened a floodgate, and from the sound of it, it remained open still.

"But enough of that," Karanos interrupted Arran's thoughts. "We have much to discuss, but it will have to wait. I do not wish to remain here any longer than necessary. We will retrieve the gift I promised you, then travel to safer lands."

Arran quickly nodded in response. Intriguing though the matter was, he had no desire to remain in the city — not with monstrous Remnants stalking around the ruins.

They set off again without any further words, quietly making their way through the crumbled remains of what once had been a great city.

And that it had been great was certain, because they spent the next few days traveling through the ruins, with the city's remains showing no sign of ending even then.

Even if little remained of the buildings that had once filled the area, it was clear that the city had once been vast beyond comprehension. For the ruins to stretch this far, millions would have had to live within the city when it still lived.

But now, not a trace of life remained amid the ruins. There were no people or animals, nor even insects. And while the ruins held some growths that vaguely resembled plants, even those seemed on the verge of death.

Much to Arran's relief, they encountered no other Remnants, either. This was Karanos's doing, he knew. Several times, the man had them make sudden changes in direction, apparently Sensing danger ahead — long before Arran could detect any trace of it.

While he was grateful for Karanos's company, Arran could not help but wonder how the mage had ever survived his own first visits to the strange land. Had Arran himself traveled here without knowing about the dangers, he had no doubt he would not have survived.

They had traveled for over a week — or so Arran thought, though without day or night, he couldn't be certain — when Karanos suddenly came to a halt in front of a large hill.

"We have reached our destination," the mage announced, some relief in his voice. "The reason I brought you here."

"This hill is our destination?" Arran frowned and used his Sense to inspect the hill, but he found nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing here seemed any different from the many ruins they had passed during the previous days.

"This hill, as you call it, was once a great palace," Karanos said. "And although the palace itself is long gone, we came here for what lies beneath — one of the few places in this world that still retains some shadow of its former glory."

With that, he guided Arran through the crumbled ruins that lined the hillside, finally coming to a halt at a narrow gap between two house-sized boulders.

"Follow me," he said, then disappeared into the gap.

Arran quickly followed behind him, and was surprised to find that a narrow tunnel lay behind the two boulders. Karanos entered this as well, gesturing for Arran to follow him.

Inside, they traveled for nearly half an hour through the confines of the tunnel. From what Arran could tell, he thought the tunnel wasn't man-made. Rather, it seemed like a crack within the hill, at times so narrow he could only barely force himself through the cramped space.

But then, unexpectedly, they suddenly emerged into a wider space. And here, the walls were smooth and straight, clearly built by human hands.

That was only part of what drew Arran's attention, however, as he was shocked to Sense a trace of Essence — and something other than Shadow Essence.

He immediately inspected the surroundings more thoroughly, and was startled to find what appeared to be a formation. It was like no formation he had ever encountered before, and it was so weak even his much-strengthened Sense only barely detected it, but its presence was undeniable.

"One of the formations that originally protected these dungeons," Karanos explained. "Somehow, it managed to last through the countless thousands of centuries that have passed since it was created. And while it is no longer strong enough to stop us from entering, it still bars Essence within from being Sensed outside."

Arran nodded thoughtfully, taking the opportunity to examine the formation with his Sense. While it was too complex for him to understand, he made an effort to remember as much as he could of it — any formation that had lasted so long was one worth knowing. Once he left the Shadow Realm, he could try to comprehend more of it.

But Karanos was in no mood for waiting. "Come on," he said in a tense voice. "While we're safe here, we don't have much time to waste. With every hour that passes, more creatures — Remnants, as you call them — arrive in the city. We should hurry."

Arran reluctantly tore his attention away from the ancient formation, then asked, "Where are we going?"

At this, Karanos flashed him a smile — the first he'd shown in a long time. "To the treasury, of course," he said.

Over the next hour, they traveled through a series of wide hallways, and went down several large staircases as they descended deeper into these dungeons. Along the way, Arran Sensed more formations that had survived the passage of time, and he guessed that these were the only thing stopping the dungeons from collapsing.

Yet Karanos gave him no chance to study them, nor did he allow Arran to explore any of the chambers that lined the hallways. "No time," he said curtly when Arran asked. "And I already searched this place when I first discovered it — there's nothing of value to be found here."

Arran reluctantly accepted it, though he still wished he could have the opportunity to explore the place thoroughly. Even if there was nothing of value to be found inside, just the formations were enough to rouse his interest.

Then, finally, they reached the end of a wide hall, at the end of which stood a vast doorway that held two massive steel doors. Arran did not need to guess to know that this was the treasury — he could not imagine any other place being so well-protected.

Yet the doors now stood open, and as Karanos approached them, he motioned for Arran to follow him.

"Let's get this gift of yours," he said. "And after that, we'll waste no time in leaving this place. If we're lucky, we should still have time to escape."