Perhaps Aven was unlucky, his stars aligned in such away that would draw peril to him as sharks to blood. Maybe his actions were such that provoked the evil in the world to seek him out, misfortune to favor him. Regardless of the reason, Aven found himself led into the murkiest part of town by none of than his own Shadow. It'd been nearly six years since his shadow had acted on it's own, assuredly due to his transcendence to a dark matter human: but now, it was back at its old routines, pestering him to explore the darkness of the world once again. Aven sighed, the harrowing sight of dark fog around an eerily swaying vessel meeting his eyes as his relentless companion led him toward the docks. He raised an eyebrow at his shadow. "Shade, that boat has folly written all over it: I can't navigate a straight line, much less swim. If the ship sinks, we'll be wandering the ocean floor for months. It'll be Matron's Hollow all over again." Shade crossed him shadowy arms on the ground beside Aven, as if to say, Matron's Hollow worked out just fine, don't be such a killjoy, prompting a second release of breath from the young man. Incorrigible.
Aven carefully boarded the vessel, apprehension visible in every movement. He could sense immediately that the boat was not ordinary, multiple layers of powerful enchantments present within the wood. Coupled with the dark fog, his suspicions were confirmed: he'd followed Shade into another damn mess. As if in response to the rueful thought , the boat set sail on its own, without even a nudge from any source of wind. In a kneejerk reaction, Aven whipped around to jump back onto the dock, but it was already much too far for his pitiful leg strength to carry him, and before he could formulate a better strategy, such as throwing himself to the dock with his abilities, the structure had disappeared entirely. Shade practically danced beside him, obviously excited for whatever was going on, even though it wasn't actually aware of what exactly that was. Needless to say, as Aven's shadow, Shade had grown a bit tired of the mundane travelling and conversing Aven tended to spend his time pursuing: he wanted to see action, excitement, peril, and he was positive that he'd accomplished his aim.
Aven gave up looking for a way off the vessel within seconds of the dock being swallowed by the misty air. He was stuck with whatever fresh hell awaited at the destination of that small boat, there wasn't any point in fretting about it, though he had no idea exactly how correct his thoughts were. In an instant, the boat was no longer floating, but falling through a dark abyss. The ocean was simply… gone, vanished without a trace, giving Aven no time whatsoever to grab a hold of the boat. His mind reeled as the sensation of falling hit him like a charging war horse, but to his surprise, they were not falling. Instead, the world around him had changed, transformed into a dark, candlelit river. Overhead, a molten blood moon sparsely illuminated the area, revealing the pitch dark liquid he was windlessly sailing over. Of all the experiences Aven'd had, his trip so far may have taken the cake. Not only was the tiny, abandoned craft imbued with enchantments capable of spacial manipulation, he seemed to have entered a different realm entirely, a bit reminiscent of his time at Tar Eisalae. No, the place was fundamentally different: it had an aura of permanence Tar Eisalae lacked, as though it were tired to some force of nature itself. Surveying the black liquid under the boat, he sensed the presence of… were those people? It was as if he were floating on a sea of souls…
The pieces clicked into place. He'd studied the beliefs of various faiths in his previous world, many of which detailed versions of an afterlife. Some borrowed the concept of rebirth, while others relied on the promise of reward: the most gripping of these narratives, however, cemented the idea of impermanence into the believers. It'd been called Hades, Hell, the Underworld, and countless other names, but it remained quite consistent in its nature across each retelling. He was, without a doubt, crossing the threshold between the living and the dead. All at once, the scenery begins to change, and Aven is swept into devastating emotional states, confusion wracking his being: however, as terrifying as it was, it was nothing compared to the hell he'd endured after losing his memories. That agonizing pit of emptiness, knowing that the truth lies just beyond the pale, yet always barely out of reach. After experiencing such emptiness, the various stages of grief could not succeed in breaking his will, though it was anything from a leisurely boat ride as he desperately clung to his will.
Finally, the brutal onslaught ended, a towering gate appearing overhead. The gate to the underworld… He would chew Shade out later for those shenanigans of his, leading him to the underworld was far worse than that ambush in Uthlyn. A symbol on the gate caught his eye, the Ouroboros, the representation natures constant life, death, and rebirth, as if he needed further proof of his inevitable destination. A depression unlike anything he'd ever felt afflicted him, whispering that he would die, never again to see the world above. Unlike what he was expecting, however, Aven was not killed upon crossing the gate. Rather, he and Shade were no longer on the boat at all.
Aven was surrounded by a vast darkness, one that would swallow most humans whole. Of course, Aven was not a normal human, his eyes able to see clear as day through the darkness. Those silver-grey eyes met the gaze of a beautiful little girl, pristine in every way. His reaction was blank, and rightfully so: he'd expected an enormous demon, or perhaps some form of reaper intent on stealing away his soul. Were it normal circumstances, he would give the small child the gentle smile he always wore, and stooped all six feet of himself into a regal bow to show courtesy: in such dire circumstances, however… he would obviously do the exact same thing, as that's the kind of man Aven was.
"Pardon my intrusion, little Miss, I seem to have stumbled into a realm I do not belong. Is there, by chance, an exit I may take?" His voice was honest, and his eyes soft, no intention to fight a small child, no matter the volume of magic he sensed contained within her form. Nevertheless, his dark robe exuded strange, void-black particles as it always did, which meandered lazily about the area.
The little girl showed no emotion, cocking her head slightly to the left. "You are not human. Your soul is black."
Aven chuckled at her bluntness. It was obvious she was an ancient being, probably a type of Guardian of the underworld. Unless, of course, all beings in the underworld held such power, in which case, he was undoubtedly done for. He knew that he was not fully human, but what she'd said about his soul sparked a tinge of confusion. What does she mean, my soul is black? I'm not evil… "And you get straight to the point, though I would say you are only partially correct in that statement. As to what I am, such is not important: I would greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide toward my leaving of this realm, is there anything I can do to achieve such a feat?" He rephrased his question from before, hoping that there was some kind of trial he could undergo to gain passage to the outside world once more.
The little girl considered the question for a moment before nodding emotionlessly. "I am the Guardian of Purgatory, known as "The Pale Death". Should you defeat me in combat, I shall grant your request. Should you fail, you shall be confined here, along with all the other souls that lost their faith in the Gods." She did not speak as though it were an offer, but rather, an ultimatum.
Aven's expression falls lax for a moment, though it was what he had expected. No amount of courtesy would allow him to leave the underworld, only proving his worthiness could. luckily, as he'd confirmed that she was, indeed, a guardian of that place, he could safely assume she was not mortal, and there wasn't anything his normal attacks would do that could actually kill her. He was quite fortunate in that regard, as well as the fact that he was in almost complete darkness: because of that, the fight would not last even a moment. Without further hesitation, before The Pale Death could make a single move, Aven snapped his fingers, and the child was instantly impaled by ten different tendrils of shadow from all around her, all giving off the same strange vibe as the dark particles that emitted from his robe.
The girl's eyes fly wide, though the rest of her face remains stoic. Two tendrils had pierced each section of her body, save her head, immobilizing her completely, tested as she tried to no avail to move her limbs. Her eyes return to normal, and she speaks. "I did not anticipate such an attack. You have proven yourself worthy to pass." With that, the tendrils dissipated into a mass of black particles, all of which flowed back to Aven and into Shade behind him. Aven was still going to have a serious word with his foolish partner. Through his use of his powers, unbeknownst to Aven, any God present in the realm would be acutely alerted to his presence.
The Dark does not judge, will not forgive, and cannot save: such is my purpose.
