Vale drifted deep within an endless void.

  The abyss stormed around him, spilling raw atum in unseen currents as he fell farther and farther, his eyes sealed shut like doors nailed closed. He descended for what felt like an eternity, untouched by the chaos that surrounded him. The void itself screamed, not in rage, not in pain, but in a sound so alien it defied comparison. It was not human, not animal, not spawn, not machine.

  It simply was.

  A sound without meaning, echoing endlessly as the boy fell through its depths.

  Vale’s armor held fast against his body. Thick black robes clung to him, leather bindings tight and unyielding. Metal plating along both legs and his left arm gleamed faintly, polished as if untouched by time or decay. All of him was covered, except for his face and his right metallic arm.

  That arm shimmered strangely.

  Its metallic surface was uneven, imperfect, yet resolute. Cold steel caught no reflection from the void, refusing to be swallowed by the darkness that consumed everything else.

  Pressed against his chest were three ravens.

  Unconscious, just as he was, they slept quietly in his grasp as the four of them fell together, unaware of where the abyss would eventually cast them.

  Time passed, how much? Vale could not tell.

  At last, his eyes twitched.

  His brow tightened as if resisting, but slowly, unwillingly, his eyes opened and gazed into the infinite expanse of black. Vale stared into the void, silent, processing what little he could remember of what had just transpired. He said nothing. He simply fell, endlessly, the scream of the void washing over him without stirring a reaction.

  Then something changed.

  Vale’s gaze fixed on a shape hidden within the darkness. He couldn’t see it clearly or define its form, yet its presence was undeniable, pressing against his awareness as though it had always been there.

  Instinctively, Vale extended his right metallic arm toward it, his fingers reaching into the void.

  “What is that…?” he murmured, his hand stretching as far as it could reach.

  At the point where his fingers aimed, a light ignited, soft and white, impossibly gentle in the endless dark. The glow drifted toward him, slicing through the abyss like a quiet promise, and Vale watched in awe as it drew closer. His breath caught when the source of the radiance finally revealed itself.

  It was a figure, unmistakably feminine.

  She fell as he did, suspended alongside him in the void, her features obscured by the brilliance that surrounded her. Even so, there was no mistaking what she was. This was a woman, and she regarded Vale in silence, her presence commanding and ancient, as though time itself bent around her existence.

  The world seemed to slow.

  Then she spoke.

  Her voice was celestial, resonating through the void itself, and the abyss obeyed her words as though they were law.

  “You are not supposed to be here.”

  The words echoed endlessly.

  Vale’s eyes widened in shock, and in the very next instant, she was gone.

  The light vanished with her, leaving the abyss darker than before, as though it had swallowed hope itself. Vale remained motionless for a long while, suspended in the emptiness.

  Then his arms tightened.

  Only then did he realize the truth, the ravens were still there.

  His breath caught as he looked down at them in stunned disbelief. They had come with him. Truly, they had followed him even here. The shock softened into something warmer, and a small, fragile smile formed on his lips as he gently stroked one of them. He couldn’t see their faces, yet he was grateful beyond words that he was not alone.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  A single caw broke the silence.

  Vale smiled.

  “Don’t worry,” he said quietly, his voice calm and reassuring as his fingers brushed through their feathers again. “Everything will be alright.”

  But deep down, he knew it was a lie, a terrible one.

  He didn’t know if they would be alright. In truth, he suspected they wouldn’t be. The thought lingered, heavy and suffocating, as his eyes narrowed.

  “I have to find the Black Lion…” he whispered.

  Turning his gaze inward, he hoped, pleaded, for a response. “Just who… or what… is the Black Lion?”

  Silence answered him.

  Zellion remained quiet, just as he had warned he would. Vale had expected it, yet the disappointment still stung. He released a slow breath, his shoulders sinking.

  Then a strange sense of déjà vu washed over him.

  Vale opened his eyes wider, scanning the void as realization struck him like a quiet thunderclap. This was the same darkness, the same endless fall, the same beginning.

  Three months ago, this was where he had awakened for the first time, his memories gone, his identity shattered, his fate rewritten without his consent.

  A crooked smile tugged faintly at his lips.

  “The world really can be strange,” he muttered under his breath.

  Then, below him, a light began to form.

  Vale turned toward it, hope flaring unexpectedly in his chest. His eyes widened, and this time the smile that appeared was unmistakable.

  There it was.

  His way out.

  Just like before, unchanged, familiar, exactly the same.

  As Vale drifted toward the light, a single thought anchored itself firmly in his mind.

  That light.

  That woman.

  Her voice echoed again, clear and unmistakable.

  'You aren’t supposed to be here.'

  The void carried him downward as the words repeated themselves, echoing in his mind no matter how hard he tried to push them away. What had she meant by that? Had she been speaking of the void itself, suggesting that this place was never meant for him, that his presence here was some kind of error?

  If that was the case, then she was probably right.

  Vale had never chosen the abyss. He had never stepped into it of his own will. Every time, he had been dragged here, discarded, displaced, pulled between worlds like something that didn’t quite belong anywhere. A faint frown creased his brow as frustration curled tight in his chest.

  But if he wasn’t supposed to be here… then where was he supposed to be?

  Vale exhaled slowly. He didn’t have the answers, nor the means to search for them. Whatever truth the woman carried lay far beyond his reach for now, sealed behind power and understanding he did not yet possess.

  Before he could dwell on it any longer, the light consumed him.

  Radiance swallowed the void in an instant. His ravens cried out sharply as they were dragged along with him, their caws echoing once before being drowned in brilliance. Vale shut his eyes, bracing himself. He expected wind, air, solid ground beneath his feet.

  Instead, he felt cold.

  Liquid wrapped around his body all at once, seeping into every gap in his armor and stealing his breath before he could react. Vale’s eyes snapped open as water closed over his head, sound collapsing into a dull, crushing silence.

  'Not again.'

  Instinct took over. Vale kicked downward, his boots striking sand beneath the surface. He planted his feet hard against the seabed and pushed upward with everything he had. Water exploded around him as he broke the surface, gasping violently as air flooded his lungs.

  He lifted his arms instinctively, raising the ravens above the water as they panicked, wings flaring weakly while they struggled, soaked and trembling. Vale staggered forward, his armor heavy with water, his drenched hair clinging to his face and blurring his vision.

  Blinking through wet lashes, he scanned his surroundings, and then he saw it.

  Sand stretched out before him, pale, solid, and undeniably real, extending just beyond the waterline. Small plants pushed stubbornly through it, flecks of green against the gold.

  Land.

  Vale forced himself forward, half running and half wading as the water parted around his legs. It took several unsteady steps, his balance wavering, but he made it. The moment his boots struck dry ground, his strength gave out, and he dropped to one knee.

  Carefully, almost reverently, he set the ravens down.

  They shook themselves dry at once, feathers flaring as droplets scattered in every direction. Vale watched them for a moment, his chest rising and falling rapidly, before finally releasing a long, trembling breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

  Then he let himself fall backward onto the sand.

  He lay there, staring up at the sky.

  It was blue, soft, endless, and painfully familiar. The same shade he remembered. The same calm expanse he had seen before, unchanged and indifferent to everything he had just endured. A sense of déjà vu washed over him as the realization slowly settled in.

  This had happened before.

  The fall. The void. The light. The water. Even the near-drowning.

  A quiet laugh slipped from his throat, growing fuller as the absurdity of it all sank in. Vale raised an arm over his eyes and shook his head as he laughed.

  “Fate really is something, huh?” he muttered to no one in particular.

  A faint chuckle answered him.

  Vale froze.

  The laughter died instantly as his eyes snapped open. He twisted sharply, pushing himself into a half-seated position, his gaze locking onto the source of the sound.

  A boy stood a short distance away.

  He looked to be about Vale’s age, with bright crimson hair that caught the light as it fell loosely around his shoulders. Icy blue eyes watched him with an expression hovering somewhere between exhaustion and quiet amusement. Fresh burn marks covered his body—angry, raw scars that spoke of pain endured only moments ago.

  The boy offered a faint smile.

  “Good to see you.”

  Recognition hit Vale like a wave.

  Relief flooded his chest so suddenly it almost hurt. A grateful chuckle escaped him as tension drained from his shoulders, and he turned fully toward the boy.

  “Yeah.... good to see you too,” Vale said, a crooked smile forming naturally on his face.

  (Start of volume 2 Tower of Ruin)