Chapter 5: Trails of Deception
The Wastes of Eternal Night exceeded even grim expectations. Howling winds scoured frost-rimmed canyons and sentinels of ice, which seemed barely stable against relentless abrasion. Gavin led Valor warily over treacherous terrain where crevasses were prone to open silently. The steed struggled against blistering cold, but Gavin sang hymns and pressed onward, channeling warmth from faith alone.
Hours blended into an endless twilight as the wastes distended perception of time. Fatigue threatened, yet obsession yielded momentum. Soon dark silhouettes emerged amid roiling clouds—towers and spires long crumbled yet hints of ancient Malice surviving ruins. The lone citadel, where secrets surely lurked, lay near.
Gavin let Valor rest while he scouted ahead. Yet winding through collapsing walls proved disorienting amid icy mists. Eerie whispers seemed to call from all sides, luring him ever deeper into the ruins' labyrinthine heart. Though doubts assailed, the holy symbol blazed to repel illogical notions taking root. Wisdom dictated retreat, yet determination gripped him.
Rounding a corner, Gavin froze. Inferno loomed before him whole and unharmed, his amber eyes alight with hatred. But no, that was impossible! Gavin blinked, and the apparition vanished. Nerves frayed, he trudged onwards, yet more visions arose to confuse. Eldred lay dead at his feet while Arundel burned behind familiar houses he had known all his days. Panic swelled, yet faith anchored him, a calm eye in the storm of deception unfolding.
Deeper into the citadel's heart, the whispers resolved into mocking laughter echoing endlessly. Above a ziggurat rising from the maze's core hung a dark presence, a shadow coalescing into leathery wings and glowing eyes regarding Gavin with insidious amusement. You mortals are so easy to snare with whispers and dreams, a sibilant voice chided. All will kneel before my power!
A blackened claw reached towards Gavin, yet he stood firm. Demon, I know your kind all too well! Deceits hold no power over devotion to truth and light. Show your true form, and justice may find you!
The shadows rippled, resolving into a towering wyrm wrought by midnight itself. Runes of immeasurable age glimmered along ebon scales as slick as obsidian. Two voids regarded Gavin where eyes should gleam, emanating a chill deeper than any frost.
Ebonheart, I name you, and by all that is just and good, here your dominance ends! Their climactic battle for Eldoria's fate was about to commence in the ruins of eternity and shadow. Yet Gavin's faith in the Lord of Light remained his bulwark against the abyss.