A Surprise

He exited out the destroyed church doors, where he met with the vast horizon of this ruined city.

He knew this city from his rigorous interrogation of the man called Belluk, that it was a massive and cruelly inane city, one where it was ruled by syndicate warlords of various demi-species, that sized its entirety. It was unkept and barely standing, its sole purpose was the industry of producing the illicit and unruly of offers, and served as the hollowed grounds of religious worship of dark - which was utter nonsense when Belluk had told him about it - gods.

He looked up at the sky, that large vastness, and saw that it was sorely missing a crucial element.

Planets were missing, 6 in total, gone without a trace and with no trail he could follow. He had asked Belluk what had happened to them, and he looked at him dubiously, like he had asked a daft question to him - which warranted him another punch to the face - before saying he genuinely did not know about them.

"This, is truly uncharted lands for me." He mused to himself.

This world he currently walked on was called Ediah from what Belluk had told him, and it was a mystery to him on how it had come to be, it was like his siblings had rebuilt the entire cosmos with his absence and it felt unfamiliar to him, and he intended to find answers.

He took a step down the stairs, until the light blitzed in front of him and stopped him in his tracks.

"What is it this time?"

The light responded by vibrating its body, and rapidly went back and forth on the stairs, its body going fast and lighting what seemed like a trail.

"You want me to follow?"

The light stopped its speedy and linear interval to move up and down in agreement.

"All right."

As he went to take the down the stairs, he heard steps shuffling in his back, and met with the reincarnated band of bandits, now turned into his soldiers in black.

"Ah, I suppose they will serve as a disturbance to the people of these city."

He thought on how he could hide the soldiers, now 11 members strong, and included Belluk, in order to remain unseen when traveling, he decided on something that might work.

"Compression"

A sigil appeared in his hand, and a torrent of black covered the soldiers, changing their forms to gusts of wind as a tall tornado swirled high. The winds raged for only a short time before abruptly ending, dissipating as something large came out, a tall singular knight emerged.

It was larger than the previous ones, with limbs significantly bigger and taller and beastly in their shape, his gauntlets containing large claws that jutted out and his hind legs were bent like a predator, the armor more fierce looking with Belluks robe serving as its scarf, with his helmet resembling a feral wolfen form.

He went to him in a bizarre, animalistic walk, and knelt just atop the stairs, and it dissipated with black, thin smoke.

He looked at his hand, the one where the sigil appeared and felt a sense of relief, his powers were still functional, but missing their full might as the soldiers he managed to summon were only on the lower levels. But it reassured him when he would travel, he would need them if he had a chance to survive these uncharted world.

He looked at the vast landscape, fixating his eyes to what was beyond the walls of this city, the unknown world laid out for him to see, and out there he witnessed a grand scope, filled with unknowns and mysteries that only he, in the entire world could find. The question he desperately wanted answers to were out there, and clutching his fist he made a declaration, that he would explore it and its entirety, making his mission to search for the truth.

And soon he walked, following the light.

"One step at a time, Adaceus."

###

Adaceus, walked through decrepit alleyways, with its dark and dull paths, it was lighted, but only to the point where he could barely see the paved roads, the rusted lamps barely doing anything to shine the way.

He would struggle to tread these path with the available lights, but he had another source showing the way, the mysterious blue light that lead these trail.

They walked a long way now, away from the church, turning and walking to at least a couple of streets and corners. Adaceus asked a couple of questions, ones that to him were warranted, "What are you?" "How are you here?" "Why did you set me free?" All questions that naturally needed to be asked, but the light didn't answer, only ignoring him and continuing on the alleys, and it frustrated him deeply.

This light still wont talk, or can it not, I wonder? He thought, but it didn't stop him from continuing to ask.

He shuffled at his waist, releasing something out of a bind and pulled out an ornately designed book. He had gotten it back at the church and was told by Belluk taht it was an old journal of a lich lord, whatever that was, and its contents were filled with strange letters he had no knowledge of. But it strangle resonated with his own mana. He was greatly interested in it, but with no way to translate the text it was useless to him, at least for now.

The light took another turn, looking at an arched entryway that was guarded by gates, rusted and barbed, reaching to a very deep part of the cities reaches, and the feature drastically changed. Adacues was properly equipped now, salvaging whatever the bandits had and wore them for protection. He had a steel mask on to hide his skull face, gauntlets to hide his charred hands, and a proper set of leather clothes, all surprisingly fitting his figure.And once again checking himself, he went in.

It was all in ruins, nothing but desolated buildings and rubble. Figures were seen all throughout, incorporeal beings that were covered in a silk like material and were illuminating with a soft blue color. At the presence of him entering the threshold, a small number gathered and hovered above him in smooth motions, encircling him; as if perplexed by his form they observed him intently. Adaceus went in cautiously, walking in a careful step as to not alert them or invite hostility against him.

Suddenly a large number followed, covering him whole. He swatted in annoyance, but no matter how he pushed them back, more just kept coming, and it overflowed it's sight. He ran, trying to escape their overwhelming forms but they followed in an even speed. He set his sight's on the light, which was moving ahead of him, and he decided to follow, not having any other option; their literal guiding light was all he had to escape this madness.

They ran in the typhon of phantoms, Adaceus struggling to see anything, only poured his attention toward the light as it blitzed in front of him. They kept running, until the figures lessened a significant amount, until all of them suddenly left him. Adaceus stopped his run as the figures had completely vanished away from him. He turned confused, but was only met with nothing; as if the phantoms never existed.

He turned his back, wanting to meet the light, but was met with a terrifying sight. A cathedral that reached a gigantic size was now in front of him, reaching high and tall, its spires penetrating through the clouds, the black stone that made its body looked down on him, presenting itself with its menacing form. He turned his head left to right, finding nothing out of the ordinary, as far as he could tell, and wondered how he got here. At the gates of this building was the light, flickering with bright blue, and he walked toward it. 

The stairs were wide and big, it took him a number of steps before reaching the gates, their black wood and even blacker metal designed it, and beast of brass were holding knockers, and he took hold on one of them, knowing what the light wanted.

He struggled getting it open, using all his might and body to pry it open, and was met with a ruined space. It was empty, all but desolate as the walls that made it up were all filled with cracks, withering with age, the roof, filled with holes, provided the only illumination as moonlight passed through them. At the center was a carpet, which was once crimson, was now muddied and sullied, teared and weathered on the floor. Following it to its end, at the center of this entire thing, was a destroyed throne, and atop of it was a fearsome beast, his maw illuminating a bright fire and it's wings spread widely, all for him to see.

"Well, I'm glad you are still alive."