11. The Desolate Netherworld

Eryndor landed with a thud, his body crashing onto the dry, cracked earth. He let out a groan, his hands and legs feeling like lead weights.

"Ugh, what's going on?" he muttered to himself. "One minute I'm... I don't even know what I was doing, and the next thing I know, I'm... here. Wherever here is."

He looked around, taking in the desolate landscape. The sky was a deep, foreboding grey, and the air was thick with the scent of dust and decay.

"Great," Eryndor said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Just what I always wanted. A vacation in... wherever this is. I mean, who needs sunshine and fresh air when you can have dust and darkness?"

He tried to sit up, but his body felt like it was made of jelly. He was exhausted, and he had no idea why.

"Okay, let me think," Eryndor said, trying to piece together what had happened. "I was... I was in a cave, I think. And there was a wall with glowing red patterns. I touched it, and... and then I was here."

He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. "What was that thing? Some kind of magic portal? And where did it bring me?"

Eryndor lay back down, his stomach growling with hunger. "And to make matters worse, I'm starving. Where's the snack bar around here? I could really go for a sandwich or a salad or... or... anything, really."

He thought about his life before... whatever this was. He thought about the tournament, and how he was supposed to win it. He thought about Sophia, and how she was supposed to fall in love with him.

"Hey, Sophia," Eryndor said, his voice barely above a whisper. "If you're listening, I'm... um... somewhere. Just thought you'd like to know. You can send help anytime now. Or a sandwich. I'm not picky."

Eryndor let out a deep sigh "Huh... Well, I guess this is it. I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with no food, no water, and no idea how I got here. Might as well take a nap."

He closed his eyes and started to drift off to sleep. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen, right? A giant spider could crawl out of the ground and eat me, or a pack of wild goblins could stumble upon me and... zzz..."

As he fell asleep, he muttered to himself, "I'm a strong protagonist, I can handle it. I've faced worse dangers than... than... um, whatever is out here. Yeah, I'm not afraid of anything. Except maybe that one time I saw a spider in the bathtub. But that's not relevant right now."

Suddenly, a loud growling noise echoed through the air. Eryndor's eyes flickered open "What was that? A bear? A wolf? A... a... oh wait, I'm still asleep. Never mind."

He lay back down and closed his eyes again. "I'm not going to let a little thing like certain doom keep me awake. I'm a hero, after all. Heroes sleep through danger. It's a thing."

As he drifted off to sleep again, he muttered to himself, "I'll just sleep for a bit, and then I'll wake up and... and... um, figure something out. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Figure something out. Or maybe I'll just sleep for a really long time and hope that someone comes to rescue me. That's a solid plan, right?"

The growling noise echoed through the air again, this time closer. Eryndor's eyes flickered open "What was that? Seriously, what is that? Can't a guy get some sleep around here?"

And just like that, Eryndor dozed off.