void, abyss, oblivion

A shrill, ear-splitting shriek tore through the sky. Another creature had fallen prey to a more powerful aerial predator, a grim reminder of the constant struggle for survival in this world. In reality, this wasn't that different from the living world, just with a more gruesome atmosphere and visuals.

Derek, hidden amongst the spiky bushes, shivered at the sound. Not that he eat safe there anyway, but he was just doing what was needed to not be lunch. He knew he belonged to the weak side of this world, something the mace never failed to remind him of. But the battle he experienced about a week ago really put that into perspective. 

Derek shuddered at the memories. The fire, the heat, those swift movements that he'd barely been able to track, the thundering foot falls and earthquakes. The pounding of his heart, the dread that the end of the world was at hand.

And that stare he'd never forget it. It was the stuff of nightmares, good thing he hadn't felt sleepy since then, all thanks to the five refreshing soul cores he had. 

The only bright side to that battle was that he'd been able to roast his meal in the glassy sand the battle had left behind. That had been his sustenance for the past week. He was almost out though.

Despite rationing what little food he had, finding anything remotely edible was a challenge, actually what was even harder was to not 'be' the food for the supposed food. It really was a dog-eat-dog world and every damn thing was perpetually hungry.

Crawling out of the bushes once he deemed the coast clear, Derek approached a nearby tree, intending to finish his meager meal. He needed to rest before the journey ahead.

Even the mace admitted that it harbored many dangers. But then, he also claimed the other alternative was a snowy land several kilometers to the west where people regardless of their power lost their mind inexplicably.

Regardless, Derek would have disagreed with the mace on which was more dangerous but then, the forest was apparently the faster route to their destination. 

A small creature buzzed past his ear, and he snared it between his hands with a speed that surprised even him, It had become much harder to sneak up on him lately.

Thanks to his powers, he could sense any mind or soul with a modicum of consciousness.

Those insects were familiar. They'd pierce the skin with their proboscis, and since the barrier between body and soul was thin in the realm of the dead, they fed directly on one's essence. The process wasn't all that different from when he ingested the soul cores and they somehow ended up in his soul instead of his belly.

Derek sighed. "Hey, Mace, where to next?"

"Describe your location," Quarren replied.

Derek tossed the last piece of roasted meat into his mouth and chewed wistfully.

"Wait, don't you even have a name?" Derek asked. It felt odd to keep calling the weapon, "Mace."

"One question at a time, boy," Quarren grumbled, but continued. "I do have one, though. It's Quarrentchatenuin."

Derek's eyebrows shot up, then he grinned, "Now that I think of it, 'the mace' really does have a nice ring to it"

Derek paused, lost in thought. Or perhaps I could just by call you Quarren."

"Whatever. Just describe your location," Quarren said with indifference. "I'm sitting under a tree with spiny bark and vermillion leaves."

"There's a bush nearby with twisted, dark leaves oozing some kind of gross white sap, and oh, there's this eerie, hollow-eyed doll fruit thingy hanging off a tree in the distance, and…"

Quarren cut him off. "There's a large clearing to your left, filled with dark sand."

"Wait, how do you know that?" Derek asked.

"I've been here before, of course. Ahh, so many memories," Quarren sighed, "Anyways, using the clearing as your navigation point and facing the forest, move northwest in a perfectly straight line."

"You'll find three gigantic trees. Alert me when you get there."

"Alright: dark sand, northwest, gigantic trees. Got it," Derek muttered, pushing himself to his feet.

He approached the clearing with dark sand, studying it intently. Something didn't seem quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Well, whatever, everything is wrong in this realm anyway, Derek thought, steeling himself to take the next step, only to be stopped by Quarren's voice.

"Actually, I forgot to add something important: you shouldn't be anywhere near that clearing. It's quicksand that leads straight into the hive of some insect colony that can tear you apart in seconds."

Derek stumbled backward, his face contorted in a furious grimace. "You fucking bastard! You almost got me killed!"

"If I recall correctly, you weak dimwit, I told you to use it as a point of navigation. And can you even blame me? It's been over six hundred years since I last came here," Quarren retorted.

Derek harrumphed, setting off in the northwestern direction.

***

Derek had seen gigantic trees in his life back on Earth, but these made those look like mere saplings. With such height, the tips must have been brushing the sky. At least, it seemed that way from below it.

Yet, from afar, there was no sign of their existence. Derek was sure he wouldn't have missed such an imposing landmark. Very strange, he mused.

"You didn't tell me the trees were this big," Derek said, incredulity coloring his voice.

"Come on, it's not even that big. I've seen bigger and when I say bigger, I mean much, much bigger, you know, I've even seen a whole settlement set up on a tree stump… whoever cut that tree, I really don't want to know…"

Derek rolled his eyes, mentally dismissing Quarren's ramblings as nothing more than empty boasts. Here we go again.

While Quarren was busy launching into a rambling tale about how the stump killed the entire settlement for nourishment to start growing itself again, Derek quietly observed the trees.

All three were planted equidistant from one another, actually, they more like doorways.

A creepy, eerie fog concealed the forest beyond.

Quarren, finally done with his bizarre story, refocused his attention on Derek.

"It's a gateway, right?" Derek asked.

"Indeed. It's the gateway to the Forest of Oblivion. As you can see, there are three gates. The trees themselves are called Pillars of Oblivion.

The tree to the left is Void, the one to the right is Abyss, and the one in the middle, dividing them in two, is called Oblivion itself," Quarren explained.

"Oh, nice," Derek nodded, his curiosity piqued. "So, which gateway are we entering?"

"Entering? Are you out of your mind? It's called the Forest of Oblivion for a reason, you know! The farther you walk in, the more you forget why and how you entered. You forget your own being and existence. And what's worse, you won't be the only one; everyone who has ever known you will too."

Derek shivered. "Then why the hell am I here?!"

"Oh, about that… some powerful fellow dug a tunnel underneath the forest. He even added some enchantments to keep the forest's influence from seeping in."

"And that's where…"

Derek was jolted by a ripple in his soul, a tremor in his heart. A loud sound, was coming from nearby on the outskirts of the forest, and it was… human?