Floating aimlessly in a void, Kharon slowly reformed as he analysed his surroundings. His partially formed eyes wandered around as a powerful force pulled him. Accepting his fate, Kharon let himself be taken as he was thrown into a lush, verdant forest. His body became whole once more as he landed on a large tree branch.
'I am in the Heartlands Forest... But why would I be-'
A creature with a blinding and powerful presence suddenly zoomed past him with terrifying speed. Dazed, his foot slipped, sending him spiralling into a fall. Before he hit the ground, he caught himself with Hidden Hand as he slowly rose up. His eyes darted through the hushed, unmoving forest as another silhouette flitted past. His body was immediately pulled by an invisible force as he was yanked along like a ragdoll.
As he flew through the now blurry forest, he felt the familiar presence of the beast. The sheer pressure from its aether made Kharon tremble as he got closer to the beast. But as the figure approached, he pulled out a familiar chain. Each link was inscribed with a different, impossible rune as it wrapped around the beast. With a simple tug, the beast was completely crushed. It fell down limply as the silhouette picked it up.
Kharon watched as the silhouette removed their cloak revealing another version of Kharon. His pale skin was no different to that of a sculpture. His tired, sunken eyes seemed to age him by quite a bit as he picked up the beast's carcass. Blood stained his fingers, but the cold Kharon remained indifferent. He turned around as his eyes landed on something. He slowly moved forward as Kharon backed away. Beads of sweat rolled down his face as his heartbeat steadily increased.
His breathing became more forced and erratic. Slowly, his body froze as he tried to move back, but to no avail. Ice began forming on his skin as Kharon attempted to speak. His attempt was met with a bloody cough as his body continued to freeze.
'What is happening?! Why am I doing this to myself? Can he actually see me? There is ice inside my body... very soon I will be nothing more than ice-'
Kharon failed to complete his thought as the ice crept into his brain. His body was gently pushed by his memory self as it shattered into hundreds of little pieces. The cold Kharon's unmoving face changed as he frowned. A single tear slowly rolled down his face as he wiped it away. His face was smeared with blood as he gave the shattered Kharon one last glance before vanishing.
...
Waking up once again in the void, Kharon checked himself as he felt his body. He looked around frantically as his eyes landed on something. Above him was a barrier of sorts, it seemed to distort the void itself as he stood firmly above. He tried to push it as he was thrown back by a greater force.
'I am getting more and more confused... Am I or am I not experiencing the past and future?! Shouldn't I be in the body of my past or future selves?! Something isn't adding up... Also, how did I see myself?! Maybe it is similar to how Past Recollection works... I always have an outside view of previous events that happened to objects. So did my winged self do something with that ability? But what did he-'
Feeling yet another force on his body, Kharon sighed as he was dragged into a portal. Darkness enveloped him as he was transported into a black, eerie space. He looked around as he saw nothing but darkness.
'This isn't a place in the real world... I am almost certain that this is the past. But where am I then? There isn't any light in this place, so I am not standing in a large shadow. Rather, I am standing in true darkness... But if I am, then shouldn't I be dead or frozen or worse? True darkness is a primal force which has always existed. As far as I know only wielders of darkness can survive at lower tiers... Maybe it's because I am in a memory. Though that hasn't stopped me from dying several times already.'
As he walked around in the cold, eerie darkness, Kharon outstretched his hand. He felt around himself as he slowly bent down. As his hand made contact with the ground, he quickly pulled it back as he stood up.
'It is so cold... my whole body almost froze over. I should try and avoid touching anything. My winged self must have sent me to this place for a reason. But how is this going to help me escape...? I have no idea. The only way I am going to get through this is trusting myself... both of myselves.'
Kharon lifted off the ground as he released his aether. He felt the constantly shifting landscape in his mind as suddenly, powerful beasts began to approach. His True Sight was quickly deactivated as the beasts all lunged at him. His whole body was covered in strange, viscous substance before he was submerged in even deeper darkness.
His thoughts slowed and his body froze as he began to pass out. Not a single sound was made as Kharon sank deeper and deeper in darkness. His eyes slowly fluttered open as he looked around at the void. Above him was a pitch black barrier which repelled the rest of the void.
'I finally understand... That was the Shadow Realm... no. It was something different. Something which the Shadow Realm is connected to because it is a facet of a greater whole... Maybe that was the Divine Realm of the God of Darkness. He may be dead, but it doesn't mean his realm died with him. It may still be sustained by the Astral Realm's power... Now that I understand that, I will probably be pulled into another memory soon.'
Right on cue a vortex of unimaginable size formed under Kharon. He was spun at great speeds as he fell into the maelstrom. All his worries slowly floated away as he landed softly onto soft ground. He lightly stomped on it as the blades of purple grass shone. Little strings of words and sounds flowed from them as Kharon watched in awe.
'This place seems eerily familiar... Of course! This is my domain... or a domain belonging to a wielder of mysteries. Either way this has to be one of the safest places for me. Surely nothing is going to attack me in a space belonging to my path.'
Kharon looked around the little park he stood in as he noticed buildings. They were all grand and intricate in their construction. As he walked around the domain, Kharon's attention wandered to the sky. It was filled with beautiful constellations of multi-coloured stars.
He flew up into the sky as he held his breath before reaching space. Different planets orbited a giant, white star in the distance as Kharon flew away from it. His aether began to flow outwards as it reached the distant planets and stars. The whole galaxy was revealed to him as he smiled.
'This domain is massive! And I can barely sense a fraction of it. I won't be surprised if it is as big as the observable universe. Maybe it surpasses it! But that would mean angels could potentially destroy either worlds and timelines with enough preparations... Could it be that the Divine Realms of Gods are just their domains which merged with pre-existing realms in the Astral Realm?! I feel like I am gaining too much high level knowledge... I hope I don't lose my mind.'
Kharon stayed unmoving in the empty space as he closed his eyes. He slowly pushed his aether further as his sight expanded. His body began to fail as he shut down his other senses. His only focus was his aether which travelled throughout the domain as his mind expanded.
'I finally understand... my winged self is preparing me. My mind and soul have to grow strong and vast enough to contain 'Him', whoever he is. With how weak I currently am, I can't imagine containing an angel, let alone a demi-god. Going through this constant pain and suffering will strengthen me. But there will definitely be repercussions. I don't know what they will be, but I am willing to do this...'
As he thought of this, Kharon screamed as his body was ripped apart by his aether. It flew throughout the domain as he sensed it all. His mind, body and soul were in tatters as he smiled weakly.
'I will... definitely... return... to the... real world... No matter how... long... it takes I... will succeed!'
He fell down back into the planet as his body was set aflame. He accelerated as he got closer to the ground, until his body struck the earth. The world shook as the ground cracked open. Buildings crumbled and trees burnt. Everything was destroyed as the planet exploded. As it did, the energy released began to spread as the distant orbs were hit before exploding.
The chain reaction continued infinitely as the whole domain was destroyed. All that was left, was the silence of the void...