Adam found himself being dragged into a dense forest that surrounded the behemoth cave mouth. The world he had known was flipped upside down. This wasn't the land he once lived in. He constantly gazed out at the strange creatures that lurked throughout the shrubbery and forest canopy. Sophia had filled me in on the general knowledge of this realm begrudgingly; it was twisted by a demonic presence that lingered. There has been a great war raging for a long while, and Bant is one of the greatest nations of this land that continues to fight monsters lurking in every corner.
He trekked through the humidity and thick wet mud, his shoes constantly sinking into the ground, and the word he was gifted continued to float in his mind.
"I still have no idea what I am going to do with this. Do you know much about The Lexicon, Sophia?"
She looked over at him with little to no emotion and spoke of the lexicon.
"I myself have not been gifted with the words, but words can be engraved into objects. I utilize words with my weaponry due to carvers that exist with skill to do so. In time, you yourself may learn how important they are to the world."
Adam sat on those words for a moment and continued to ask questions as they moved forward. The jungle was hot, humid, and constantly brushed at his skin, leaving a slight itchy feeling.
"Tell me why I continue to be dragged into more and more messes, Sophia. I feel like I haven't had a single chance to breathe since we left."
She whipped around angrily and grabbed at my shirt.
"You understand what's at stake here? Our world… no, MY world is at stake here. Everything my family, my people, my whole nation could burn. You hold the key to at least rally people to a cause, bring hope to those who no longer have it. You don't even understand how important you are."
Adam looked at her and sighed.
"I just want freedom to make my own decisions, but I haven't had the chance to even do that yet. I've been dragged around, killed once, and cornered against a wall to uphold a contract for an amulet. I just want to understand."
The jungle cleared for a moment to reveal massive ancient ruins built within the dense jungle. Ancient spires and broken walls littered clearings throughout the dense vegetation. Adam stared out in awe, as the land just seemed to go on forever as far as he could see, it just continued.
"This feels unreal."
Sophia put her back to a tree for a moment and looked down, doing maintenance for her armor and weapons once more.
"We should rest here tonight again. The deeper we get, the more dangerous it becomes. Let's stay the night until the break of day."
She sat down and made a small prayer, whispering something into the air with her hands clasped together.
Adam looked at her, puzzled.
"What are you doing right now? Is that some sort of good luck thing?"
She spoke only after she finished, holding her hands above her head and clutching the metal charms of a fox and raven.
"I am sending prayers to anyone who will help my companions find the afterlife. I hope it's better than here."
The amulet spoke into Adam's mind once more.
"She speaks to the gods in hopes they will find her friends' souls; however, there will be no one that finds them. The world is in great turmoil, and I sense none of the gods' love within these lands.
Adam, prepare yourself for what's to come. You will be a hero. You will become what people need of you."
Adam stared down at the amulet. He wanted to speak out, but it wouldn't change anything right now, so he kept silent on the matter.
They found rest under a canopy in the clearing, pulling some of the shrubbery apart and using it for cover from a coming storm. He rested opposite the tree from her. It was silent for a long while. The rain slowly started pouring down, little by little, leaking through the plants, but the silence came with a sudden roar that pierced across the verdant lands before them.
The very ground shook, and the birds fled as a massive creature rose from the distant clearing of ruins. It screamed out across the jungle. This creature seemed animal-like in nature, however was grotesque, with dripping black ooze falling off it.
Sophia looked over, holding her sword she embedded in the ground in front of her.
"That is the demon that rules this land, a greater one. These demons consume the life around them and become a twisted version of what they consume. It remakes them into something hideous, a terrible mockery of the life given to this world. Apparently, every demon has a name, and they communicate with each other somehow, but no one is sure how it's possible."
Adam gazed out at the beast. It truly was horrifying, but he felt grateful. If not for everything, he would have never seen such creatures.
"I would have never seen anything like this in my life if I didn't leave that island I lived on."
Sophia slowly turned around and looked at him.
"What do you mean you came from an island? There are few nations left, but none of them are on any island."
Adam laughed softly.
"So none of you know of The Federation? It's a land of peace and tranquility. It was a boring life with animals grazing in grass fields and the smell of the sea wherever you went. It was a blan..."
Sophia had grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him upwards. She peered down at him with anger.
"Do you think of a land like this as boring? I think of it as a utopia a land where my people can live peacefully. A land where people can be happy, where death isn't around every corner. You know nothing of this world, but you will. One day, you will understand the pain we go through.
This land is not a game. It is not a world of happiness. It is pain, and it is suffering. Monsters roam throughout the world, and decay sprouts at every corner. The beauty of this jungle is merely a shade of what it once was. You don't understand."
She let him go and sat back down, resting her head against the tree and looking up at the rain.
The amulet spoke up.
"It is as she says, Adam. You are an ignorant boy. Watch and follow her ways. Perhaps you will learn to survive in the days to come."
Adam felt nothing but bitterness, but he remained silent, crossing his legs and resting his head on the tree and drifting off into the darkness of sleep while the rain pattered away.
He had awoken in the void, floating in nothingness.
"Am I dreaming?"
Words slowly drifted into view from nowhere.
"Have you been enjoying yourself?"
The question floated, but Adam responded almost instantly with a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh, it's been an amazing time! I'm just loving being attacked and enslaved by a crazy woman and an amulet!"
He waited for another response to come through, but absolutely nothing did for a long while. But he was still here. He tried swimming through the void, but nothing happened, so he just floated there for a moment before a response drifted slowly in.
"Heed my words, child. Find the will to achieve what I ask. Return to me when it is finished."
He said nothing, just waited for what they had to say to him.
"Slay the demon."