The Last Primal

The image on the fourth pillar depicted the scenes of a gruesome battle. The two sides, the army of faceless, draconian humanoids clashed against the angry mob. The artist that carved the scenes did not waste time on details when it came to the opposing army. It was just a bodyless, headless mass of amorphous blob, a cloud of the mob.

The scene showed the moment of their first clash. The winged draconian leader-like figure flew in a short arc in the air, his wings stretched out, his tail flailed behind him and in his hands, he wielded a great sword. His army behind him, fervently following his footsteps, wielding a great variety of weapons launched themselves into the carnage without any care of their wellbeing. 

Faceless figures of various shapes and sizes. They could be tall, bulky males. Lean youths, just like Aiden, or females of all shapes and sizes offering their lives a chance in life for the people they left behind. The sky above them held no sun anymore, it was painted with a dark red, vermillion color with the highest reaches gradually turning into the color of the abyss, hopelessness.

A single image, a simple scene of battle, yet to Aiden it held so many emotions, it showed so many meanings, it carried such an incredible weight. His heart was beating at an increased, agitated pace, his nails pierced into the flesh of his palm, causing a thin trail of his own blood to drip into the marble floor.

He felt an urge to cry out, to release this melancholic, depressing feeling he felt rising ever since he began to inspect these strange pillars. Something about them, rang familiar bells in his mind, somehow, ever since he stepped foot in this holy sanctum, this chamber of secrets, he felt a connection.

Gulping, Aiden swallowed his bubbling feelings, all the anger, the sorrow, the frustration, he shifted his attention, turning towards the last, the fifth lit pillar in this sequence. This by far not the only pillar in the room, but it was the last lit pillar in this row, Aiden presumed that the scene it showed will be the last that this room wished to tell him.

Approaching it, the scene jumped in its timeline to a gruesome end game. The ground was covered with countless slain bodies, be it the faceless draconian figures or various human-like shapes from the opposing sides. The leading figurehead of the faceless dragonkin was in the center of the image, surrounded from all sides. While there were countless dead bodies sprayed all over the ground, the seemingly endless swarm of the cloud-like army remained steadfast in numbers, relentless in their swarm against the dwindling numbers of the powerful but few remaining faceless figures.

The color palette changed once again for this, this time using multiple colors for this final depiction of the mythical past. The sky was painted a deep, melancholic purple, gradually shifting to the vermillion as you approached the leader figure standing at the core of the image. The leader surrounded by a black mass that was the opposing army was painted a more vibrant shade of red, in the color of blood. 

The emotions the image carried were of deep sorrow, sadness with a heavy mixture of melancholy and depression. The scene showcased the defeat of the valiant defenders of an unknown, forgotten race, depicted by the faceless shapes. They stood valiantly against the entire world shown as the swarm of the endless mob, and whilst they managed to stand their ground for a long time as shown with the changing of the sky, in the end, they too have fallen to the despairing darkness.

Even without knowing the full context, Aiden got a lot of information out of this sequence of images. He understood the meaning behind each picture. Whatever was the ultimate cause, this battle that was shown, was probably one of the last struggles of the Primals before they were violently erased from the pages of history.

Whilst this provided some very vital information that Aiden was sorely lacking, it also raised several new questions. Who was the leader figure? Why was he drawn differently? Why did he have similar wings and tails? Does it have a meaning, or was it just an artistic choice? What is his true origin? Why is he in this world, in this time? Just what happened?

On the other hand, he remembered the visions of the Pocket World, what was that other world, why was he shown this 'other life'? Was there a connection?

'[I know you are confused, Aiden. I really do. To tell you the truth, some of this is because of me, and the choices we together had made in the past. Try to not dwell on these questions for now, as when the time is right, you will learn what you need. For now, continue on your journey.]' Shattering the ensuing silence, Enya's troubled voice resounded in Aiden's mind. Upon her words, in the far distance, the frame of a door suddenly lit up, glowing with the same golden color that Aiden could recognize as the same as the color of his own draconic, elevated state.action

At the same time, as if completing a sequence, all the pillars that were still emitting the same faint, blue light dimmed down, returning the hall to the eternal darkness that ruled it before.

Still, none of this registered in Aiden's mind, as he was currently shocked to see yet another update on the system.

Seeing the relatively short, but important text, Aiden called out to her spiritual guide.

'Enya, do you know anything about this milestone? What did I unlock?' He asked in his mind.

He didn't need to wait for the answer for long, however, just as he expected, it didn't provide him with much more details.

'[Unfortunately, I can't tell you more, I too have no access to this information. To learn more you will need to commence the upgrade. However, I would advise you to postpone that until you get back to the surface, to a safe place.]'

Sighing, Aiden gave a silent nod at Enya's words as he fixed his gaze towards the glowing doorway far in the distance. Some guiding force, whatever it was, was clearly showing him the way. He, she or it wanted Aiden to see and learn all that was needed about himself. The main question was, just who or what was it? No matter how many times he tried, he couldn't sense any other presence, his pulses couldn't even reach the walls of these hallowed halls, much less penetrate further into the unexplored regions of this labyrinthian cavern.

Still, there was a faint smile crouching up on his face. Whoever or whatever the ruling force in this place was, had no hostile intentions towards him. On the contrary, Aiden was finally given some answers to questions that plagued his mind for years now…

---

"What the hell is with this place?! It just goes on and on forever!" Descending down the tunnel that Aiden ventured through, Drake groaned. This whole tunnel was just an endless straight path leading towards nowhere! 

The gemstone etched in the hilt of his weapon faintly lit up, conveying his thoughts to his annoyed owner. 

"I know, I know… But still, we have been going for like what? Half an hour by now without any change in the scenery? The only thing that changes are the shapes and forms these strange, illuminating moss covering the walls take on." He glanced at the thick layer of moss covering the walls on either side. These strange, glowing, light green plantlife had some vague similarities to the lichen he saw when he first arrived at the orcs' territory. With the help of Mort, luckily he could shield his presence at that time from its effects, which was still the case so far, but as Mort has warned, he would not be able to do so for much longer.

There was a strange quality to the air as they ventured down. An unfamiliar, alien feel to it. It was thick, and although the lighting was already quite dim in this place, a visible layer of fog started to further thwart their venture towards where Aiden had vanished.

This fog, according to Mort, was some sort of energy, some unknown source that neither itself nor Drake could utilize. By now, Mort was utilizing all of his reserves to shield his silver-haired young lord from the harmful effects of both the vegetation and the strange, thick fog lingering around them. He also warned that with the current pacing, he could at most, hold out until another half an hour before being completely exhausted, drained of all its reserves. 

So now, Drake had arrived at an impasse. He could either turn around and go back to the surface, or he could continue pushing forward and hope for the best… 

Returning to the surface would be the wiser choice, obviously, but thinking about his friend being subjected to these dangers alone and without the same protection as himself, he just couldn't leave him...