'Where am I?'
The thought interrupted his mind as darkness pulled him under.
There was blackness throughout the whole space and only the red light from the mountains above the crater.
After a few moments he opened his eyes.
And he stood up.
All of the view was blocked by the huge crater he was currently in the middle of. The wounds in his body were slowly healing but he was starving. Like real starving. He felt like he hadn't eaten for days. The metallic taste of blood still lingered in his mouth from biting his cracked lips.
He was extremely thin, far more than humans were supposed to be. His ribs pressed against his skin. Every breath hurt.
The black shard was still in his hand.
He tried to release it but his fingers wouldn't let him release it.
'What... what is this thing?'
He took a step to go to the outside. The chains scraped against the ground, echoing in the crater.
Then another.
After a few moments he started to crawl to reach the outer area as he wasn't able to walk properly because of the deep slope of the crater. The rough stone cut into his palms. His knees burned.
After a few tries he finally got out of the crater. He looked to the sight in front of him.
It was different. It was like the whole place was filled with volcanoes and lava-filled lakes all over the island. The smell of fire burned his nostrils. Heat waves made everything shimmer.
It was an astonishing sight yet a dangerous one.
He could die any moment if he went close to that place.
But all he could think now was water and food, mainly water.
All the surrounding heat was drying him all over the body. His tongue felt thick and swollen. He needed to drink something first.
With that thought he started to move.
This place, it felt quite strange to him. The surroundings were full of fire yet the floor beneath him was cold. Extremely cold. The contrast made his head spin.
Hours passed yet there was no sign of any water, any sign of life. His throat burned with every breath.
Just then he heard a sound.
He turned his head in the direction of the sound. Yet there was nothing in the sight in front of him.
At the start.
As the cold winds grew heavy, a tall tower was visible far away. As he saw it, it only was visible to him like a black line but he could tell that there was a tower there.
After seeing that he started to move toward the direction of the black line. He didn't care what awaited for him there. He just wanted to get out of this damned place.
After a day of continuous walking he finally reached in front of the stone tower.
The blackish grey tower stood impossibly tall, wrapped in black vines like a giant in chains. Its stone was old—cracked, faded, and left untouched for so long. Cracked windows stared out like empty eyes. Wind whistled through them with an eerie sound.
He walked further. After climbing the stairs leading to the tower, he was now in front of the tower's gate.
It was huge. So huge that it was the size of five times the height he was.
He then kept the shard in his hand on the ground which was now easily able to get off his hand. After few days of travel he could finally release the shard from his hand.
But he didn't want to leave the shard behind. His instincts told him not to.
After keeping the shard on the ground he started to move towards the door and started to push the door with his bare hands. The chains connected to him rattled while he was doing this. It was the only sound that could be heard in this silent void of fire except from the screeches in the distance. But it was of no use. He was thin like a skeleton with most of his bones visible to the naked eye. He was starving.
Yet he had the determination to move the door.
But his body didn't support him. He finally gave up. With no strength left he dropped on the ground. He was breathing heavily in an uneven manner.
"Haah... haah... haah..."
His vision blurred at the edges.
After some time his breathing became even. Just then a thought came to his mind.
He rose to his feet and went towards the shard he placed on the ground and picked it up. As he carried the shard in his hand he went forward towards the doors of the tower. He wasn't sure that it would work but he had to try.
He brought the shard in his hand close to the door yet nothing happened.
But then he let the shard touch the door of the tower.
Just then the whole ground beneath him shook up. Struggling to stand he dropped down on his back while facing the door of the tower.
Darkness started to seep out from the middle of the door where a clear line had been. Like smoke pouring from a wound.
Then the doors opened sideways with the ground trembling beneath him. He was still leaning on his back watching all of this happen. Dust fell from above. The smell of ancient stone filled the air.
After the doors opened he could only see darkness.
Utter darkness.
It was like there was a void in itself. Yet he didn't back up.
He got onto his legs with the support of his hands. He tried not to fall.
Just then he started to move into the darkness in front of him.
The moment he entered the tower, torches started to light up in a row continuously. Yet that light couldn't illuminate the sight in front of him. It was still dark in the tower. He could only see endless torches hung on the wall illuminating red light. The heat from them did nothing to warm the cold air inside.
Just then a voice whispered through the halls.
["Welcome to the Pit."]