CHAPTER 6: Deeper, Deeper Still Sylv steadily slowed his breathing and calmed his heart rate, once again alone in the hollow silence of the forest. This time, it somehow felt… emptier, as if every last bit of soul and magic had been drained away. It felt like Null. Open his eyes to a deeper plane, Sylv saw what he had expected - nothing. No whispers, no monsters. No path. He could hear his heart beating harder as he looked around, but the path was nowhere to be found. He almost panicked, before stopping himself and rethinking things. Maybe the test was over, and the forest wouldn’t shift any more. Sylv nodded, blindly hoping that was the truth. As he continued on, he got the mounting fear that the forest was still twisting upon itself. Just when he was about to stop and rethink, the foliage broke. Within a wide clearing sat a small temple made of ancient, dark stone. Four columns supported and overarching greek-looking impression of a raven, wings spread and dripping with blood. Most of the impression was cracked and damaged with time, but it’s eyes looked polished and new - one of onyx, black as night, and one of shining quartz. Sylv couldn’t help but think to himself, [i]Hark the Raven, Nevermore.[/i] It gave him chills just looking at it. It almost helped him overcome his fear of entering the temple, where he could see a stairway descending from the open entrance. Almost. But as he had done for all the trials before, Sylv took a deep breath and continued forward. Inside the temple was what appeared to be a small chapel, with stone pews and an alter. It was strange - the stairway seemed cut out directly in the middle of the room, cut through the floor, the pews, and the walkway. The entire room was completely devoid of color. As Sylv descended down the stairs, the world around him felt emptier and emptier - the last dregs of life being forgotten as deeply as this ancient temple. Soon, the stairs gave to a hallway, long and empty. It was reminiscent of the temple on Medion - all of the doorways seamlessly sealed over with black stone. However, where the other temple gave the feeling of being sealed for lack of need, this one strangely felt as if the doors were yet to be opened. This hallway was as indirect as the one he had followed on Medion. It twisted deeper and deeper into the earth, down beneath the deepest parts of the ancient complex above. Finally, it opened to a large room, which Sylv assumed was empty, until he turned around, and saw another identical impression of the raven, but this time it was massive. He wasn’t sure why, but for some reason it filled him with sudden terror. He quickly spun around, avoiding it’s deep eyes, and looked at the next doorway. It was simple, rugged, and strangely made of wood, though gray and lifeless as the rest of the tunnels. Engraved on it in jagged script, as if by knife, and in a very old language, read: [i]When all has left you, Soul and Light, Alone in starless, darkest Night, Embrace the Nothing, and from it Reap, Or you shall drown within the Deep.[/i] Another alarming riddle. Sylv quickly ran over it, looking for hidden messages, but found none. He could only guess it would be relevant in the coming trial, so he set his hand on the door, and felt a strange cold as it immediately turned to ash. Pursuing into the darkness beyond, the cold mounted, until he felt… until he felt nothing. Sylv turned around, slowly, as if disembodied, and the door was not there. He ran forward, seeking for a wall, and found none. He opened his spirit sense, and found absolutely nothing. For perhaps the only instance in all of existence, Sylv was completely and utterly alone. [spoiler]That's right, it's not over! You hoped, but all for naught. The big reveal/possible ending will be coming in either the next chapter or the one after.[/spoiler] [spoiler]Master post: https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=3783849&postId=252411339&sort=0&page=0[/spoiler]