From the end of a hill. Endless green grass. Moving with the wind that came out of nowhere, patches of flowers he had never seen before. Then the smell of smoke reached him, far away from him, orange fire slowly burnt the forest, beautiful in a way that made Kaelen uncomfortable.
Half broken buildings. Their missing pieces lay on the ground, in perfect shape.
In his mind, a question arose. What was he doing there?
Kaelen's eyes stayed on the calming chaos ahead. He already knew Rowan was behind him — he always knew, here.
Without turning around, Kaelen asked. "Why did I come here again?"
Rowan took a few steps straight. He stood next to Kaelen. "This is the peace your brain fogs you with, to remove the gods who are about to enter your void in minutes from your mind."
Kaelen looked at him, his neck twisting faster than it ever had. His brain jammed. Eyes struggling to stay open and expressions giving their best to settle. "I defeated them once. I will do it again."
Rowan walked uphill. "This is the peace it made you believe, almost like you did drugs. The gods this time, they aren't the same. They know what they are doing. They have killed others like you, and they will do it again."
Rowan stopped and turned. "Are you gonna come?" he said, giving a perplexed shrug.
Across the hill. The city from last time stayed the same.
Both of them teleported at the same time.
The air here was thinner. The streetlights unable to light up the streets. Kaelen stood in his place before looking around.
His eyes had lied to him. From a closer look, buildings had lost their windows, doors and their interior was empty. "What are we going to do?"
"Stop the fire. Make you face your worst nightmares."
"How do we do that?"
Rowan stopped and turned back, flaring his hands out. He said, "You are the one who knows."
Kaelen thought for a while. No, nothing in the streets. No, not the houses. Then it occurred to him. He snapped his fingers. "Basement, we have to try the basement."
After passing multiple houses Rowan asked, "Can't you create a basement in one of these houses?"
"There's a house that I will never forget and a basement I will always be terrified of."
They were teleported again. The street they first met in. In front of the house where Kaelen lost everything the last time he came there. Kaelen stayed firm. He had already broken through this part.
Rowan's hands were wet. And head heavy when he asked. "Are you sure?"
Kaelen nodded.
And walked through the walls.
His blood and ear were still in the kitchen. He rubbed his ears just to remember the sensation of it.
Basement wasn't there before, nor had Kaelen created it consciously. It had two big doors as entrance.
His hands attached to the doorknob. Unable to push it. He took a deep breath and gulped it inside.
The stairs stretched till there was nothing left but darkness.
He took a step inside and felt it, felt his own darkness. The air was thicker than the statue room. Something was forcing it to be.
For minutes he walked downstairs till the endless darkness faded. An "Alert, you might get consumed by yourself." sign appeared a few stairs below.
He reached out for it, it disappeared. A floor appeared, from an unfinished construction site. A big floor, water leaking from the ceiling. There was another stairway on his right that led even deeper.
Two Kaelens were fighting each other, one red-haired, one black.
"We don't have time for this." Kaelen said as he jumped on the staircase below.
Another floor could be seen — no darkness bullshit this time.
A pile of dead bodies, not random dead bodies. All of them different versions of Kaelen, with only a few visible differences. Another red-haired Kaelen standing on top of them all, his chain stuck in a dead body below.
The copy lifted his head up. A horrifying sight with all that you would call a nightmare made flesh. One of his eyes had his own chain going through it.
Kaelen tried to forget it, he couldn't. The basement was harder than he thought. He took a step back and readied his chain.
His eye flared and Kaelen's chain vanished.
The variant jumped onto Kaelen.
Kaelen crossed his legs and jumped aside. A body shot smashed the copy's ribs.
The copy jumped on the pile. A drop of blood fell from his eye. The chain plunged at Kaelen.
Kaelen caught it and pulled the copy. He simulated the outcome. Another body hook. Kaelen knew that Kaelen would never be dumb enough to try the same trick again.
The copy's chain vanished. And he appeared in front of Kaelen where the tip of his chain should have been.
A body shot struck Kaelen, his guard was ready for it. Kaelen understood how he would do the same attack to assert dominance.
The copy moved his rear foot backward. Too late. Kaelen pulled out the chain from his eye.
Kaelen fell down on his hips. He gasped for air. "What the fuck was he?"
"He was your own monster, nothing you are allowed to complain about."
Kaelen stood up and checked up on the lying copy. Dead.
The next stairway had a cosmic touch to it. Stars floating across the purple sky. The water acting as floor. It was beautiful.
It didn't feel like his. He could distinguish between his void and someone breaking into it.
Upon reaching it Kaelen held a high guard with a squared stance.
A kid. Around fifteen, in an emo black shirt and baggy pants. He stood at the center with his hand lifted up, covered in blood, facing towards Kaelen. "Don't worry, I came here for a deal?"
Rowan tried to go back upstairs; the stairs had vanished. "Who is he?"
Kaelen took a step forward. "I don't know, my first creation that I don't know of."
The kid turned toward it. "See, they are coming. This is your only chance at living."
"A deal?"
"Yes, on the verge of death you always find someone. This time it's me. And all I ask for is your soul, don't worry I won't take your soul right away. Or even this year. Or before you achieve your goals." He lowered his head and raised his eyebrows. "So, what do you say?"
Kaelen mumbled to himself. "My soul?" and took a step back. He looked at Rowan.
Rowan pushed him forward. "There's no backing down now."
The world shook. An invisible barrier took a big hit.
"Who are you, and what do you mean by my soul?"
"I have claimed a lot of names for myself, but my human name is Aditya. And by your soul, I mean your void. You will still live but you won't be the same person, the human that gods fear. And as I said not right now."
Kaelen stayed silent and thought for a while. He knew he would take it. But the mystery surrounding the kid was too thick.
"Even if I took it right now, accepting this deal and keeping the gods from taking your power is still the choice your morals would make." Aditya said.