[Cold.]
[That was the first thing he felt.]
[Not pain.]
[Not poison.]
[Cold.]
[The river swallowed Abaksa whole.]
[Green water rushed around him like a living beast.]
[The current dragged him deeper.]
[His body spun.]
[Up became down.]
[Down became nowhere.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...!"
[He tried to swim.]
[Failed.]
[The current was far too powerful.]
[Warning: Toxic Exposure Increasing]
Abaksa Einsro— "Helpful..."
[Poison burned against his skin.]
[His lungs screamed.]
[Darkness closed in.]
[Then suddenly—]
[The river widened.]
[The tunnel opened into a cavern.]
[Massive.]
[Ancient.]
[Beautiful.]
[Blue crystals illuminated the darkness.]
[Countless formations stretched across the cavern walls.]
[Their light reflected off the river like stars scattered across a night sky.]
[For a moment—]
[Abaksa forgot he was drowning.]
[Then the current threw him forward.]
CRASH.
[His body slammed against a rocky shore.]
[He coughed violently.]
[Poison water spilled from his lungs.]
Abaksa Einsro— "Tch..."
[Everything hurt.]
[Again.]
[Slowly he pushed himself upright.]
[The cavern stretched endlessly before him.]
[No sky.]
[No sun.]
[Only crystals.]
[Unknown Region Detected]
[Mapping...]
[Error]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Even the System doesn't know?"
[That wasn't reassuring.]
[He looked back toward the river.]
[The water flowed silently.]
[Almost peacefully.]
[Then something beneath it moved.]
[His entire body froze.]
[Not fear.]
[Instinct.]
[Predator.]
[Far below the surface—]
[Something enormous shifted.]
[The water rose slightly.]
[Then settled.]
[Silence returned.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Nope."
[Whatever lived down there could stay down there.]
[He had enough problems already.]
[Turning away from the river, he began walking.]
[The cavern floor was covered in strange ruins.]
[Broken pillars.]
[Collapsed statues.]
[Fragments of an ancient civilization.]
[Not natural.]
[Someone had lived here once.]
[Long ago.]
[His footsteps echoed softly.]
[Then he noticed something strange.]
[The poison was gone.]
[The air.]
[The water.]
[Even the ground.]
[No corruption.]
[No toxic mist.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Impossible."
[The Poison Valley was infamous because nothing survived it.]
[Yet this place existed beneath it.]
[Untouched.]
[Preserved.]
[The deeper he went—]
[The stranger things became.]
[Ancient pathways.]
[Carvings on stone.]
[Symbols he didn't recognize.]
[Then—]
[Voices.]
[Abaksa immediately reached for his sword.]
[Silence.]
[The voices came again.]
[Whispers.]
[Far ahead.]
[Not monsters.]
[People.]
[His eyes narrowed.]
"...Someone's here."
[Carefully, he moved forward.]
[One step.]
[Then another.]
[The whispers grew louder.]
[Eventually he reached the edge of a cliff.]
[And froze.]
[Below him—]
[An entire city existed.]
[Underground.]
[Massive stone walls.]
[Bridges.]
[Buildings carved directly into crystal formations.]
[Lights glowed throughout the settlement.]
[People moved through the streets.]
[Real people.]
[Alive.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...What?"
[His mind struggled to process it.]
[An entire civilization hidden beneath the Poison Valley.]
[Impossible.]
[Yet there it was.]
[Children running through streets.]
[Merchants talking.]
[Guards patrolling walls.]
[Alive.]
[For the first time since entering the valley—]
[He saw normalcy.]
[Then the System appeared.]
[Location Identified]
[Hidden Sanctuary]
[Status: Neutral Territory]
[Abaksa blinked.]
Abaksa Einsro— "...Sanctuary?"
[The same word the observers had mentioned.]
[So this was it.]
[The place they wanted him to reach.]
[The hidden city beneath the Poison Valley.]
[His questions multiplied.]
[Who built it?]
[Who lived here?]
[Why was it hidden?]
[Most importantly—]
[Why had they been expecting him?]
[As if answering his thoughts—]
"A visitor?"
[Abaksa spun.]
[A young guard stood behind him.]
[Human.]
[Or mostly human.]
[Small crystal fragments grew from the side of his neck.]
[The guard didn't seem hostile.]
[Only surprised.]
Guard— "You're not from Sanctuary."
Abaksa Einsro— "No."
Guard— "...You came from the surface?"
[The guard looked genuinely shocked.]
Guard— "Nobody survives the valley."
Abaksa Einsro— "I've heard that a lot recently."
[A faint smile appeared on the guard's face.]
Guard— "Then the Elders will want to meet you."
[Elders.]
[Of course there were Elders.]
[Nothing was ever simple.]
[The guard gestured toward the city.]
Guard— "Come on."
Guard— "You've caused quite a stir."
[Abaksa looked down at the hidden city.]
[Something felt wrong.]
[Not danger.]
[Expectation.]
[As though someone had known he would arrive.]
[As though someone had been waiting.]
[Far beneath the city...]
[Deeper than even the Sanctuary knew.]
[Something ancient opened its eyes.]
[The same presence from the river.]
[Massive.]
[Ancient.]
[Hungry.]
[And now...]
[It had found the scent of Plot Armour.]
Unknown Voice— "...The Eleventh."
[The cavern trembled slightly.]
Unknown Voice— "At last."
[Above, unaware of the thing watching from the depths, Abaksa followed the guard toward the hidden city.]
[And unknowingly stepped into the next stage of the Time War.]