Slazar slowly opened his eyes.
He was no longer inside that accursed altar... the screams had vanished, and the pulsing, fleshy walls were gone.
Instead, he stood in a place he could not name.
The ground beneath his feet was black as ash, and the sky above him was barren — no stars, no moon.
No light... yet he could see. See everything with a sickening clarity, as if the darkness itself whispered secrets into his mind.
He turned slowly, his heart pounding with a heavy rhythm.
Suddenly, a familiar voice broke the silence:
"Good to see you awake, Slazar."
He spun around, tense and ready, and saw the man crouching before him.
Behind him… stood another figure, cloaked in a thick black robe that concealed all features.
Instinctively, Slazar tried to summon his sword but before he could,
the man's calm voice stopped him:
"Relax, Slazar. There's no need for fear. We didn't come to harm you. I merely... tested you."
Before Slazar could respond, a deeper, colder voice filled the air,
coming from the robed figure:
"You are safe here, Slazar. Please… forgive this fool for his cruelty."
A chill ran down Slazar's spine not of fear, but of something heavier, something that smothered the soul.
He narrowed his eyes, voice low and sharp as a blade:
"Who the hell are you?"
The man chuckled darkly, a sound laced with hidden menace:
"You really want to know? Well then... shall we reveal the truth, partner?"
He turned to the cloaked figure.
The figure stood silent for a heartbeat a heavy, suffocating pause —
then raised a hand and slowly pulled back his hood.
In that instant, Slazar's breath froze.
His pupils dilated; his body trembled without his consent.
That face...
Rahigh
The man who performed the ritual to summon Slazar into his body, now stood before him alive, breathing, radiating a power so dense it seemed to warp the air.
Rahigh stepped forward, each step causing the dead ground to groan underfoot.
He smiled but it was not a human smile. It was the smile of something ancient... something merciless.
He spoke, voice calm yet saturated with an authority that crushed the will:
"It's good to see you face to face, Slazar."
Silence.
A silence so heavy it felt like the world itself was holding its breath.
Slazar swallowed hard, his breath ragged.
He realized he was not standing before a man — but something greater, something monstrous, something that had long since abandoned humanity.
Fight? Flee?
Neither seemed possible.
Only one truth rang clear in his mind.
What awaited him... was far worse than death.
Suddenly,
Rahigh spoke again:
"You crossed the gate of the Massacre, Slazar... but that was merely the beginning. From now on, you will live under the Commandments... and the Blood."
The young man Raheig's partner grinned mockingly and added:
"Welcome to the world of shadows... where everything is born only to be slaughtered."
In the distance...
beyond the black horizon...
the faint, monstrous outlines of a city began to form.
A city where walls breathed, souls screamed, and the ground itself devoured the living.
And that city...
was his next home.