Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

Morning arrived in the Nether Lands as it always did; gloomy, oppressive, and foreboding.

A pale crimson light seeped through the dense canopy overhead, painting the world beneath in muted shades of scarlet. Towering trees stood like silent sentinels, their twisted branches blotting out what little light dared to descend.

A cold, sanguine mist drifted lazily between the trunks, while the distant cries of unseen creatures echoed faintly through the forest, serving as a constant reminder that danger never truly slept within these cursed Lands.

Yet despite the pervasive desolation that clung to every corner of the Crimson Forest, the eight exiles awoke with unmistakable anticipation for the day ahead. It was almost as though the malevolence permeating this purgatory of a world had lost its ability to weigh upon their spirits.

Yesterday had been eventful. If anything, it had been far more than merely eventful; it had been profoundly enlightening.

For the first time since their exile into the Nether Lands, they had stumbled upon undeniable proof that they were not the only living souls trapped within this forsaken world.

Although they had long entertained theories and speculations, the proof that came in the form of Aelric was the confirmation they needed to cement those assumptions into reality.

The mysterious youth had shattered many of the notions they had unconsciously built over the past week.

Until yesterday, they had believed themselves utterly alone, condemned to survive against the countless horrors of the Crimson Forest with no one to rely upon but each other.

But Aelric’s very existence overturned that notion.

His presence alone proved that survival within the Nether Lands was not an impossible miracle exclusive to them. If they had endured, then others could endure as well.

More importantly, he revealed something that none of them had ever dared to imagine... There was a settlement.

A Sanctuary built by generations of survivors who had somehow carved out a place for themselves amidst the horrors of the Nether Lands.

That single revelation rekindled a fragile spark of hope within every member of the group.

Perhaps... Just perhaps there truly was a future beyond mere survival.

And perhaps there remained a path leading out of the seemingly inexorable despair into which they had been cast.

However, Aelric had not merely confirmed the existence of other survivors.

He had also answered questions they never even realized they possessed.

Through him, fragments of the Nether Lands’ forgotten history had finally begun revealing themselves. Their understanding remained painfully incomplete, but at the very least, they were no longer wandering through absolute ignorance.

For starters, they finally knew the name of the forest that had served as both their prison and battlefield ever since their arrival.

It was the Crimson Forest.

Looking back upon it now, the realization almost felt laughable as the clues had always surrounded them.

The foliage were crimson, the mist carried a scarlet hue, and even the soil itself possessed a faint reddish tint. Above them, the heavens themselves glowed with an eerie blood-red brilliance.

The answer had been staring them in the face all along. Yet none of them had managed to piece together the obvious until Aelric casually uttered the name.

Beyond that, they also learned that the Crimson Forest was divided into several distinct regions, each incomparably more dangerous than the last.

More importantly, the place where they had struggled to survive all this time was merely the outermost region; the weakest and the least dangerous.

In the grand scheme of the Nether Lands, it was almost insignificant.

That realization was strangely contradictory.

On one hand, it offered reassurance.

Against overwhelming odds, they had somehow managed to survive within the forest’s outer reaches.

Yet on the other hand, it was utterly terrifying.

If this was only the weakest region, then what unimaginable monstrosities lurked deeper within the Crimson Forest?

The very thought sent chills crawling across their backs.

They had already been pushed to the brink countless times while fighting the creatures inhabiting these outer reaches. And none of them wished to imagine what kind of nightmares resided farther within.

Still, every tunnel eventually ended with light.

And amidst all the revelations Aelric had shared yesterday, one towered above every other discovery.

It was a revelation so monumental that it directly concerned the lives of every single one of them.

At long last, they had discovered a path toward breaking through the bottleneck that had shackled them ever since their Awakening. In other words, there was a path toward becoming true Etheryeans.

That single piece of knowledge outweighed every relic, ruin, and forgotten secret they had uncovered since arriving in this cursed world.

For days, they had repeatedly slammed against the limits of what an Awakener could accomplish.

Every hunt, battle, and desperate struggle against the Animas and Netherytes of the Crimson Forest had reminded them of the same unyielding truth; they had already reached the pinnacle of the Awakener Realm.

Without advancing into the Etheryean Realm, surviving the increasingly dangerous trials awaiting them would become progressively more difficult; perhaps... Impossible.

That urgency only intensified after learning about the Sanctuary.

Even if it truly was a haven where survivors from across the Nether Lands gathered, they understood one undeniable reality.

Strength commanded respect and cultivation determined status.

Without sufficient power, even reaching the Sanctuary would be a tremendous challenge, let alone establishing themselves within it. As a matter of fact, simply embarking upon that journey required them to become fully-fledged Etheryeans.

Fortunately, hope had finally appeared before them.

Although Aelric had yet to explain the precise method required to achieve that breakthrough, he had already told them where such an opportunity could be found.

And for now, that was enough. It granted them direction, it gave them purpose, and more importantly, it gave them something worth striving toward.

Thus, shortly after the crimson skies of the Nether Lands brightened ever so slightly, the group gathered their belongings before departing the small clearing beside the waterfall that had served as their campsite for the night.

Unlike previous days, they did not return to the cave that had become their temporary home during their time within the Crimson Forest.

There was little reason to as their destination now lay elsewhere.

Much like before, they ventured deeper into the Crimson Forest. Yet today’s journey carried an entirely different significance.

They were no longer searching for forgotten relics hidden beneath ancient ruins nor were they pursuing mysterious Terracotta Guardians or long-lost treasures buried beneath the dust of history.

Instead, this expedition possessed but a single objective; to grow stronger, to shatter the shackles that bound them as Awakeners and to step into the Etheryean Realm.

And until they accomplished that goal, none of them intended to turn back...