Anthony's awareness suddenly returned all at once, as if a syringe full of adrenaline had been injected into his veins, jolting his mind awake. His mouth shot open against his will as a scream of confusion attempted to escape. He felt his jaw opening wide, but for some reason no air was released from his lungs, and so no scream was made.

  A growing sense of confusion, accompanied by a deep feeling of wrongness, filled Anthony’s mind as he tried to take in his surroundings. Everywhere was darkness—he couldn’t even see his own fingers in front of his face. Something about his body felt strange, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

  Then, a spark of golden light swirled into existence just inches above his head, piercing through the endless blanket of black. Anthony turned his head toward the light, desperate to understand his circumstances, but the light seemed to move along with him like it was attached to his body.

  Holding his head in place, he glanced up with the corner of his vision to finally get a clear view. As he watched the growing light above him, a jolt of recognition shot through his mind—the scene was unmistakably familiar. The spiraling gold above his head was the exact form of his nexus, that he had created in his mind from the binding of his most traumatic memory.

  H-How did you get outside my head?

  As the thought filled his mind the nexus’ warm light spread down over his body, but the scene it exposed caused Anthony to tremble in terror. Raising his arm before his eyes, he finally understood why he couldn’t scream, and why his body had felt so foreign.

  Instead of skin and flesh, his arm was composed of nothing but white bone. Not even a trace of decaying flesh remained, as if he had been dead for a hundred years. Despair gripped his heart as the realization struck—he must have died. A silent apology to Elara formed in his mind, from the notion that he had failed to save her.

  Pressing his skeletal hands against his bony face, Anthony slumped forward in defeat at the overwhelming situation. His fall into despair did not last long however. He was abruptly interrupted as a sudden, intense rattling filled the area around him. Lifting his head to look for the source of the noise, Anthony quickly scrambled backward across the sandy floor as hundreds of skeletons emerged from the darkness.

  He prepared to defend himself instinctively, but as he continued to observe, Anthony realized the skeletons did not intend to attack. Instead, they were being drawn in apparent wonder toward the glowing nexus above his head.

  The crowd of skeletons edged ever closer, until they stood directly beside him, reaching out cautiously to move their hands through the beautiful golden light. Excitement rippled through them as they turned to face each other, clearly grateful for the ability to see once again. Anthony watched on in incredulity as the terrifying skeletons began to dance and play like children, reveling in the gentle warmth that pierced the endless darkness.

  Moments later, however, a second light shattered the void. Far above Anthony’s head, an aurora of purple light suddenly manifested. The aurora stretched across the sky above, flowing in a curvy, snake-like pattern far into the distance.

  When the skeletons around him saw the second light, they immediately froze in place, their empty sockets fixed on the sky. For a few tense seconds, they remained motionless, before turning to Anthony in perfect unison. Before he could process the shift, the skeletons surged toward him, grabbing his arms and pushing him forward, relentlessly urging him to follow the trail of purple light.

  There were too many to resist. With no other option, Anthony began to move of his own accord, which seemed to greatly please the others. Satisfied, they removed their hands from his body and began to walk alongside him more casually. The only sound that could be heard was the endless rattling of bones as the large group moved across the terrain.

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  As they traveled, Anthony took in his surroundings. Wherever he was now, he was certain he was no longer in the dungeon, and probably not in the mortal world. The ground beneath his feet was composed of endless dark sand, and the sky overhead pulsed with an eerie purple glow.

  They walked for what felt like days—never tiring, never hungry, always moving forward like a morbid parade. As they crossed the barren landscape, strange sights occasionally entered the perimeter of light cast by Anthony’s nexus. Observing the oddities of this strange realm was the only way to relieve his boredom on the long trip.

  As they travelled, they came upon the skeleton of a massive, three-headed dog, its thick white bones bound tightly to an enormous pillar by dark and ephemeral chains. The black fiery chains seemed to be composed of the same sinister substance that had burned Anthony when he wore the ring—and that filled the eyes of the dungeon's skeletons.

  As the light of his nexus spread over the colossal beast, Anthony felt a shudder move up his spine at the sheer size of the monster. A creature like that could have crushed their entire group with a single swipe of its paws. As they moved by, one of the massive skulls stirred. The enormous head lifted from the ground and hovered over them, its hollow sockets glaring down ominously at their tiny figures.

  At once, the skeletons seized Anthony, gripping him tightly to keep him from moving.

  The beast regarded him with curiosity for a brief, agonizing moment—before losing interest just as suddenly. With a slow, ponderous motion, the massive hound lowered its head, laying it back down beside the other two. A wave of relief swept through the group of skeletons, and they pushed Anthony forward with haste, desperate to move beyond the creature’s domain.

  After what felt like another eternity of walking, the group entered a dead forest. Trees filled the area, but their gnarled old branches stood devoid of a single leaf. Skeletal beings dangled from many of the trees, bound tightly by the same flickering black chains.

  Demons, elves, humans—creatures Anthony had never seen before—all trapped in this place. But these skeletons were different from the ones leading him. When the light passed over their bodies, they thrashed violently against their chains, clawing desperately toward the glow and reaching out toward it as he walked passed. Anthony could not quite tell if they hated the light, or wanted it for themselves.

  There was something very different about the skeletons bound to the trees—unlike those that journeyed with him. While their appearance was not that unique, they seemed entirely different for some reason. As if they were of a different species, or tribe. Anthony could sense a threatening power radiating from many of them, accompanied by a lingering aura of hostility.

  When he was forced to pass through a narrow gap in the trees, one of the more menacing bound skeletons lay in his path. Before it could reach him, a skeleton from his group stepped forward to hold back its arms. The bound creature reacted with a frenzy of violence, seizing the defender with overwhelming strength and ripping its limbs away from its body, one by one.

  The seized skeleton struggled to fight back, but the battle was entirely one-sided. Its resistance, however, bought the group precious moments. Anthony was rushed through the area, his mind reeling as he glanced back at the fallen member of his group, abandoned to its fate. But there was no time to linger—the others continued to push him forward as relentlessly as ever.

  As their journey took them deeper into the forest, Anthony caught his first glimpse of what appeared like it might be their final destination. The purple aurora stretching across the sky above came to an end in the distance, vanishing into the towering canopy of the largest tree he had ever seen. Its massive branches dominated the skyline, an awe-inspiring colossus standing like a king at the center of the forest.

  The skeletons surrounding Anthony rattled and clapped in excitement at the sight, their steps quickening as they surged forward with renewed energy. Yet, despite their eagerness, there was still a long journey ahead. The colossal tree loomed in sight, visible only due to its sheer scale, but it was still at least a day's journey away.

  Soon, they reached a stretch of devastation—trees had been toppled in a straight line, as if a massive creature had torn through the area, leaving destruction in its wake. As they pressed on through the area, an uneasy feeling crept over Anthony.

  The group needed to cross the wreckage to continue forward. But as they approached, Anthony came to understand the source of his unease. None of the fallen trees bore bound skeletons, yet lengths of broken black chain could be seen laying scattered across the area.

  Then, in an instant, a half dozen figures rose in unison from the ruins of the shattered trees, their hollow eyes locking onto the glowing nexus above Anthony’s head. Whatever had broken the trees had also freed the skeletal beings bound to them.