Realm of Death

Without regret, Drake knelt down, stroking the soil. In front of him, a giant abyss covered a vast distance. Around him, jagged rocks grinned at him, skulls hanging off them like crude trophies. Leaning down, he touched the river of blood that rapidly flowed around him, swarming him. As the sticky liquid flowed, through his coarse hands, a surge of memories coursed through his mind. The salty tears, the gaping void in his life he could never fill… He was rejected, treated like a mangy outcast. Nobody would care to see his life ebb away, including himself. He had hurt too many, been hurt by too many. Clutching his head, he tried to rip out the horrifying memories that plagued his soul. Dirty finger nails tore at his eyes as the image of his father leaving resonated in him. In front of him, molten lava erupted, scorching him. Blood thirsty demons rose around him, clutching his torso, begging him to join them with deceptive words. Screaming, Drake struggled to control himself as a horde of nightmares came to life around him. His mind wasn’t his anymore. A persistent beast constantly pounded against the fragile barriers of his brain, leaving ravaged memories in its path as it scoured his head. Blood leaked from his skull as he sank to the ground, rolling over a cliff that rose over a sea of souls. For what seemed like an eternity, he hurtled towards the crashing waves of spirits. The impact jarred his spine, sending a shockwave through his body. Lurching, his body sunk towards the bottom. Spirits swirled around him, leaching him of his youth. Wrinkles formed along his mauled face, and his eyes darkened to a muggy gray. As his life was sapped away, tears streamed down from his face. Hissing, the spirits spiraled away, cursing him. Memories flanked his thoughts as he collided in to a forbidden forest that was abandoned on a forgotten island. Darkness overtook him, yielding a powerful force. It had no physical body. In this damned land, it was everything. Crushed, Drake crawled towards the eerie fortress that loomed in the distance. As his broken legs grinded against the rocky ground, a floating light led him to a pair of shadowy gates that seemed to glitter in and out of existence. A grim laughter echoed around him, clutching at his last shattered pieces of sanity. Chuckling, Drake pulled himself up to the gates and shoved his fragmented shoulder blade against the gate. Instantly, his shoulder sank through the shadow. Howling, blazing hounds tore at it, shredding the skin in to pieces, and melting the bone that was left vulnerable. Still, Drake’s numb mind refused to register pain. Choking, he swallowed down his thoughts of all he cared about and forced his arm through. Never again would he hurt anybody with his lies. Sighing, he allowed himself to be consumed, as his heart slowed to a halting stop. As he passed away, he saw the faces of his family, his friends, and his wife staring at him, their eyes bearing down upon him intensely. Hesitantly, he reached out towards them, his hand shaking. An inferno of raging flames smothered them, and incinerated them. The world exploded in to fire and Drake walked out to an opening, welcoming the flaring projectiles with open arms. As he was buried in flames, he tried to speak a few words. “I’m sor-“ he managed to get out before a force greater than him probed through his physical body, and snapped his soul out of the mortal world.