A Background Character’s Path to Power

I'd already learned my lesson from our earlier encounters. The moment I saw that first claw, I had already grabbed Zephyr's arm.

"Run!"

We sprinted back, and I activated the Silent Veil to become invisible. But I still kept glancing back over my shoulder - to see what nightmarish thing was emerging from that pool of darkness.

THUD.

My face slammed into something solid. Stars exploded across my vision as I bounced off what felt like a bone wall that definitely hadn't been there moments before. The Silent Veil flickered and died as I hit the ground, dazed.

"The path..." Zephyr's voice was tight with barely controlled panic.

Where the tunnel path had been, there was nothing but smooth bone wall. We were trapped.

Slowly, we turned back toward the chamber.

The creature was almost fully emerged now, standing motionless beside the pedestal. It towered at least three meters tall, its skeletal frame draped in tattered shadows that seemed to move independently of any wind.

Bone spurs jutted from its elongated skull, and those violet pinpricks of light in its eye sockets tracked our every movement. Its ribcage was partially exposed, revealing not organs but a swirling void of absolute darkness, as if its chest cavity opened directly into the abyss itself.

The air around it seemed to bend, reality warping slightly at the edges of my vision.

What in the horror show is this?!

"!"

The creature's jaw began to unhinge, revealing rows of sharp obsidian teeth. My muscles tensed, expecting some otherworldly shriek or death ray.

"Ah, visitors."

The voice was deep, layered with the dry rustle of a billion dead leaves and the grinding of continental plates. Ok, maybe I was a bit exaggerating. But it really made my bones vibrate again.

"It has been... ages."

Zephyr stood rigid, his hand white-knuckled on his saber's tilt. I wondered, for a dizzy second, if the impact had cracked my skull and this was some dying hallucination. The monsters that spoke with the weight of the dead epochs weren't part of the plan.

The violet eyes pulsated softly.

"Come," it intoned, sounding more like a command than an invitation. "Let us... converse."

Neither Zephyr nor I moved. We stood frozen like prey animals caught in a predator's gaze.

The creature let out what could only be described as a chuckle.

"Don't worry," it said, amusement coloring that ancient voice. "I won't eat you."

Eat?

It really knew how to joke.

The absurdity of the situation almost made me laugh hysterically. Almost.

I swallowed the panic instead, not letting my guard down.

"How can we be sure of that?" My voice came out weaker than I wanted. "How can we be sure you won't harm us or lying to us?"

I knew how stupid I sounded, but I had to do it.

All for the sake of our survival.

"A wise question from a cautious soul." Those violet eyes glinted. "I appreciate such prudence. You have my word, sworn upon the very ossuary I am bound to guard. I am the Warden of these Valleys. I mean you no harm. After an eternity of solitude, conversation is a far greater treasure than... other sustenance."

Yeah, your way of talking is too old too.

"I swear upon my life that," it placed its right claw over the void in its chest, "you are safe here."

Zephyr and I exchanged a glance. After a moment of hesitation and 'communication', we slowly walked closer to the self-claimed Guardian, stopping at a respectful(safer) distance away.

"Now," the creature rumbled, its voice a soothing hypnotic cadence. "Please introduce yourselves. And tell me the world beyond these walls. Has the Abyss been successfully severed, or did our efforts fail?"

I widened my eyes.

"Y-You were from the Great Convergence Era?!"

The Warden went perfectly still, the violent light in its sockets flickering. "Great Convergence? Era?" Its voice carried a mix of confusion and realization. "Just how long has it been since the war with the Abyss?"

I exchanged another glance with Zephyr. This was history breathing, (he was, right?), right in front of us.

I slowly raised my hand, all five fingers extended.

The Warden leaned forward, the bones of its spike creaking. "Five... thousand years?" it asked hopefully.

I shook my head, my heart pounding. "More. Much, much more. It has been over... five hundred thousand years. And it's the New Great Resonance Era." I placed a hand on my chest. "I am Lumin." I gestured beside me. "This is Zamir. We are pleased to meet you, esteemed Warden."

We both gave a courteous bow.

The creature was silent for a long moment, the void in its chest swirling slowly. It seemed to diminish slightly, as if weighed down by the immense passage of time.

...It's a miracle he survived this long.

"You may call me... Ossian," it said finally, the name sighing through the chamber like a forgotten wind.

"Five hundred thousand years, huh..." It felt silent again, then uttered words that carried the weight of lonely epochs. "Time... sure flies."

"...and yet, for all its flight, it leaves such deep scars." Ossian's voice softened, the grinding stones' sound fading to something like a gentle wind. "We fought to buy time for the world to finally heal. Tell me... did it work?"

His gaze landed on us, holding a depth of loneliness that felt even more vast than the ossuary itself.

I gulped.

He wasn't just asking for history. He was asking if the half-million years of his isolation had mattered.

"...Sir," I raised my voice, putting my life on the line. "The war had ended. And we won. The world is peaceful now. However, we don't know what exactly happened back then. We recently learned about the Abyss's existence after we discovered this place. So... can you tell us what exactly happened? And I don't mean to offend, but how did you survive? Wasn't it hard to endure this long? How did you end up here... and like this?"

Ossian sighed, a sound like mountains settling.

"It's a long story, young friends..."