the land of mist and snow [solo mission]

Orion first thought it was some sort of giant polar bear. As he got closer, he imagined it to be a mammoth of some sort. Finally in front of the dying creature, he could see if was a wyvern. A wyvern that was supposed to be very accustomed to the cold. This wyvern, however, seemed almost frozen to death. Orion looked around for any signed of an ice mage, but to no avail. There was nobody around, and Orion could only fathom as to why this wyvern whose primary environment is a wintery place like this, was freezing to death. He had no clue, and from what he could see, the creature was in pain.

"Let me ease you." Orion placed a hand over its scaly head. It had shrunk from the touch, but Orion still petted the creature. It was of noble decent, wyverns were generally seen as the cousins of dragons. It did not deserve to die slowly, and very painfully.

With a surge of lightning, Orion sent a shockwave directly into the wyvern's central nervous system, overloading and shutting it down in an instant. There need't be pain if it was unwarranted. He let the creature fall from his arm, and onto the snow. There was no time for burying. The elements will take care of the creature, embracing it one last time.

There it was again. The glow was there, just above the horizon. The blizzard had been a nice veil, but it could not stop this light from passing through each and every snowflake. It glowed bright, invitingly, and very enticing. Orion almost stopped walking and just stared into its magnificence. But it was a trick. Orion snapped himself out of the trance, and glared at the light. It winked at him, and then vanished into thin air, like it was never there. The narrative would stay the same, Orion will always deny seeing it. Or else, he might be labelled crazy for seeing lights in the sky. No, he will keep it to himself.

It did one thing for him though, it kept him going. And now, as he stared into this vast hole on the ground, he had to stop and think about what he would do next. The light guided him here, but now he had to do this on his own.

The hole itself looked man-made. It had pillars around it, and then the hole looked to be a temple of some sort, though Orion could only get a small glimpse of the bottom. An altar was situated to the right, and all-around were spires. The way down was a small staircase carved to the wall. It wasn't deep, but it was ominous.

He descended.

Orion felt warm. Too warm. It had been warm earlier, but this time, the warmth seemed to envelop his whole soul. The source of the warmth? The whitened sepulcher. It radiated heat like nothing Orion had ever experienced. He was sure that the sun was colder than this thing in front of him. He tried to move away, but only felt himself getting closer and closer. There was no stopping the power. Orion felt compelled, and his body obeyed while his mind resisted.

He had no control.

He made it to the sepulcher. It was white. Shimmering, and very pristine. Nobody had touched it in a millennia. The problem was, Orion didn't know where that information come from? A millennia? How did he even know that? Orion's hand reached closer and closer towards the sepulcher. his hand almost touching the surface. It was tempting. It was there. It had a hold on Orion that made him do whatever it willed. The problem was, Orion was fighting. He was fighting very hard to control himself. He strained. His hand was sweaty, his face was drenched, and his arms were shaking. He needed to regain control. He knew whatever was compelling him. Whatever it was that was that laid inside the sepulcher. It was evil. It was an abomination.

Orion couldn't move once more. The voice immobilizing him as it thundered all around the cavern. Fear gripped his soul, and he couldn't even scream in the anguish. It spoke with a grave voice, as though it knew something Orion didn't. It spoke in a melodious voice, as though it was a serene being. It spoke with authority, one that Orion could not help but admire. The god slayer could only stand in silence as it addressed him.

"You. You who come here. Do you believe yourself to be powerful enough? Do you believe you can carry the fate of the world on your shoulder as you release me? Do you even know who I am?"

The voice thundered, and Orion stared on without any reaction. He couldn't react. His whole body was rigid, neither in fright, nor in reverence. He had no control of himself.

"Do you then presume that you're stronger? That just because you are a god slayer, that you can slay me? No. You are too young. Too weak. Too foolish. Too caught up in the world. Let me tell you. The world is but the surface of life itself. There is more. More than you can ever imagine."

Orion listened. He couldn't not listen. He was here. He was an unwilling participant.

"Then shall I show you how much you overestimate yourself? Shall I show you how your powers are feeble? How you, a god slayer, can never slay a true god. A god like me."

Then whiteness.