Irredeemable

Light

Some time had passed since the battle of the forge. The group was still trying to come to grips with what had happened. They were so close to success, only to have it ripped away from them at the last moment. Now their hopes rested on predicting the Godseeker's next move.

Fortunately, it was obvious to Hornet. The seekers needed a vessel, and not just any vessel; they needed one that could defeat the radiance in her purest form. Whichever vessel they found, would then have to venture into the abyss. Perhaps that would be where the seekers found their vessel, to save time.

The group hurried to the nearest stag station. They needed to be ready for the Godseeker and her forces' arrival in the abyss. On their way to the White Palace station, Gravel reflected on their own failures. They couldn't seem to succeed anywhere. They had failed to save Two, they had failed to defeat Vayne, and now they had failed to destroy the Kingsoul and had nearly been killed by the Godseeker.

Their daily self-loathing session must have been rather obvious, as Vayne picked up on it immediately. She slid over to the vessel and spoke to them. "Look, bud, it's alright. You couldn't have known that would happen. It's not your fault. You've done a lot more good than the bad you hate yourself for."

Gravel looked up at her. It made no sense to them that Vayne tolerated them. They were weak, pathetic even, yet somehow Vayne still stayed by their side. Begrudgingly, they considered her words. What good had they done? They supposed that the attempt to save the old nail smith might count, or at least preventing Greenpath from being engulfed in flame. They had rid a town of Criminals. They had saved Vayne's life. They had healed Favian. If nothing else, Gravel realized that they had saved the lives of their friends. They had to admit the truth: they had done good, even if it were just those two acts. A world with them was much better than one without. With newfound positivity, Gravel held their head a bit higher the rest of the way. Vayne smiled. She had managed to reach them.

Having arrived, the group hurriedly dismounted. Before heading to the abyss, they needed to make a quick stop in the White Palace. They were going to need all the backup they could get. While Hornet went to retrieve her forces, the rest of the group continued their trek to the abyss.

It wasn't very far from the white palace, which made sense, considering its purpose. What didn't make sense, was how the door was already open. Gravel had little to no experience with the abyss, but something seemed odd about it. It shouldn't be open. Fortunately for them, Inge did know.

"There shouldn't be any way for this door to be open." Inge thought to Gravel. "It's locked with a powerful seal. The only key is the king's brand."

Cautiously, the group of friends entered the abyss. It was a place quite unlike anything they had ever seen. On the way down, they encountered the corpse of a vessel, discarded by the king, wyrm knows how long ago. Favian audibly gasped in disgust when he saw it. "How heartless to leave them here." He muttered softly.

The descent greeted them with even more vessel corpses. Each one seemed to be in worse shape than the last. Below them, in contrast to the mostly grey walls of the abyss, was a seemingly white ground. However, now that they were closer, Vayne peered over a ledge and discovered the truth of the abyss's bottom. "Oh lords..." she mumbled.

Looking over the ledge themselves, Gravel was shocked. They had known many vessels were deemed unworthy, and were therefore killed, but this was beyond anything they had ever imagined. The ground of the abyss was made entirely of the skulls of vessels. This was the site of a wholesale slaughter.

Finally at the bottom, every one of them took a moment to look out across the abyss, in a kind of disgusted awe. The only exception was Inge. They had been here before. They knew the horrors of this place firsthand. And so, silently, they kept moving. With no other choice, the rest of the group soon followed.