Spirit Game

When they reach the entrance to the mines, the air was thick with the stench of blood and sweat. The sounds of battle echoed off the stone walls, mingling with the distant cries of the Shadowborne as they fought desperately to defend their stronghold.

"Be careful. Don't stray from the path I've laid out for you," Golly warned, dismounting his horse. "From here on, we proceed on foot. The tunnels ahead are narrow, and at times, we'll need to crawl to reach the underground hall. Thraigar, and anyone larger than Rain, will have to stay behind and guard the entrance."

Thraigar's face tightened with disappointment at the thought of missing the chance to face Gorm, but he nodded in agreement. "Understood."

"Wait, how did Gorm get down there if the entrance is so small? Isn't he, like . . . huge?" Rain asked, picturing Gorm as a towering giant clad in impenetrable armor.

The others exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of disbelief and amusement at Rain's momentary lapse in reasoning.

"W-what?"

"Gorm has been trapped in that underground hall since he was first discovered," Santi explained. "He hasn't been able to leave because he's been consumed by his ritual."

"Meanwhile, his generals and the Shadowborne Legionaries can easily slip in and out of the mines to do his bidding. They're more like shadows than soldiers."

"But how did he get your elder down there?" Rain questioned, his curiosity piqued.

Santi replied, "A complex teleportation spell."

"Can we do the same?" Rain turned to Golly, hopeful.

Golly shook his head. "To teleport into the underground hall, someone on the inside must perform the ritual. Without that, it's impossible."

"Oh, I see . . . I thought we could just teleport in there and be done with it."

"Teleportation is unstable and requires an immense amount of Soul Elixirs," Golly said, his tone serious. "It's best to move on foot. Besides, we're wasting precious time. Let's move."

Rain and the others moved, cutting down any enemy that crossed their path, but the deeper they went, the more treacherous the terrain became.

"I'm amazed you built this mine," Rain huffed, trying to catch his breath. "It must be exhausting going in and out all the time."

"We've set up rest stations with rooms for sleeping and cooking, stocked with enough supplies to avoid unnecessary trips to the surface," Golly explained, his tone steady. "It keeps us going when we need a break from mining."

"But this mine is crawling with shadow creatures," Santi noted, his eyes scanning the dark tunnels warily.

"And I don't see any gnomes . . ." Helliana added, turning to Golly with concern.

Golly's expression darkened. "Gorm must have taken everyone underground. I only hope we're not too late."

Rain remained silent, sensing the heavy weight of Golly's worry. The absence of life in the city and the mines was ominous, suggesting that the gnomes were either holed up in the underground hall as captives or, in the worst case, had already been sacrificed to power the ritual that would open the underworld.

"Why does Gorm want to open the underground, again?" Rain asked after a moment's pause, breaking the tense silence.

Santi and Golly exchanged a grave look before Golly began, "Gorm, the Obliterator, is a revenant — one of the most terrifying entities in existence. Revenants are relentless hunters, undeterred by magic or concealment. When slain, their spirits don't rest; they simply find new bodies to continue their vengeance. Most have a year to exact their revenge before their souls fade from this world.

But not Gorm."

Rain listened intently. "Gorm has no time limit?"

Golly nodded solemnly. "Gorm's pursuit knows no end. It will chase its target to the farthest reaches of the realm, inhabiting body after body, all for one purpose: the complete annihilation of its killer's bloodline."

"His killer?" Rain echoed.

"Gorm is fueled by an insatiable hatred," Golly continued. "There's no reasoning with this force. It doesn't negotiate, it doesn't bargain. When Gorm needs help, it commands with a voice that brooks no refusal. Disobedience means death, for in Gorm's eyes, all who assist it are expendable. Gorm craves only one thing: the efficient and utter destruction of its enemies and everything they hold dear."

Golly paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing, "In life, Gorm was the executioner for King Ikhad. Like many executioners, Gorm was deeply attached to its axe, which it named Interitus — 'the destruction.' Gorm believed that those killed by it were obliterated utterly, sent neither to the heavens nor the hells.

"But no kingdom lasts forever," Santi interjected, her voice low. "When King Ikhad's reign crumbled, he became paranoid, desperate for someone to blame. When a prisoner escaped execution, the king saw it as a sign of betrayal. He turned on Gorm, sentencing the executioner to death by the very axe it had wielded."

Golly's expression darkened. "Gorm met its end at the blade of Interitus, but in its final moments, it swore vengeance on all who shared the king's blood. When Gorm awoke as a revenant, it found that the family tree had grown deep roots, extending far and wide.

"Over time, Gorm's humanity faded, its sex and gender lost to history. Now, it moves between bodies, becoming an avatar of obliteration. The name 'Gorm' itself is whispered in fear, and 'it' has become the only fitting pronoun for this relentless entity."

Rain shuddered as he imagined the terrifying existence Gorm had become. "How did Gorm overcome the one-year limit?" Find more to read on M-V-L

"The reigning theory," Golly said, his voice dropping to a near whisper, "is that when the reaper came to collect Gorm's soul, Gorm buried Interitus in its chest. It wasn't enough to kill a reaper — nothing can truly kill death — but it was enough to make the reaper reconsider its collection. However, the reaper took Interitus with it.

Now, Gorm roams without its beloved weapon, and it wants that axe back almost as badly as it wants its revenge. Almost."

"I see . . . So who was King Ikhad?" Rain asked.

Santi's gaze darkened as she replied, "The king of the dark elves, long, long ago."

Rain's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, doesn't that mean your life is in danger, Santi?"

Golly shook his head solemnly. "All our lives are in danger," he corrected. "That axe, Interitus, has been embedded in the reaper for countless years. If Gorm somehow manages to reclaim it, the axe would be infused with the reaper's essence. Gorm could very well become powerful enough to kill the reaper himself."

Santi continued, her voice steady but grave, "And if that happens, Gorm might take the reaper's place. With his unrelenting thirst for vengeance, he wouldn't stop until every descendant of King Ikhad is erased from existence — and anyone who stands in his way will face the same fate.

Worse still, he could lose what little sanity he has left and descend into madness, slaughtering everyone in his path."