Moments later, they’d arrived at the city’s massive gates. Mysterious runes were etched into the towering metallic frames of two gargantuan gates.

The barrier itself exuded a stifling amount of power that was both foreign and yet familiar to Morgan.

"A ward..."

Valerius was already waiting for them when they finally reached the city gates. He turned his strange golden eye,s fixing on them for a couple of moments.

Morgan threw him a curious glance before shifting g his attention back to the massive ward.

Having already seen him in a rion, he could roughly tell the Lord of Moreus was more than capable of defending the city by himself.

Which begged the question: what could have threatened the mysterious young man, even with his contact with Velagre?.

Valerius had truly grown. While Morgan couldn’t understand the mechanism behind it, the boy he’d met in a dream was now much older and much stronger than he was.

From the brief time they’d spent in Moreus, time in the Realm Between flowed similarly to time back on Earth.

Valerius offered them a small smile, then turned, gently caressing the large creature in front of him.

Clad in a dark leather jerkin and dark leather pants, he almost looked as though he was simply going for a picnic.

"Well, at least it doesn’t look like we’re going to encounter anything dangerous," Morgan thought.

On his back, the two Bloodreaper blades hummed with power.

Next to Valerius, two other magnificent steeds stood

The three creatures were dark in colour, and their bodies were more muscular than any horse had right to be.

And rather than eating grass, they voraciously tore into what looked like meat, and instead of hooves, the legs ended in vicious paws that were clearly meant for ripping and rending flesh apart.

"You made it in time," Valerius spoke, deftly mounting his steed in one move.

"We’re supposed to ride these things?"Morgan whispered, staring at the large creatures.

The sound of snapping bones echoed at the exact time he was asking, sending a small involuntary jolt down his spine.

"What the actual hell..."

Frankly, the idea of even riding the massive creatures was preposterous. It almost felt like he was serving himself up as dinner.

A million thoughts ran through his mind about how quickly things could turn ugly.

Valerius threw him an amused glance, almost as though he could read his exact thoughts.

Raven threw him a cursory glance, then smiled, striding forward confidently.

"Well, it doesn’t look like that big of a deal."

Without much thought, she began caressing the creature’s fur.

The large creature turned, nuzzling her almost affectionately.

Morgan felt his arm twitch slightly.

" They’re harmless," Valerius said in an even tone.

"At least until they’re ravenously hungry." He added in a matter-of-fact tone, staring them seriously.

Morgan stared somberly at his steed for a few moments,s then let out a resigned sigh and walked up to the creature.

The large creature turned, sniffing him curiously, and then let out a snort.

"You and me, pal," he thought, letting out a sigh in resignation.

Placing one hand on its side, he leapt off the ground, successfully mounting the creature.

Valerius grinned, nodding in approval

" Sir, won’t you need an escort?" one of the Tharn detail asked.

Valerius dismissively shook his head.

" We’re more than enough for the journey."

He gestured to the two of them.

"The boy is a Void World wielder. The girl is...nothing impressive, but not exactly harmless either. And then there’s me."

The soldier respectfully nodded.

As things stood, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the Lord of Moreus was the single most powerful being in the city at the moment.

If there was anything that could threaten him, then the ordinary Tharn foot soldiers likely wouldn’t stand a chance.

Morgan had witnessed Valerius harrowing power first.

Even now, he knew, as he was now, if he had to go toe to toe with the mysterious man, he’d lose nine out of ten times.

That much he was sure of. Not that he’d entertain any such thoughts. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In fact, there was much he’d already learned from spending time in this bizarre place.

The people of Moreus weren’t familiar with the concept of umbrali,s and aside from unique individuals like Sye and Valerius, there were even fewer who had ventured out of the realm between.

Across the vast expanse of land, in the distance, a thick fog slowly drifted across the ground, obscuring nearly everything from sight.

Even with his enhanced sight, Morgan could just barely see through it, and even then, something interfered with how much he could see.

"We’re going to ride through that?"

Valerius turned to him, an amused glint in his eye.

"Yes. My steeds are trained to follow their master. Worry not. You won’t get lost. Not if you are with me."

After Azaroth, Morgan had developed an intense dislike for fog. Even worse, he didn’t want to risk revealing that his power had returned, at least to some extent.

While they’d spent a lot of time in Moreus, he wasn’t quite sure about Velagrew’s agenda concerning him and Raven.

"Hold on tight."

Morgan barely had time to process the instruction when the world blurred around him.

For a few moments, he found himself airborne, nearly falling off the large creature.

"What the..."

He barely had time to hold on when the creature dug its claws into the ground,d moving even faster.

" Is he trying to accidentally kill us?"

He gripped the creature’s fur tightly, instinctively lowering his body to the creature’s back.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the speed of the beast, and he truly began to appreciate the beauty of the realm between.

While this was different from Tenebris, he could still clearly feel the umbralis all around him.

Outside the city, the intricate threads of sorcery that ran through the buildings and foundations that permeated Moreus ceased to exist.

And unlike Earth, outside of the city, buildings weren’t scattered as far as the eye could see.

The near-suffocating fog that blanketed the forest curled in on itself, moving and drifting almost as though it were alive.

Within it for a few brief moments, a colossal shape shifted in the darkness, and then abruptly moved.

Morgan let out an inaudible gasp, feeling his stand on end.

"What even is that..."

The creature paused, and for a tense moment, Morgan felt the weight of its calamitous gaze settle on him.

An involuntary chill swept through his body.

The large creatures they rode also visibly slowed to a trot but continued moving forward.

Morgan glanced at Valer,ius but the Lord of Moreus seemed unperturbed by the anomaly.

His eerie golden eyes were fixed on the dark forest ahead with a relaxed demeanour.

"I guess there’s nothing to worry about then."

Valerius cocked his head, staring intently into the thick fog.

The colossal shape shifted, and then abruptly turned,d disappearing deeper into the forest.

A moment later, a tremulos tremor rolled through the ground in the wake of its footsteps.

"What the hell was that..."Morgan thought in disbelief.

Even though the forest was still a long way off, already they’d had a glimpse of the monstrous creatures that dwelt within it, even though they’d only beheld its form vaguely.

For the time being, it seemed the Realm Between was home to even more harrowing creatures than the abominations that dwelt in Tenebris.

"Was that a giant?" Raven whispered beside him, sharing a similar look of shock.

Despite the brief scare, Valerius seemed unbothered.

Far from it, he had an air of confidence around him, almost as though he was sure there was nothing that could truly harm him.

For a few brief moments, Morgan allowed himself to daydream about the day when he’d become strong enough to remain unshaken even in the face of such eldritch horrors.

But then again, there were still bound to be anomalies that would give d eb the daunting Lord of Moreus a run for his money.

Throughout the journey, Morgan could feel the biting chill and the fury of the wind bearing them despite the brilliant sun that seemed so distant.

The city had vanished in the distance, and for a while, only the vast landscape stretched before them.

Strange creatures roamed the land, coming into view from time to time.

Gigantic centipedes that tunneled through the ground with harrowing force and large winged creatures that traversed the sky above with terrific speed.

Strangely enough, the hordes of creatures stirred clear of their small group.

After travelling for half the day, the forest that had seemed so distant before loomed a short distance in front of them.

A moment later, a dark blur fell from the sky with uncanny speed, landing in front of them with an inhuman grace.

Valerius stared at the figure in front of them for a few moments, a slight frown appearing on his face.

Eventually, he asked in a cold voice.

"What brings you here?"