The entire court was silent on hearing Gauge's request.
"Who would enter such a place willingly?"
"That kid is crazy."
"Are we about to lose a good soldier?"
Murmurings spread across the court. The king reminisced about a time in his youth when he spoke to a dark, mysterious figure.
"I want you to take care of my child, and no one should ever know he is my son. Do whatever it takes to conceal the truth, and in no dire situation reveal his origins to him. I don't want my son to carry the responsibility of the universe on his shoulders. Let him choose his path," said the man.
"But a boy with no lineage will be treated like scum," pleaded Karyos.
The man replied, "I'd rather that than have my boy think himself a curse. Form a Kar'Azal pact with me to never reveal his lineage, Karyos."
He presented a magical incantation in the form of a semicircle. This circle needed to be completed by a complementary incantation from Karyos for the pact to be formed.
"I...promise to never let the world know of his true origins, my friend."
Kar'Azal pact – a pact that can only be formed between two true friends. Once formed, unless revoked by the caster, it cannot be undone until time ends.
Cut to the present:
"If only he had not formed that pact with me, I would have been able to protect this child... No, if his real lineage were known, no one would dare harm him," the king thought to himself.
The queen walked into the courtroom as Gauge continued speaking:
"If a punishment is what General Kael wishes, sending me to the Enderworld should suffice, my lord."
He turned to Kael:
"Won't it, my prince?"
The queen responded,
"As you wish, soldier. Kael and the soldiers of this kingdom shall escort you to the borders of Azoria and see that you are sent into the Enderworld."
She looked at Kael with an expression that said, everything is going well. Kael nodded and ordered:
"Bravest soldiers who wish to see a traitor die shall follow me to the borders."
He looked at Gauge with a disgusted face. As they left the courtroom and stepped outside the palace, every soldier who had followed Gauge in war bid him farewell. This was natural, considering they were alive due to Gauge's nature—he always saved as many lives as he could, even the enemies'.
They walked toward the Enderworld. A few hours later, they arrived at Endervillage, the last piece of land before the borders belonging to the human world. The climate was eerie. Everywhere they looked, they found ruined buildings and trees dead as if they had lost the will to live.
Kael looked at Gauge.
"You could have just begged me to let you live, but instead, you chose pride. Now that very pride is going to kill you, my friend. Just because you are good with a sword doesn't mean you can conquer the Enderworld."
As Kael spoke, a soldier climbed a broken archway to scout the borders.
"There! I see it," he exclaimed.
The Enderworld border—a large hemicircular cluster of dark clouds rotating slowly on its axis. Inside the clusters, lightning surged upward from the base, pulsating through the entire sky.
"Alright, we are here now. Let's escort him and watch him d—"
Kael suddenly fell to his knees, grabbing his throat and puking blood. Soon, all the other soldiers fell one by one, bleeding profusely. At the brink of death, Kael looked at Gauge, the only one standing against the overwhelming aura of the Enderworld.
"You really are a monster, to withstand something of this magnitude," he whispered before fainting.
Gauge escorted all surviving soldiers to a safe distance, but two were too weak to survive.
"This is why the rule of the army must change. I cannot save my people if they are led to their deaths by an idiot, and neither can I replace him without knowing who—or what—I am," Gauge spoke to himself as he left the dead soldiers behind, paying them respect.
Gauge walked toward the enormous cloud. The closer he got, the larger it seemed—comparable in size to a huge mountain, or even an island. Yet Gauge did not falter. He mustered his courage and stepped into the mist.
What dangers await him in the Enderworld? Is it really that dangerous? Any soldier sent to inspect the Enderworld has never returned. The question is: can Gauge?