The world they were trapped in seemed to shift with every blink. Time was no longer linear, and the edges of reality twisted as though it were a fragile thread about to snap.
Nam and Lan stood at the epicenter of chaos, surrounded by the echoes of a war lost to history. The figures of soldiers clashed in an endless struggle. Metal rang against metal, and cries of rage and fear filled the air, but the battle was not for conquest—it was for survival.
Nam tried to move, but it was as if the world itself held him in place. The Arbiter's voice resonated again, distant yet close.
"This is the Trial of the Eye."
"The conflict you see is more than just a battle of soldiers. It is a battle for the soul of the world itself."
Lan's voice trembled as she looked at the chaos around them. "These are not just memories. This is the heart of the Forgotten War… the war that erased the past."
Nam clenched his fists. "If it's forgotten, why are we here?"
The Arbiter appeared beside them, still floating, his silver mask reflecting their confusion.
"You are here because the Eye has called you. Only those who walk the path of the forgotten can understand the truth buried in these ashes."
"You are not observers. You are participants in the unfolding of fate."
The battlefield stretched before them, a patchwork of firestorms and death. Amidst it all, the towering figure of the Crimson Eye glowed with an eerie, malignant light. The battle wasn't only against armies but also against something far more sinister—a force beyond time, beyond comprehension.
Nam's mind raced. He could feel the pull of the Eye, beckoning him, urging him to understand, to remember. The fragments of the forgotten war were piecing themselves together in his mind. He could hear whispers, half-formed words, fragments of lost conversations.
"Why is it so familiar?" Nam murmured, his voice cracking.
Lan's expression hardened. She, too, felt the weight of the connection—the ancient threads that bound them to this war, this world. "It's not just the Eye," she said. "There's something more. Something that has been waiting for us."
Suddenly, the image around them shifted again, like a screen flickering to a new channel.
They stood before the Eye now, its power overwhelming, radiating with a force that nearly crushed them. The soldiers, once fighting against each other, now turned their attention toward the Eye. Their desperate struggle had one purpose: to either claim the Eye for themselves or destroy it, for it was said to hold the power to reshape the very fabric of existence.
The Arbiter spoke once more.
"The Crimson Eye is the keystone of all creation. It is the balance between order and chaos. The forgotten war was fought to protect it, to control it."
"But in doing so, they lost everything. And you…"
The Arbiter's gaze turned toward Nam and Lan, his tone solemn.
"You are the last hope of a world long forgotten."
Nam stepped forward, his mind swirling with new understanding. "What happened to them? To the warriors who fought this war?"
"They are the lost. Their souls are trapped in the Eye. The war was never meant to end. It was a cycle, and it continues—unless you break it."
A realization struck him like a thunderclap. "The Eye… it was never meant to save the world. It was meant to keep it locked in an endless loop."
Lan's voice rang out with clarity. "We're here to end it. We're the ones who must destroy the Eye."
The Arbiter's mask tilted, a strange shimmer of recognition passing through his silver visage.
"The choice is yours, but remember: the Eye will not go quietly. Once you decide, the war will end—or begin anew."
As the Arbiter's words settled into the air, the ground began to shake. The Eye pulsed with growing energy, its influence spreading outward, like the beginning of a storm. The forces in the battlefield seemed to sense the change.
Nam looked at Lan. "This is it. We either end this now, or the cycle continues forever."
The decision was heavy, but it was a decision that they had to make. And as they moved forward, toward the heart of the conflict, they knew the weight of their choice would echo through all of existence.