The silence was deadly. Every movement he made was increased tenfold, and the feeling of absolute loneliness soon came over him. He sat in complete solitude on that curb, just waiting for someone to come to his rescue. It took him a few moments to realize that in his current state, no one would ever be coming. He was on his way to the city of the dead, the Underworld, and there was nothing to delay the inevitable. A ringing began in his ears, the result of no auditory stimulus. Standing up, he felt that a moment more of this, and he would surely go insane. It didn't take much for the ones locked in solitary confinement to start seeing little friends, and surely he would begin to see the same. There must be something that impending souls do for fun while await eternal damnation. Then, he saw it. It had caught his eye almost instantly, due to the fact that it was the only inconstant within the scenary. It was like a light, drifting right past him. A tiny emerald puff ball that flickered on and off. It seemed to call to him. It couldn't have been any clearer unless it had psychically yelled out his name. Could it possibly want Zarek to follow it? It came at Zarek, it's brightness almost blinding. Zarek gazed into the emerald globe, not knowing what to expect in the least bit. What he did see was overwhelming.

A world the had once flourished, had now been consumed by a darkness. A world betrayed by one that was concieved as their savior. There once was a man considered to be one of the greats. A hero, no doubt. Protecting the people was in his heart, and the people, in turn, loved him for it. Years went on, and the hero never failed to save the day. Being universally acknowledged as a hero, the fame and fortune soon went to his head and tainted his mind. It wasn't long before before he began to turn on the people, and although he once loved them so, they were soon forced to worship him. He had risen to the top with their support, but once he got there, he became consumed by greed. No matter how much he recieved, he always wanted more. With the only person able to stop the mad man, slain, he declared himself king, and enslaved the people that he once held so dear. The scene before Zarek showed a world captured and then tortured by a former loved on. The former hero now sat upon his thrown, basking in the glory of his power.

"Drew?"

He looked on with a puzzled face, seeing that the hero turned tyrant was almost an exact clone of Drew Stevenson. Without warning, his suroundings quickly began to change. One by one the familiarities of the park in Atlanta began to fade away and were replaced by new items. It's as if Zarek had been snatched up by the emerald orb, and transported into the alternate world. Looking around, it was evident that the ruler of these lands wasn't particulary fond of his subjects. The lands were barren, and the so called town was close to ruins now. People wandered the streets wearing little cloths to keep warm, and the cloths they did have appeared to be made out of scraps. They all looked so dirty, and worn out, tired. What surprised Zarek the most was that there weren't that many of them. Maybe about seven people, at the most. It looked more like a refugee camp than a town. There were many hills off in the distant, each looked the same as the one he was on, barren. But the furthest mountain was as lush as can be. It seemed to be the only green piece of land in the world. A top the mountain sat a huge stone castle. Zarek stuck out like a sore thumb, and was immediatly recognized by a begger sitting alone in the dirt. Instead of welcoming him to the "town", Zarek was instead met with a shooing motion. The begger had no intention of speaking with him, but telling him to go away rather.

"What are you doing in this town? Don't you know you're not supposed to be here? It's forbidden. You'll give us all away!"

It wasn't a town at all...anymore. It made sense as to why the town was in ruins now. It had to be one of those forbidden cities in which the ruler didn't aprove of, so he had it destroyed. The refugee camp idea popped back into his head. They were all beggers of some sort, hiding inside the ruins of the former city to survive.

"Excuse me, but what exactly happened here?"

Zarek took no heed in the man's warning to stay away, but instead of intrigued by the situation at hand. What had happened to this world, why is the city forbidden, and most importantly, why did he see Drew sitting upon a thrown. The man sighed, and instead of talking with the stranger outside where the royal guards would be able to see him. The begger quickly escorted Zarek behind a large stone looking wall. It might have been the side of a house back before it was destroyed.

"I can tell that you're not from around here. King Drew. That's what happened here. He's taken mostly everything from the world of Domain. Cleared us out clean. It's been like this ever since he defeated the hero, Zarek, for Kronus' Belt of Glory. Nobody expected this to happen. How can you get darkness out of the battle between two saviors?"

The fact that Drew had somehow become a source of evil was surprise enough for one day, but in learning that Zarek's "alternate-world-self" had been killed, was another big shocker. He had existed in this lifetime, this world, this whatever, and a showdown similiar to that of Krystmas Kaos had occured, with Drew as the victor. Luckily BUD didn't kill those who got pinned.

"Zarek Lyle? He defeated Zarek for what now?"

The old begger looked at him as if he was the crazy one. As if he should know the tale by now. This was obviously a tale that had been told over and over again. It reminded Zarek of an epic poem, and compared himself to that of Hercules and Achilles.

"Zarek the wise, and Drew the strong, were both heroes of the Domain. The two had co-existed in one era, which has never been allowed before in history. The gods are never to fond of two people claiming to have their support. The meeting between the two was unavoidable, and it came when they both coveted Kronus' Belt of Glory. The previous holder had abandoned it, leaving the powerful item for anyone to take at will. It has been told that both heroes greatly coveted the item, so there was only way one to determine which of the two would have it. Single combat. The two warriors fought long and hard, but in the end, Zarek's achilles heel was discovered and he was defeated. Except instead of riding us of the evils, Drew ended up taking it into himself"

Of course, it would figure that Drew would go corrupt after being on top. It was just thrown out there in the beginning, but who knows, now. There was an awkward pause for a moment, as the old begger constantly kept looking around to see if anyone had seen the oddly dressed man that came out of nowhere. Meanwhile, Zarek was thinking everything over in his head. All in all, how different could this Drew be compared to the one in his world?

"What if someone was to challenge him now? Drew isn't unbeatable, it can be done, and has in fact been done before."

The man looked him straight in the eye, a look of disbelief was written across his face. Now more than ever he knew that this stranger wasn't from around these parts.

"Oh, no, no, no. Drew has become quite stronger with the darkness behind him. Young traveller, at this state, you will be no match for Drew...no one is."

By now the begger had grown tired of being on end, shielding this stranger from being seen by the guards, and in turn blowing it for the rest of the stragglers. He quickly ran across the way, leaving Zarek behind the stone wall by himself for a second. He quickly came back to the other side, with something slung over his arm. He extended it to Zarek, who took it and gazed at it. It appeared to be a raggly wool robe of sorts. For the first time Zarek noticed that the colors of the peoples cloths were the same color as the ruins and the dirt. It must be their tactic for being able to stay in their safe zone, without being spotted by the guards so easily.

"The big bad Drew Stevenson doesn't scare me."

While speaking, Zarek slipped on the robe over his cloths, and when he came out the other end, the man was staring him down like he was already dead. He had a reason to stare at him so. Many people had been tortured to death for saying such things, and here was this random stranger, challenging the king.

"You musn't say his surname! That is suicide. Do you want to be fed to the dogs? He shall only refer to him as King Drew, or your highness."

He reached forward and put his hand over Zarek's mouth, which tasted like dead rat and dirt.

"Poppycock! Drew may have...err...Kronus' Belt of Glory, is it?...But wouldn't his power over the people descend after it's taken from him? What if I possessed it?"

While speaking, Zarek pushed the man's hand away and kept spitting, attempting to get the horrible taste out of his mouth.

"A young warrior you are, I see. You are definitely brave, but you are blinded by your bravery. If you are not smart about it, then you have close to nothing."

It was then that the duo heard them. The footsteps off in the distance. No, it wasn't footsteps, something much more heavier. Maybe hoofprints, horses, and there was more than just one of them. A lot of horses. They stopped to listen to what sounded like an oncoming hurricane. They were right in the path of destruction, and something was coming for them. But what? The two stepped out from behind the wall to see many people attempting to run from the ruin city, and a glance further would reveal a black sea rushing right for them. It was the royal guards upon their black stallions coming for the lawbreakers that had entered the city. Upon entering the city, many guards began grabbing the people that had stayed in the city. They were dressed all in black armor, of course, and none of their faces were visible behind their heavy black helm of darkness. You would be able to spot the leader of the troupe from miles away. He had the same helmet as others, but slightly different. There was a a bright yellow 'S' engraved on the front of his helmet, signifying leadership. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what the 'S' stood for. The guard rode up to the duo, but anounced to the rest of the town.

"All of you are being put under arrest for disobeying our Lord, King Drew, and venturing onto a forbidden city. You will all be charged with treason and sentenced to death."

Zarek smirked a bit. Being arrested? No, that's just not going to fly. Zarek stepped forward towards the lead guard.

"And what if I refused your arrest?"

The guard was surprised at the sudden rebellion that this individual has brought fowarth. That hadn't been someone to challenge the reign of the king in ten years. His surprise suddenly turned to anger, and he defended the king as if he was forced to, almost like if he didn't, he would be put to death himself.

"Who dares to deliberatly defy the law set by King Drew himself?!"

He was at a lose of words, due to the simple fact that he had backed himself into a corner. Then it hit him. His name meant something in this realm, so why not tell the truth?

"...Zarek the wise?..."

It came off as more of question that an answer, because Zarek wasn't exactly sure how everyone would react. There was a pause for a second, as everyone took in the not so sure answer. As if by key, all of the guards burst into laughter, knowing such things not to be true. On the other side of things, all of the people suddenly bowed...to Zarek. Finally their hero had arrived yet again to save them from the reign of Drew Stevenson the evil.

"Give these people false hope all you want, but you can't be who you say you are, for Zarek the wise, is dead."

The lead guard was still in the midst of laughter as he spoke.

"And who are you to judge? A guard that Drew has sent out to do his dirty work? Pathetic. I have come to take what is rightfully mine....errr...damn, what's it called again...oh yeah, Kronus' Belt of Glory."

Zarek was now more sure of his answer. There was no possible way that any of them would know if it was truly him or not, and they knew that. This simple fact knocked the laughter out of every single one of them, and they all stood still, as the lead guard consolted another. Zarek knew what they were talking about. He was unsure if this stranger could really be the legendary Zarek, and what would happen to him if it really was. After a few minutes, the lead guard pushed the consoling guard away. He looked straight at Zarek.

"Follow us..."

He anounced with a defeated, yet stern tone. I said you win, but I'm not happy about it. It was actually further to the castle than expected, and due to the fact that the guards made Zarek walk, it wasn't the best adventure he's ever had. All the while, there were some guards that constantly poked him in the back to keep moving. The ones that did this were obviously the doubters, because there were other guards that kept their distance, for fear that what he said was true. When they finally reached the castle, they went in through the underground passage which lead them all into a dungeon area. The captives were placed inside cells until only Zarek was left. They came upon another cell, in which they all paused.

"You'll wait here until you are brought in to see the king himself."

Damn, still ended up a prisoner. Even so, Zarek walked into his cell, and it was shut behind him.