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So it's come to this then.
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*I wander for days, months, years. Time in the surreal hellscape that was the world I used to know barely flows, and when it does it is generally in jumbled bursts of random scenarios and events. Not nearly enough to keep track of anything by, let alone how long my journey actually lasted. At length, however, I find myself face-to-face with... [i]it[/i]*

The fabled Gate of Estorath... I'd heard talk of such a construct during my darker days, but I never imagined they'd actually found the time or resources to complete it.

*Plants my hands on my hips as I stare up at the monolithic stone edifice*

Yet here it is. Their final failed attempt to escape me.

...

....

..........

[i]I don't know why I bother hesitating. It's not as if there's anything left for me here anyway.[/i]

*Steps forwards but stops when I feel something grasping the heel of my boot. Lowering my gaze, I recoil in shock*

[i]G-Ghatia?![/i]

*I try to pull myself free as her broken and bleeding hands claw their way up my side. My breathing becomes panicked and labored in spite of my knowledge regarding the situation. Knowledge that this grim spirit, this accursed simulacrum slouched before me is nothing more than a mere fantasy.

A figment of my tormented mind*

Gah!

*My expression hardens while my lips flatten into a razor thin line. Raising my hand, I strike the vision across its face, sending golden ichor and brittle bone flying every which way*

Begone spirit! Though you may have her face, you are [i]not[/i] her! You have no right to torment me! No right to judge me!

*I squeeze my eyes shut. When I next open them, the phantasm is gone. Dusting myself off with a huff, I turn towards the gate and step on through, eager to finally be rid of this place*

[i]Be it heaven or hell, a Tartarus bleak and unending or an Elysium eternal, whatever lies beyond the gate is undoubtedly better than that which lies here.[/i]

*Takes a deep breath before crossing over to the other side*