The rocky expanse was empty. The only features of this place were small, individual rocks covering the ground.
The only thing watching from above was the red sky, occasionally covered in dark clouds.
The only things his vision could catch were small specks of ash and dust dancing around invisible air currents.

Step.

Step.

Step.

His feet almost gave out with each additional step taken, but he still kept going. He still kept putting one foot in front of the other. Didn't sleep. Didn't eat, or drink. The ambient energy of hell in the air was enough. Enough for him to go...

Go where?

He stopped. He knew he had a purpose. The only thing he knew was that he had to run, to get away as far as possible.

Away from what?

No matter. That was his purpose. Going. He nodded his head, affirming his choice. And then he made another step forward.

***

It started raining.

***

He opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor, unmoving. His skin was itching as if mosquitoes bit him all over. He started scratching himself furiously, but the feeling didn't go away. It played with him, popping up first on his chest, then head, then leg, always disappearing before he could scratch it to get rid of the itch. He growled, increasingly frustrated, and soon, his hands started hitting the itching spots, trying to get at least some relief, but that only made the itch worse, as it covered his entire body again.

- Aaaaaarrrggh! STOP! - His scream was deep, and almost inhuman as he pounded the ground with his fist. He felt his skin rumble, and then the itch stopped. He breathed heavily, each breath calming him more and more.

He stood up, and put his foot forward. He didn't know why he stopped, nor did he care. He only cared about going forward.

***

Magma. Rivers, geysers. Molten magma, cold magma... lava. He stepped on one of the rivers, the magma cooling rapidly into obsidian after meeting his foot. He didn't know why, but his body did weird things sometimes. Like just now, it covered his legs in a rigid shell to protect them from lava. He didn't mind the shell that much. It shifted and moved alongside his feet, and didn't obstruct his movement. So he let it be.

He let many things just be. Like that thing over there.

He looked at the thing. His eyes rested on a small pillar of red mist, following behind him. Some small part of his brain was wary of that thing. But the thing didn't do anything to him, so he let it be.

***

He had a destination now. He didn't know when, but in front of him, on the horizon, he saw a mountain. So naturally, he started heading in it's direction, but something was bothering him. After a few days, he knew what it was.

The mountain didn't move any closer.

Also, the pillar of mist was alongside him now. It was behind him too. And above him. He was pretty sure there were more pillars than just the one, but to be sure he would have to investigate. But investigating could get in the way of him going to the mountain, and so that was something he could not afford. So he didn't. What if he turned around, and he lost the mountain? He shuddered at the thought.

***

Step.

Step.

Step.

Plop.

Step.

Ste-

Wait... Plop?

He slowly looked down, only to see a small red blob around his leg. He must have stepped into it accidentally. He kept looking at the blob, and the blob kept looking at him with it's gel eyes, not sliding off his leg. He shook his leg gently, but the blob only wobbled with it. The blob didn't do anything to him, so he moved his eyes back to the mountain, and kept walking.

***

He scratched his head. He was sure he was losing the misty pillars somewhere. He hoped the misty things would find what they were looking for. They made for nice, if a little silent, companions.

When it came to companions, he wasn't in the negatives yet however. He found a small black dog somewhere along the road. The dog spat fire at him when he got close, but the fire didn't hurt him at all, thanks to his body's quick reaction. He didn't judge the little guy. It must've been alone, helpless here. He pet the creature, it's red eyes lighting up in happiness. Since then, it's been following him, sometimes it would go in front, sniffing at everything unnatural, sometimes it would run behind him, when it got spooked. 'The little guy needs a name.' A thought popped up in his head.

Wait, no. He didn't think that. What is a "name" anyway?

***

He met a skeleton today.

***

- A name is something you use to distinguish yourself from others of your kind. - The skeleton told him. The creature was missing a lower jaw and a few ribs, but apart from that, the skeleton was in pretty good shape.

His mouth once again struggled, trying to remember the complex tongue twists and mouth patterns that formed sounds and words.

- But we all... Different. - He said. Names. Weird. The dog was a dog, the blob was a blob, the skeleton was a skeleton, and he was... he was...

His head hurt. He decided not to think about it.

***

Can mountains sneak?

One would immediately think that such massive things like mountains cannot move silently, but he could swear that when he opened his eyes, the mountain was closer than before he closed them. He felt a weight on his left shoulder get lighter, as the dark red raven flew up. He did that sometimes.

The mist pillars were all gone. He hoped they were okay.

***

They finally got to the mountain.

He looked up at the huge wall of rock in front of him. They noticed a cave nearby. That would be a logical next step, unless he wanted to go above this mountain, or around it. It was a rather tall mountain. He could see the tip slicing the red clouds above in two.

But for now, they would rest. He sat down at a rock, and closed his eyes.

***

Rage.

Demons.

He rushed at them. They rushed at him.

He got hit by a huge fist. Next thing he knew, he was embedded in a wall.

- No... I... Must... Arghh!!! - He screamed, his soul responding, his build growing larger, almost matching that of the Juggernaut before him. He picked up his axe, and roared at the beast in front of him. The beast roared back, and they locked in a furious melee. His axe was quickly thrown out of his hands, as the two monstrous figures engaged in a slugfest. One punch after another, the Juggernaut was gaining ground, Hurin being already tired from the fight before. The demon caught his fist in his hand, and headbutted him, throwing his body back at the wall.

Hurin rolled on the ground, the wall finally stopping his momentum, his head slumped. The Juggernaut grinned, showing three rows of monstrous teeth. It came at the human, his maw opened wide.

The axeman opened his eyes, and on his right, he saw a glimpse of metal. It was his weapon, thrown away at the beginning of the fight. His eyes widened, as he reached for the axe. Too late however, as the monster was right above him, and teeth covered his vision, pain coursing through his body. He tried to scream, but he couldn't. He felt alone. Why did everyone leave him here? If he had some help... It didn't have to end like this. But no matter how long he waited, the end never came. He finally opened his eyes, only to see a red eye staring back at him. He blinked.

***

He woke up. It was all a dream. Just a dream. But the name... Hurin. It felt... comfortable. He decided that would be his "Name". Hurin. He pet the small dog that curled up on his lap when he was sleeping. The skeleton sitting nearby looked in his direction.

- Bad dream?

- You could say that. - Replied Hurin, shifting his position slightly, careful not to disturb the dog.

- You were asking for help... Is everything all right?

- I was alone, fighting a monster. It was stronger than me... - Hurin replied after sitting for a while in silence. - I... I don't know. It didn't really feel like a dream, more like... a memory.

- Look. - The skeleton leaned towards Hurin. - I've been talking with the others, and none of us wants to leave. You are not alone anymore. You are our King.

- King? What does that mean? - Hurin asked. Even though his speech improved by leaps and bounds lately, he still had difficulty grasping certain concepts.

- You are the strongest demon in this hell. And before we came to be from the mist, even though you didn't tell us what to do, your heart directed us. That's how we came to be. You can influence the birth and appearance of other demons. That is a thing only a King can do.

He? A demon? He... didn't know. It didn't seem right. But the skeleton never lied before. Why would it start now? If it said he was a demon, than that is what he was. He looked at his body, now covered head to toe in this rigid but soft shell that protected him from harm. He looked inward, sensing the twin crystals inside his own soul agreeing with the skeleton.

- Thank you. - He whispered.

The light in skeleton's eyes sparkled. Hurin smiled at the sight, and kept petting the dog at his lap, hoping it would soon wake up. It was time to move. He wanted to investigate the cave first, before choosing whether to go through the mountain or around it.

***

The blob is shining. Hurin stared at the creature in wonder, as it shined brighter and brigther in his hand. He whispered his thanks to the blob, and entered the cave.

Their procession was a weird one. First, a huge humanoid monster, clad in black carapace from head to toe, holding a shining ball in it's left hand. The monster was so big, it had to bow down it's head to not hit the ceiling.

On his left, a skeleton. Hurin didn't know how, but his friend found his lower jaw somewhere. The points in the skeleton's eyes were shining in bright red.

On his right, a dog. It was fully black, and it's tail was wagging the entire time. It tried to sniff something on the ground, and then it snorted a gout of flames.

The cave seemed to not have an end, but the walls have started to become more and more regular. The stone smoother, the ground more level, the overall shape of the tunnel more arch-like. Hurin could finally stop bending his head, as he looked around at the markings on the walls. There were few at first, but they quickly grew in numbers. Some were crude, like drawings of a child, some looked like sentences in a language unknown to him. Letters, numbers, pictograms, drawings, diagrams... The skeleton shrugged, not knowing what their meaning is either.

Soon, the procession came to a stop. Before them were huge double doors made of stone, without handles or any switches to open them. Hurin tried pushing on them, pulling on the cracks, getting his fingers between the door, but nothing worked.

- The markings... Perhaps they indicate some way to open the doors. - Said the skeleton, trying to decipher any meaning from the pictograms around him. - If I have enough time, maybe I could... - But his words were cut short by an explosion of sound, followed by rumble of rocks, as the door fell to pieces. The dust cloud subsided slowly, revealing Hurin, who tried to enlarge the opening made by his fist moments earlier.

- This way is faster. - Hurin said with a grin, squeezing through the hole.

On the other side, they were met with a beautiful sight. Gentle blue light shined from a hole in the ceiling of the cave, reflecting off of thousands of crystals embedded in the cave's walls, lighting up the sight in front of them. There was an underground lake of clear water, above which a circular crystal platform levitated. Rotating around the platform were three shining golden rings, with indecipherable inscriptions written on their inner sides. There was also a staircase made of light, allowing access from where they were standing, to the top of the platform. And at the top, they saw a hooded figure, standing between two obsidian pillars. The gatekeeper looked at them, and exclaimed.

- Aw, shit. - He said. - They found me.