Disclaimer: I do not own Maplestory in anyway.

A/N: Another chapter done! Yay! Thank you to those of you who gave my story a bit of your time. I really appreciate it.

Blaze of Oz: Thanks for the review and support! I hope this chapter is up to your liking.

Haunani: Thanks for the review! No worries about reviewing every chapter, I understand how real life can get in the way.

Chapter Nine: Temptations

There was a gentle breeze blowing around Eckhart; yet there were no sounds of the birds chirping just nothing, only his own silent breathing comforted him. The room or place held an eerie aura that constantly ran chills down his spine. Eckhart opened his eyes in confusion. In front of him was a young man with dark black hair with green highlights and shiny black eyes. He stared into Eckhart's eyes. Eckhart couldn't tear his eyes away from the man's eyes. For some odd reason, Eckhart felt that this man's eyes were telling him to see something.

"Welcome to what they call the Ender's Eden. I'll be your tour guide in this Eden. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. If it is within my ability, I will try to answer you." He stepped back and broke eye contact. Eckhart studied the supposed "tour guide." He was wearing a white collared dress shirt, a black dress vest, black slacks, and black dress shoes. His eyes held a glint of darkness within them. "Eckhart, was it? You are one of the few still alive it seems." The tour guide turned toward the box on the peddle stool. "No matter, you do not yet understand anything." Eckhart stood up.

"Then teach me to understand. I don't know who I am, or where I came from." Eckhart asked urgently. The tour guide stared at him.

"I cannot tell you what you need to know at this moment. What you are asking from me I cannot answer. You must first seek the truth of this Eden. The truths that lie here; you must discover, before you are ready to know what I know." The tour guide replied softly. He looked at Eckhart with a pained expression. "Until you can see the truth of this Eden, I'm afraid that you will never get the information that you're looking for." The tour guide walked over to the box. "Even Arec doesn't know everything that is here." He paused and looked away from the box sadly. Eckhart suddenly felt pain through his head and collapsed to the soft grass. The tour guide continued to watch helplessly.

"ARGH!" Eckhart screamed out in pain. The tour guide kneeled down next to Eckhart. He touched Eckhart softly on the forehead.

"You shouldn't be so tense, Eckhart. In the end it will only hurt you." The tour guide sat on a fluffy white cloud and observed Eckhart withering in pain. Eckhart curled up into a ball and moaned.

"Make it stop! Make the pain stop!" Eckhart felt like his lungs were burning from the inside out.

Ellinia

The fairies were flying around joyously. The markets were busy as always. Oz was walking through the city with a bag of supplies in her hands. She walked quickly toward Grendel's house and went inside. She looked around before walking toward the kitchen to start cooking some soup. After cutting all of the ingredients into the pot, she allowed it to slowly cook as she tackled the stack of books on her desk. A few minutes into reading her book, she suddenly felt uncomfortable and looked around her. There wasn't anything wrong. She blinked a few times and returned to her book.

"There you are Oz. I've been looking for you." A wise voice rang through the room. Oz glanced up and saw Grendel levitating at the door leading to his library. "I'm glad that you're studying Oz."

"Master Grendel, I want to become an awesome magician like you; therefore, I need to learn what you learned and more. I'm going to surpass you." Oz smiled with determination. Grendel smiled softly and floated over to the chair next to her.

"That's a good goal Oz. Now there are some matters I need to attend to for a few days that require that you stay here alone. Will you be alright by yourself?"

"I'll be alright Master Grendel. You have no reason to worry about me." Oz said in reply with a smile. Grendel nodded and patted her head affectionately.

"Take care of the house while I'm gone alright Oz." Oz nodded and watched as Grendel floated out of the house. She then stood up and went to stir the pot of stew. There was a sudden ache in her chest; she looked up and out the window.

"Eckhart?" Oz frowned and glanced at her pot of stew. "I hope you're alright wherever you are."

El Nath

Evahart scanned her little room and sighed. Something was wrong downstairs; she could feel it from her bed. Evahart scooted toward the edge of her bed and swung her legs over the side. She hesitantly tested her footing and noticed the instability that came with it. She sat back down on her bed frustrated. It never occurred to her that she disliked the feeling of being helpless and worthless. Evahart sighed softly and tried again; this time with renewed vigor. She ended up wobbling for a few minutes, before she could walk correctly down the stairs. The sight that greeted her was the five job instructors hanging around the fireplace. The mood was dark and solemn. Evahart cleared her throat quietly gaining Arec's attention. He pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to her.

"You shouldn't be out of bed, Evahart. Your wounds still require time to heal." His voice was soft and gentle, yet Evahart felt the need to hear Eckhart's voice more.

"Where is Eckhart?" Evahart looked at the instructors that merely looked away from her. "Master Arec, where is Eckhart?" Arec sighed softly before pacing around. "Did you send him somewhere dangerous? The most dangerous place I've ever been was in my dreams. However for the people of the darkness that place would be considered the most dangerous; The Forsaken Palace." Pedro's head jerked toward Evahart.

"What is this Forsaken Palace?" Pedro asked with curiosity. Evahart sat down in one of the chairs.

"I'm not completely sure myself, Master Pedro." Evahart glanced at her hands. "In my dreams, the Forsaken Palace was a place in complete ruins. There were markings and writings on the walls. What those markings said; I'm not sure of what it could have said exactly. The Forsaken Palace was once a place full of vigor and dangerous technology. However, in my dream that place was no longer safe."

"How do you know all of this?" Pedro asked.

"I was told about it in my dream. There was someone waiting for me there. He had dark black hair with green highlights. His eyes were pitch black and shiny. He told me that I was to see the truth and to keep the world from falling into ruins. He rarely visits me in my dreams, but when he does it's always about something related to that place." Evahart looked at them again, and noticed Arec's tense body. "Where is Eckhart? What did you Masters make him do?" Evahart asked accusingly.

"We left him in a place where he can learn about the Child of the Darkness." Tylus replied loudly. Robeira glared at Arec from her chair next to the fireplace.

Ender's Eden

The tour guide walked around the place, while Eckhart laid on the ground in agony. There was a trail of blood dripping out of Eckhart's mouth. His heavy breathing could be heard through the silent Eden. The tour guide stopped walking and turned toward him.

"Eckhart, have you finally grasped the truth about this Eden?" The tour guide's voice was airy with a hint of bitterness. Eckhart sluggishly sat back up due to the dizzy sensation, making him unbalanced.

"This place… became tainted with human creations… the trees and water isn't really there. In fact the land is actually in ruins, from the soil to the buildings that reside here. The ground is covered in blood." As Eckhart said all of this, the illusion of a perfect environment gradually shattered into what he truly saw. "What is this place exactly?"

"I call this place the Forsaken Palace. Feel free to call it whichever one you desire. You have seen the truth of this place." The tour guide sat down on the bloody cloud. "Now, I did mention something about answering your questions to the best of my ability."

"First, who are you really? You seem to know a lot about this place." Eckhart asked bluntly. The tour guide chuckled painfully.

"My name is Zeru Orpheus Erebus, the eternal messenger of sorts to this unholy land. It was my curse to continue to educate the descendants to the Child of the Darkness, but I suppose Children of the Darkness should be more appropriate. Anything else you desire to know?" Zeru said responded with an emotionless expression.

"This place; where exactly is it located the world?" Zeru floated around Eckhart as he thought.

"Somewhere near the Mu Lung in Mu Lung Garden, I suppose. It doesn't matter really where it's located truthfully. This place could be accessed by the Children of the Darkness whenever and wherever. It was a matter of desire to visit it. Arec and the El Nath instructors managed to tie one of their doors to this place. It wasn't exactly them that tied this place to that door. It was someone from years ago that did so, but now I'm merely speaking off tangent to your question." Zeru ranted with a frown.

"I've been here before haven't I?" Eckhart inquired softly under his breath. Zeru nodded and turned toward the North as a door appeared there. Eckhart glanced up and saw it slowly open.

"It seems it's time for me to go; until we meet again, Eckhart." Zeru said as he slowly disappeared into thin air. Eckhart stood up gradually and brushed off the imaginary dust. The door fully opened and there stood Arec. Eckhart could see a pink handprint painted on his left cheek.

"That is enough for today. I shouldn't let you stay here for too long. It can be quite dangerous. Come. Robeira wishes to give you a full checkup for any injuries or mishaps." Arec said dejectedly. Eckhart blinked at his tone before nodding deliberately. Eckhart followed Arec out the door; before closing it, Eckhart took one last look around and saw Zeru standing in a huge puddle of blood smiling sadly. Zeru's mouth opened, but Eckhart could no longer hear what was being said before Arec closed the door.

A/N: Well, this one was a bit shorter than I anticipated, but I hope this chapter is worth the wait. Hopefully I can get a few more chapters out before the year is over. Please continue to support me. Reviews, alerts and favorites are gratefully appreciated.