The Paladin in the Abyss

"What? What do you mean by that?" Bruto’s hand continually rubbed the handle of his Warhammer, seeking comfort from the warmth, "Honestly, this place feels more like the realm of the dead than where we just left..."

"It’s not surprising you feel that way." The Scholar nervously scanned the surroundings, "As the saying goes, where there is light, there is shadow, and the precursor to the Fallen Shadow Netherworld, the shadow plane, was the shadow of the Prime Material Plane. Later, the Goddess of Night, Shael, in order to compete with the former Goddess of Magic, Straya, connected the shadow plane with the negative energy plane, thereby creating the Fallen Shadow Netherworld. Everything here originates from the real world, but what is displayed is its darkest, most evil version..."

"Are you saying that if there’s a city in the real world, there would be a corresponding city here?" Alamir raised his Hardhead Hammer. Under normal circumstances, this magic weapon should shine as brightly as a torch, but now it emitted only a very faint light, a sight that made the Elf feel somewhat familiar.

"Yes." Kalalin nodded, "And not just cities, you might even recognize some familiar mountains, rivers, forests, and lakes, but the shadow plane has a way of distorting and corrupting them. As for what form that takes, we’ll likely have to discover it for ourselves."

"From the look of those trees, I can guess approximately." Lancelot observed the almost pure black plants nearby, and even with his vision, could not discern any bark-like texture within the shadow of the tree trunks, "But what concerns me most is potential dangers. What are the characteristics of the residents of this plane? What kind of enemies will we encounter? Is there anything in particular we need to be aware of?"

"Any creature that exists on the Material Plane might be encountered here in their shadow version. Compared to their normal versions, shadow creatures are more evil and more cunning, possessing excellent concealment abilities and can also launch attacks that have negative energy properties. This trait can directly damage the target’s life force, but it has the completely opposite effect on little Isha..."

"Right." Lancelot turned to look at the little vampire, "How are you feeling now?"

"I feel... amazing!" Little Isha’s eyes sparkled with surprise, "I don’t know if it’s appropriate to say this, but it’s like a fish finally returning to the water..."