As Isaac rested, he had a dream.
He was alone, in a vast open field of darkness. There was absolutely nothing around him. His mind was empty, his body limp.
He could not think or move, all he could do was listen as a soft voice spoke to him. The voice was simultaneously cruel and kind, hopeful and full of despair.
“My dear Paladin, you have travelled across the gateway between worlds, through the ocean of infinite creation and you have made it here, into the Endless Desert, where every grain of sand is itself another world.”
Isaac did not speak, Isaac did not react, Isaac only continued to listen unaware of everything around him, save for the voice that spoke to him.
“When you had left your world, you swam through the waters of pure liquid creation, there your soul had two choices, to be dissolved back into the cycle of reincarnation or to push back against the currents and make your way here, the place where only the greatest of souls can ascend to.”
“You have been called here Paladin, the Corruption is not a threat exclusive to all worlds, it spawned from one great terrible event that had caused all possibly realities to cry out in agony, to seal it in your world would only delay the inevitable. I require your help. You must go beyond your world and fight the Corruption not just from where it leaks out, but to fight it’s very heart. You must travel to the center of the Endless Desert, where the now desiccated Eternal Citadel lies, protected by the countless heroes who had fallen to the corruption, and from there kill it at it’s source.”
“Isaac, the corruption that plagues your body is nothing compared to the dark heart that rests within the Eternal Citadel, it can be cured, but to do so, you must make a pact. The Endless Desert defines all it’s heroes by an Axiom that they take the mantle of, with one, you can pull from the magic of creation and cast magic even greater than that of the divine.”
“Choose Paladin Issac of the Holy Order, choose an Axiom and let your body be purified, from there, you will go on a path to a mentor and allies, all of whom will be critical in your fight against the Corruption. You have much to learn. May the Eternal Citadel, in all it’s former glory bless you.”
In Isaac’s mindless state, where he processed all of what the voice said yet was aware of none of it, he saw six glowing lights in front of him, each one a different color, each one a different Axiom, a different oath.