“It works!” Flaxseed exclaimed, both startled and delighted. Spurred by the discovery, quickened his descent, boots skimming the darkness beneath them.
After what felt like an endless plunge, solid rock finally met their soles. Jared looked up. Above them, the sundered fumes had sealed again, a curtain so thick no sunlight could bleed through.
Around them stretched total blackness, broken only by the pallid glow that leaked from Flaxseed’s pendant and painted the worn stone steps at their feet. The stairway snaked downward while both walls were veined with dark-red patterns-tiny runes that writhed as if alive.
When Jared brushed the rock, an icy sting bit his fingertips, and the moment his divine consciousness reached in, a chill force threw it back.
“Watch yourself,” Jared warned in a low voice. “Those runes feed on divine consciousness. Demonic aura might crawl straight into your soul if you stare at it.”
Flaxseed lifted the pendant higher and looked away. Its radius of light widened just enough to reveal a crumbling stone gate at the base of the stairs.
Ancient words that read “Abyss of Fallen Demons” were carved across the lintel. The gate hung ajar, breathing drafts that carried indistinct whispers, as though a thousand restless souls grieved beyond it.
Flaxseed’s fingers tightened around the short blade at his belt, his heartbeat kicked hard against his ribs.
“Jared, in there…” whispered.
“We won’t know until we step inside,” Jared replied.
Jared pushed the stone slab wider. A wave of denser demonic aura slammed into the shield, its golden surface flickering wildly before it steadied.
A straight corridor stretched beyond, its walls set with faintly glowing crystals that lit the passage like a sickly daybreak.
The greenish light carried a chill that settled on their skin. The floor lay carpeted with bones, human, demons, even the massive ribs of beasts neither man had ever seen, proof of a slaughter ages old.
He knelt beside an almost intact demon skull.
A neat, smooth hole pierced the bone, its edges scorched.
“This one died to a single decisive strike,” muttered.
Flaxseed lifted a human forearm, half a charm carved into the dead white surface. The markings mirrored those on his pendant.
“This is my clan’s charm imprint,” breathed. “Did my ancestors fight here as well?”
Jared stood, eyes sweeping the dark. “Whatever left these signs planted more than restrictions. Something worse is waiting. Keep moving and stay alert.”
They pressed on. The farther they walked, the colder the air grew, and the whispering turned into a chorus at their ears.
The murmur spoke of agony and hatred; anyone with a weaker mind would have shattered already. Flaxseed’s scalp prickled. He summoned what little energy remained, yet the voices slithered inside, blotting his vision with whelming black.
“Steady your mind,” Jared barked. “Breathe…”
A burst of pure energy tore from Jared’s palm into Flaxseed. It thundered through his mind, shattering the sinister whispers.
Flaxseed reeled, sweat pouring down his face. “D*mn! I was this close to losing myself…”
“It’s demonic voices,” Jared muttered, his gaze darkening. “Fragments of ancient demons lurk at the abyss. They cannot strike us outright, so they gnaw at the mind instead. Keep the pendant tight, its aura holds them back.”
Flaxseed clutched the pendant against his chest and felt a wave of steady calm settle over him.
Together, they pressed on. At the corridor’s end, a fork appeared: the left passage reeked faintly of blood while the right carried the hush of running water.
Jared studied the map, everything beyond the stone gate was blank.
