A Harrowing Abyss

His eyes opened and below him was a swirling darkness, an abyss of an unfathomable depth. As he fell tumbling through the inky darkness, he saw others with him, their screams echoed in his ears. Amongst the souls with him, he saw something that stopped his heart and turned his blood cold as ice. Within the swirling darkness was a swarm of nightmarish creatures. Each was vaguely humanoid with wings larger than its body, a barbed prehensile tail-like stinger, and a pair of twisted horns. Their skin was scaled and craggily, pale almost translucent yet darkened like dried blood.

They darted around, laughing, screeching, tormenting, and taunting all that fell. The abhorrent creatures tormented their victims with claws, fangs, and makeshift weapons that resembled bone. The man felt an inexplicable sense of fear and dread. His mind shut down and panic took hold. The man kept quiet hoping and praying that the winged creatures would not take notice of him. Though that hope was quickly destroyed as he heard a voice from overhead.

"Look, look, another one!" one cried out. "Are you scared? No need to be afraid. Once you experience true pain, there will be no fear only, endless suffering," another said taunting him, "Welcome, welcome to your final home," another said laughing. As he fell more and more began to surround him. They buzzed around him. Some whispered to him the horrors he would see and feel, others screamed unspeakable obscenities. They did not give him reprieve or respite. Their incessant noises drove him to the brink of insanity, he tried to ignore them, to block them out, but their voices seemed to reverberate through him as if they were speaking into his very soul. "I'm sure the others wouldn't mind if we have a small taste," one said in a low whisper, "yes, yes, let's," another replied, before one grabbed a hold of him and bit into him. He felt an indescribable feeling not unlike pain coursing all throughout his very being. "Exquisite," the one said. "Succulent," another replied. "This one will be fun to corrupt," one more said between their laughter.

For how long he fell he did not know, for how long they tormented him he could not tell. From among the swarm one said, "Look, look, it is within sight. Soon, you will truly be amongst the lost, amongst the damned," it said laughing leading the swarm away, seeking their next victim. He looked down and saw a dark light expand out from around him, then a vast world opened up before him, he fell speeding to a blackened and bubbling surface below him. In an instant it was over, for the briefest of moments he felt an excruciating pain, an unbearable agony. Then all sensations vanished.

His eyes opened wide. He felt nothing, there was nothing. Then little by little strange sensations filled him, like something was being pulled to the center of his being. He felt something odd, something familiar yet entirely alien. A rhythmic pulsation began to manifest in the center of his chest. It exuded a sensation of warmth. Then that sensation of warmth was immediately swallowed by another, a crushing, choking feeling. He felt the urge to take a deep breath. That too felt odd, familiar, yet alien. He looked down, slowly moment by moment, he saw something flowing into him. Bit by bit it formed around, in and through him. Bone, tendon, vessels, muscle, and skin slowly began growing filling in the places where there was none.

It was then he realized he was alive once more, but it was not true life, it was a state betwixt that of death and life. He could not breathe, and he could barely move. He motioned as if to push against something, to grasp on to anything, but he found there was nothing. The liquid he was immersed in slipped through his fingers and feet yet held him fast like mud. He was drowning, immersed in a bitter liquid. The sensations told him it wasn't water, it was like sludge, oily and viscous. But those thoughts quickly faded as he struggled. Every muscle in his body began to spasm and twitch violently, his body seized and then tightened. He was dying once more. As his throat agonizingly shut closed, his consciousness soon faded.

He awoke once more. The pressure on his body was gone, he could move his limbs freely. An urge to breathe deeply overwhelmed him, but instead of a breath, black sludge flowed from his mouth. It flowed like a small river, spilling onto the ground. After a few moments he began to cough, and his lungs filled with air. As he tried to breathe deeper more of the sludge was forced out with each breath. He felt his stomach empty as if he had thrown up a rotted meal. Minutes after minutes had passed and between each breath the last bits of sludge escaped his lungs and stomach.

Exhausted from the effort he lay on his back. Slowly sights and sounds came into focus, he could hear and see. Vile agonized, and blood curdling screams echoed in his ears; thunder and lightning strikes deafened him; howling winds and evil sounds filled what remained. He looked up seeing a dark twisted skyline, there was no sun, moon, or stars, it was a twisted, chaotic, darkness. Slowly he stood up, it was then that he realized he was naked and cold. He looked around at the hellscape before him. Twisted slopes and mountains, vile and mangled vegetation.

In the distance he saw something moving, flying toward him. They were similar to the creatures he saw before. They were roughly twice the size as before, each varied in look and shape. Some appeared male, others female, some appeared to be both, and a few looked to be neither. Some carried barbaric weapons, they varied from blunt, sharp, and jagged, and appeared to drip with blood and viscera.

As they began to fly in close, he desperately tried to stand. He slipped and slid on the slick ground. With some effort he stood and began to move in a direction opposite to the creatures. They chased him from a far; but never too far behind, their shouts and cries echoed in the distance. After a time, he began to think that they were corralling him, leading him somewhere or someplace. Each breath he took was labored and heavy. His chest ached, his lungs on fire, his muscles strained with each effort, and his bones creaked and popped. Fear drove him forward and kept him going.

The creatures chased and stalked him through the uneven terrain. He ran so much that his feet had turned bloody. Every which way there were more. He climbed hills across stones, he moved through the twisted vegetation. As he climbed over a steep hill he saw across the horizon a large dome-like structure. His eyes were drawn to the structure, transfixed and enchanted. From the top of the structure was a twisting cyclone, icy rain poured from the twisting clouds, thunder and lightning danced across the clouds and flames billowed upwards toward the sky. Instinctively he knew he should avoid that place. When he heard the cries and shouts of the creatures behind him, fear overcame him. Terrified he took off toward the vile structure.

With each step he drew closer, he could see a massive bridge connecting the land to the structure. As he drew closer four more identical bridges came into view. Their design seemed to defy logic and physics. Under the bridge and leading to the dome he could see turbulent waters that were pitch black. As the cries of the creatures grew louder and louder, in fear and panic, he crossed the bridge. As he ran, he turned to see where the creatures were. At the edge of the bridge the creatures had stopped; they did not attempt to cross or even so much as move. It was as if they were and had always been statues. Their eyes radiated with a sickly yellow glow.

With each step he drew closer and closer toward a large imposing gate. The entire structure seemed to be made of twisted flesh and bone. Carved into every space of the structure was illegible marks and symbols that sent a chill down his spine and reminded him further of where he was. He looked back once more, even more now stood there; hundreds more each with glowing eyes that illuminated the dark. The vague thought of turning back quickly fled his mind.

As he came to the end of the bridge he looked up at the gate, he saw a relief that depicted twisted, dark, and horrific images. One depicted a winged being falling like a star into the ground splitting the ground below. He saw images of similar winged beings changing into dark vile creatures. He saw another of a sort of ritual of creatures that resembled the ones that had chased him emerging from a dark portal. Other images depicted figures holding tomes pointing toward a dark pit were humanoid figures were being thrown in. Lastly the gate depicted those creatures tormenting and torturing the humanoids that had been thrown in. He once more looked back to see hundreds more of the creatures standing at the bridge.

Now he was sure there was no one way to go but forward. He pushed on the door, unsettlingly he found that it moved with little effort. The door seemed to move of its own accord as if it had taken on a life of its own. Inside was a sweeping darkness that seemed to swallow all light and life. Stepping inside, his eyes darted side to side, up and down, forward, and back. The darkness was all consuming and anything could leap from the shadows and drag him into the darkness at any moment.

After he fully stepped into the structure, the gate behind him suddenly shut. It completely closed in a mere moment. Now he was surrounded by that choking darkness. He could feel his pulse pounding, and his imaginations ran wild, bloodthirsty creatures lurking in the darkness, abhorrent abominations stalking him from above. He rushed over to the gate trying to open it, but it did not budge. As his muscles strained to move the gate a sound echoed from behind him. He turned to where the sound came from. He could hear his heart beating in his ear and feel it in his chest.

"Welcome," a voice whispered in his ear.

He jumped backwards instantly, screaming, and falling to the ground, "stay back!"

Suddenly a ghostly pale flame appeared before him illuminating the area around him, and underneath this flame was what appeared to be some sort of humanoid figure. It wore black robes trimmed with violet and silver that obscured its face, and in its hand was a staff that held the flame that illuminated the room, as well as a book.

"Come with me," the robed figure said, before stepping off into the darkness.

"Who the hell are you!?" he yelled.

"All will be explained, for now come with me," it replied.

"Why should I, this is obviously a trap," the man said.

"You can stay here, but the creatures you so fear, will come soon," the figure replied as he continued on.

The man began to hear the sounds of the creatures echoing all around him. In a panic he followed the robbed figure. They walked across the empty room until they came across a staircase descending downward. The figure began to descend the stairs, and the man followed suit. The staircase spiraled downward for what felt like an eternity. With each step he felt as though he was descending further into madness, until they arrived at a floor with another massive door. On the mural of the door was another relief, depicting four icons. One depicted flames emerging from a pit, another showed an icy hellscape, another showed a field destroyed by storms and lightning, last was a void from which darkness poured forth.

"Here we are," the figure said tapping the door.

The icons began to glow, and the floor began to shake as the doors began to open.

Once the doors had fully opened the figured walked into the room obscured by darkness and fog. The man once more followed him into the room. After they had arrived at the center of the room the doors closed shut. Only the figure's flame illuminated the space around them.

"Now then," the figure said, "it is time," it said striking the ground with its staff. Flames across the room came to life illuminating the darkened space. "Your judgement awaits," the figure said turning to the man.