Chapter 27: The Abyss Beckons

Nathan ran until the air around him seemed to thicken, suffocating him with every gasping breath. His body was battered, and every muscle screamed for him to stop, but he couldn't. He couldn't look back. Not with the snarling creatures behind him, their grotesque bodies lurching closer with each step.

The ravine stretched on, twisting and turning, leading him deeper into the heart of the demon realm. The light was fading, swallowed by the oppressive blackness that seemed alive, growing denser with every passing second. His mind buzzed with a single thought: escape. But where? There was nowhere left to go, no way to get out of this forsaken place.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Nathan gave way, sending him tumbling into a chasm. He crashed into the rock walls, his body ricocheting off jagged edges before he finally hit the ground with a sickening thud. Pain exploded through his body, his vision swimming as he lay there, struggling to breathe.

The creatures above snarled, their claws scraping against the rocks as they circled the edge of the chasm, but they didn't jump. They didn't follow him down.

Nathan forced himself to sit up, every movement agonizing. His body was bruised and bloodied, but somehow, he was alive. He looked around, his heart pounding as he realized where he had fallen—into a cavern, vast and hollow, stretching out into the darkness.

The walls were covered in strange, pulsating veins of black and crimson, throbbing like the heartbeat of some colossal, unseen beast. The air here was different—thicker, more oppressive, as though the very atmosphere was filled with malice. And it wasn't silent. A low, guttural hum reverberated through the cavern, like the distant groan of a dying creature.

Nathan pushed himself to his feet, his legs wobbling beneath him. There was no turning back now. The creatures couldn't follow him down here, but something far worse waited in the shadows. He could feel it—watching, waiting.

As he limped forward, his mind kept drifting back to Angel. Her death had been too sudden, too cruel, but now… now, there was something even darker about this place. The world itself seemed to reflect his despair, feeding on it, twisting his sorrow into a living nightmare.

I should have saved her.

The thought clawed at his mind, gnawing away at his sanity. Every step he took seemed to sink him deeper into a void of hopelessness. The further he walked, the more the walls seemed to close in around him, the pulsating veins growing larger, more vivid. They throbbed in time with his heartbeat, and the hum grew louder, more unsettling.

Nathan stumbled, his foot catching on something solid. He fell to the ground, landing next to what looked like a pile of bones. His breath caught in his throat as he realized what they were—human bones, their white surfaces stained red with old, dried blood. Some of them were still wrapped in decaying remnants of clothing, tattered and rotten.

A cold shiver ran down his spine as he stared at the bones. How many had died here? How many had been trapped in this godforsaken place, just like him? The thought sent a wave of nausea crashing over him.

But then, something else caught his eye—a faint glimmer of light, almost imperceptible in the thick darkness. Nathan crawled toward it, his fingers brushing against cold metal. He picked it up, his heart skipping a beat as he recognized it—a small locket. He turned it over in his hands, his fingers trembling as he pried it open.

Inside was a photograph. Faded, worn from time, but still visible. It was of Angel. The same smile, the same eyes. Her face, so full of life, now nothing more than a memory.

Nathan felt the tears welling up in his eyes. Why was this here? How had Angel's locket ended up in this cursed place?

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the cavern, soft but unmistakable. "Nathan..."

Nathan froze, his blood turning to ice. He knew that voice. It was Angel's. But how? How could it be?

Slowly, he turned toward the darkness, his heart racing. The shadows shifted, and from the depths of the cavern, Angel stepped forward. Her body was shrouded in the same oppressive darkness that filled the cavern, her eyes glowing faintly, like two burning embers.

Nathan's heart ached at the sight of her. She looked so real, so alive—but something was wrong. Her skin was too pale, almost translucent, and her movements were unnaturally smooth, like a puppet on strings.

"Angel?" Nathan's voice cracked as he spoke her name, fear and confusion choking his words.

She tilted her head slightly, her glowing eyes locked onto his. "Why didn't you save me, Nathan?" Her voice was soft, almost pleading, but there was something hollow behind it, something dead.

Nathan's chest tightened with guilt. "I… I tried… I—"

"You left me." Her voice cut through him like a knife. "You let me die."

Nathan staggered back, shaking his head. "No… no, I didn't… I couldn't…"

Angel took a step closer, her face emotionless. "You abandoned me. Just like you'll abandon the others."

The words hit Nathan like a hammer. Abandon the others. Was that what he had done? Left them all to die while he ran, while he tried to survive?

His hands trembled as he clutched the locket tighter, the edges digging into his palm. "I didn't want to… I didn't want to leave you…"

Angel's expression didn't change. "It doesn't matter. You're already lost. You can't save anyone. Not me. Not yourself. Not anyone."

Nathan felt the world collapsing around him. He dropped to his knees, the weight of her words crushing him. Was it true? Was he just prolonging the inevitable? This world, this hell… it was designed to break him, to twist every bit of hope into despair. And now, even Angel's memory was being used against him.

The ground began to tremble beneath him, the pulsating veins in the walls growing more frantic. The hum in the air rose to a deafening roar, and from the shadows, grotesque figures began to emerge. They were half-formed, twisted abominations, their bodies a writhing mass of flesh and bone.

Angel stood in the center of the chaos, her glowing eyes fixed on Nathan. "This is your fault, Nathan. All of it. You can't run from it anymore."

The creatures advanced, their monstrous forms towering over him, but Nathan couldn't move. He was paralyzed, trapped in his own mind, his guilt binding him to the ground.

Just as the first creature reached him, its grotesque hand stretching out to grab him, a voice echoed through the cavern—not Angel's voice, but someone else's.

"Nathan! Get up!"

Nathan's head snapped up, his eyes darting toward the source of the voice. From the shadows, a figure charged forward, a blade glinting in the dim light as they cut through the creatures with a swift, brutal efficiency.

James.

He fought with a ferocity that Nathan had never seen before, cutting down the abominations with ruthless precision. Within moments, the creatures were retreating, their grotesque bodies slithering back into the shadows.

James turned to Nathan, his expression hard. "You can't stay here. This place will kill you if you let it."

Nathan stared at him, still dazed, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. "Angel… she—"

"That wasn't her," James said sharply, grabbing Nathan by the arm and pulling him to his feet. "This place feeds on your fear, your guilt. It will use whatever it can to break you. But you're not broken yet."

Nathan's legs wobbled beneath him as he stood, his body still trembling from the encounter. "I… I thought…"

"You thought wrong," James interrupted, his voice cold. "Now move. Before it comes back."

Without another word, Nathan followed James into the darkness, the echo of Angel's voice still ringing in his ears.

But as they disappeared into the cavern, Nathan couldn't shake the feeling that something inside him had broken.

And in this place, that was the beginning of the end.