Chapter 69: The Awakening(Continue)

Nathan's chest tightened as the darkness surged around them. The last thing he saw was Angel's ghostly figure dissolving into the shadows before everything went black. He gasped for air, clawing his way back to consciousness, but the oppressive weight of the Abyss clung to him.

When his vision cleared, Nathan found himself lying on cold stone. His body ached, and he struggled to his feet, blinking against the dim, eerie light that filled the cavernous space. Around him, the others were stirring—King, Desire, and Jeremiah—each one groaning as they regained consciousness.

"Where… where are we now?" Jeremiah rasped, his voice shaky.

Nathan looked around. They were in a vast, underground chamber, the walls lined with jagged, obsidian spikes. The air was thick with a strange, sickly-sweet scent that made his stomach churn. And in the distance, he could hear the faint, rhythmic hum of something alive… something massive.

Desire rose to her feet, her expression hard. "We've been pulled deeper into the Abyss. This place… it's a living nightmare."

Nathan's thoughts raced, his heart heavy with the memory of Angel's ghostly figure. "She's still here," he muttered, barely audible.

King shot him a confused look. "Who?"

"Angel," Nathan whispered, his voice hollow. "She… she's trapped here."

Desire stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. "That wasn't her, Nathan. Whatever you saw, it wasn't Angel. The Abyss warps everything, including the dead."

"But what if she's still—"

"We have to focus," Desire cut him off. "This place will consume us if we let it. We can't afford to lose ourselves here."

Nathan clenched his fists, his knuckles white. Every instinct told him to fight, to go after whatever was left of Angel, but Desire was right. The Abyss was already pulling at the edges of his mind, whispering doubts and fears. He had to stay focused. They all did.

"Let's move," he finally said, his voice steady. "We need to get out of here."

As they began to make their way through the twisted chamber, the ground beneath them trembled, and a deep, guttural roar echoed through the walls. The sound was deafening, vibrating through Nathan's bones. He exchanged a glance with the others—each of them pale, fear etched into their features.

"What the hell was that?" Jeremiah asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't think we want to find out," King replied, his hand tightening around his weapon.

But they didn't have a choice. The roar grew louder, and suddenly, the walls of the chamber began to shift, the jagged spikes retracting and reforming into grotesque, moving shapes. Nathan's heart raced as he realized what was happening—the Abyss was alive, and it was responding to them.

Desire's eyes widened. "Run!"

They bolted through the chamber, the walls closing in behind them. Nathan could feel the presence of the Abyss pressing closer, its twisted form growing more violent with each step they took. The ground beneath their feet cracked and shifted, forcing them to dodge falling debris and sharp outcroppings of stone.

Just when it seemed they would be crushed, they burst through a narrow opening and found themselves in a vast, open space. The air here was colder, the darkness thicker. In the center of the room stood a massive stone altar, and on it lay a shimmering, ancient sword. Its blade was black as night, pulsating with an eerie, otherworldly energy.

Nathan's breath caught in his throat. He knew, without a doubt, that this was the mythical sword they had been searching for.

Desire approached the altar cautiously. "That's it. The sword of the Abyss."

Jeremiah looked uneasy. "It doesn't look… natural."

"It's not," Desire replied. "But we need it if we're going to survive."

Nathan stepped forward, his eyes locked on the blade. The sword seemed to call to him, its dark energy pulling at his very soul. As his fingers brushed the hilt, a surge of power coursed through him, filling his body with an almost unbearable heat.

"Nathan, wait!" King shouted, but it was too late.

The moment Nathan grasped the sword, the room erupted in chaos. Shadows poured from the walls, swirling around them like a living storm. The temperature dropped, and the ground beneath them split open, revealing a chasm of endless darkness.

And from that chasm emerged the creature.

It was enormous, its body a mass of writhing, black tendrils. Its eyes were pits of pure malice, and its gaping maw dripped with the blood of countless victims. The Abyss itself had taken form, and it was hungry.

Nathan's grip on the sword tightened as the creature lunged at them. He barely had time to raise the blade before the monster's tendrils slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. The impact rattled his bones, but the sword's power surged through him, fueling his strength.

Desire and King fought beside him, their magic flaring in desperate bursts as they tried to fend off the creature. But it was relentless, its tendrils whipping through the air with deadly precision.

"We can't keep this up!" Jeremiah shouted, dodging a tendril that nearly impaled him.

Nathan knew he was right. They were outmatched, and the Abyss wasn't going to let them leave alive.

But the sword… it was their only chance.

With a shout, Nathan pushed himself to his feet, raising the sword high. The dark energy within it pulsed, responding to his will. He focused all his anger, all his grief into the blade, and then, with a cry, he brought it down.

The ground trembled as a wave of black fire erupted from the sword, consuming the creature in an inferno of dark magic. The monster screeched, its body writhing in agony as the flames devoured it.

For a moment, Nathan thought they had won.

But then the creature began to reform, its body knitting itself back together from the shadows.

Desire's eyes widened in horror. "It's regenerating!"

Nathan's heart sank. They couldn't kill it—not here, not in the heart of the Abyss.

"Run!" he shouted, his voice hoarse.

They didn't need to be told twice. As the creature continued to regenerate, the group bolted for the far end of the chamber, where a faint light flickered in the distance.

But even as they ran, Nathan knew the battle was far from over. The Abyss was alive, and it wasn't going to let them leave so easily.

And neither was Angel.