When the Void Calls

"Now!"

They surged forward, the air filled with the sound of steel clashing and the guttural roars of monsters. The abomination turned its grotesque, skull-like head toward them, its burning eyes narrowing as it raised its massive, clawed hand. Its minions charged like a frenzied swarm, their movements erratic and fueled by madness.

Their hollow, yellow eyes glinted with a sick, primal hunger, devoid of reason or loyalty.

Ezra gritted his teeth, his blade gleaming as he gripped it tightly, cutting through the tide of chaos. The weapon sliced through flesh and bone with ruthless precision, the sharp edge biting into the grotesque forms of the creatures.

Black blood sprayed into the air, splattering across his face and clothes. It dripped onto the ground in thick, viscous streaks, mingling with the dirt beneath his boots.

There was something different about him—a sharpness, a speed and agility that seemed almost otherworldly.

Each movement was fluid, every step calculated. He ducked under a swipe from one of the larger monsters, spinning and driving his blade into its side. A guttural screech tore from its throat as it crumpled to the ground.

As he wiped his face with the back of his hand, some of the foul liquid slipped into his mouth. Ezra spat immediately, a disgusted grimace contorting his features. "You all taste as disgusting as you look," he snarled, his voice dripping with disdain.

A searing pain exploded in his calf, and he staggered, his lavender eyes snapping downward. A dog-like monster, its jaws filled with jagged teeth, had latched onto his leg, its maw clamping down hard. Blood poured from the wound, pooling beneath him in dark crimson streaks.

"You bitch!" he growled, his fury igniting into action. Without hesitation, he raised his free hand, his fingers trembling as white flames burst forth from his palm. The flames roared to life, engulfing the creature in a blinding inferno. Its screeches of agony echoed through the battlefield, the sound grating and primal, before it was reduced to nothing but ash, leaving only the faint, acrid smell of burnt flesh lingering in the air.

Ezra stumbled slightly, his injured leg buckling beneath him for a brief moment. He gritted his teeth against the pain, forcing himself upright as the battle raged on around him. His gaze darted toward the abomination, which stood unmoving, its glowing eyes locked onto him with a chilling intensity.

He could feel its aura pressing down on him like a weight, suffocating and inescapable.

It's not time yet," Ezra muttered, his voice barely audible over the din of chaos around him.

His gaze darted frantic but focused. Shirley was nowhere in sight. A bitter smirk tugged at his lips. "Seems like he made it, then."

The monsters kept coming, their numbers seemingly endless, a relentless horde swarming like ants. Ezra stumbled backward, his legs barely holding him up as his vision blurred, streaked with blood that dripped steadily from a cut above his brow.

The bodies of the slain lay scattered around him, black blood pooling beneath his boots, the metallic stench clawing at his senses.

And then, towering above it all, was the abomination.

It stood motionless amidst the carnage, its grotesque form illuminated by the flickering light of the chamber. Its glowing eyes bore into him, unblinking, calculating. Ezra's breath hitched as he locked eyes with the creature, the suffocating weight of its presence pressing down on him like an unrelenting vice.

"What?" Ezra rasped, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. He staggered forward a step, swaying slightly but refusing to falter.

"You think I'm not worth your time?" His voice cracked, a strained cackle escaping his lips as he spat blood onto the ground.

The laugh was hollow, wild, tinged with something Ezra himself couldn't fully name—desperation, anger, or maybe madness.

He didn't know where this newfound confidence had come from. Was it the adrenaline pumping through his veins, numbing the pain and sharpening his senses? Or was it something deeper, darker—an unrelenting fire stoked by rage, by hatred, by the primal need to survive?

His body ached with every breath, but he refused to show weakness. Gritting his teeth, Ezra raised his dagger, the weapon trembling slightly in his bloodied hand. His lavender eyes burned with defiance, locking onto the abomination's hollow gaze.

"You're not the only one who gets to decide who's worth what," he growled, his voice steady despite the chaos swirling around him. His bloodied fingers tightened around the hilt of his weapon as he took another shaky step forward. "If I'm going down, I'm taking as many of you with me as I can."

The abomination seemed utterly unfazed as it turned away, its towering frame moving with a chilling lack of urgency. Its hulking shoulders shifted, the sharp ridges of its skeletal head illuminated by the flickering remnants of light in the shattered chamber.

Ezra clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms until they threatened to break the skin. The sharp sting of humiliation burned through him, hotter than any fear he'd felt before. It wasn't just terror anymore—it was anger. Pure, unrelenting anger.

The way it dismissed him, as though he were no more than a speck of dirt beneath its massive hooves, made his blood boil. It wasn't the fear of dying that gripped him now. It was the fury of being treated as though he didn't even matter.

The monstrous creature didn't even bother to acknowledge him further. Instead, it turned its grotesque, skull-like head toward the portal, its focus unwavering. Ezra stood frozen, his body aching and his thoughts scrambling for a plan.

His gaze flicked toward the portal. Two jagged claws had emerged from the swirling darkness, each one impossibly long and razor-sharp. They clawed their way forward, scraping the ground with a screech that sent shivers down his spine. Whatever was coming through that portal was even worse than the abomination. Ezra's breath caught in his throat.

The portal pulsed, radiating waves of unnatural energy that warped the air around it. The light it emitted cast strange, flickering shadows across the chamber walls. Ezra's knees felt weak as he watched, dread settling deep in his chest.

The abomination let out a low, guttural sound, almost like a growl of satisfaction, as it stepped closer to the portal. Its crocodile-like tail swished with a menacing rhythm, sending debris scattering across the floor.