Chapter 26: The Abyss Beckons

The darkness enveloped them in an instant, an unnatural weight that smothered all light, all sound. It was as if the world had ceased to exist, swallowed whole by an abyss that stretched beyond comprehension. Leo could feel the air pressing down on him, thick and suffocating, as if the very essence of the universe had turned against him.

His vision blurred, then went black, and for a moment, Leo wondered if this was it. Was this the end? Had he finally succumbed to the curse he'd fought so hard to escape?

But then, amidst the crushing void, he heard it. A voice.

Leo.

It was faint at first, a whisper in the darkness, but it grew louder, clearer. It was a voice he recognized. A voice that called to him, not from the depths of the abyss, but from somewhere far above, somewhere distant.

"Eris?" he murmured, his voice barely audible.

Leo, wake up!

The pull of the void was relentless, but Leo fought it, clawing his way toward the voice. His hands, shaking with fear and desperation, grasped at the empty air. He had to get to her. He had to—

Leo, you must wake up!

With a final, agonizing effort, Leo forced his eyes open. The world around him was still dark, but now there was a flicker of light, a small, bright point cutting through the shadows like a star in the night sky. It was growing larger, drawing him in.

And then, like an explosion, the darkness shattered. The world around him exploded into light, and he was no longer on the cold, barren ground. He was back on his feet, surrounded by a blinding flash of white.

For a moment, Leo stood there, disoriented, his heart racing as he tried to understand what had just happened. The air around him was still thick, but there was a subtle shift in the energy—a pulse of something ancient, something powerful.

The light faded, and he found himself in a new place.

It wasn't the desolate land where they had fought the Whispering Dark. It was something different, something... unreal. The ground beneath him was made of smooth, black stone, cracked and worn, as though it had been there for millennia. The air was thick with an eerie silence, and above him, the sky stretched endlessly, a swirling expanse of stars that blinked with an unnatural rhythm.

In the distance, Leo could see figures. Dark shapes, moving like shadows in the night. They were tall, impossibly tall, and they loomed over him, their presence suffocating, like watching specters drift through a storm.

Leo's breath caught in his chest. He wasn't alone.

Suddenly, a figure stepped forward, its form indistinct, its outline a blur. It moved with unnatural grace, like a being of pure energy, its presence both terrifying and magnetic.

You have failed.

The voice echoed around him, cold and distant.

Leo stepped back, his heart pounding in his chest. "What is this? Where am I?" he demanded, his voice shaking.

The figure did not answer directly. Instead, it moved closer, its shadow stretching, crawling like tendrils toward him.

This is the place where all lost souls come to rest. The hollowing abyss. The voice was colder now, darker, as if it came from something much older than the world itself. You sought power, Leo. You sought the fragments, and in doing so, you have doomed yourself.

Leo clenched his fists, trying to steady himself against the overwhelming weight of the creature's presence. "I didn't... I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted a chance to change my life!"

The figure laughed, a sound that echoed like the creaking of ancient bones.

You never had a chance, Leo. From the moment you were born, you were marked. Your luck was never your own, and the fragments you sought were not your salvation.

Leo's thoughts raced. He had heard something similar before—he had known deep down that his curse, his fate, was sealed long before he ever touched the staff. But hearing it from this... thing, this manifestation of something ancient and terrible, made it all too real.

What... what do you want from me? Leo managed to ask, his voice barely a whisper.

The figure moved closer, its form becoming clearer. It was tall, its body cloaked in darkness that seemed to shimmer and shift like smoke. Its eyes, though, were unmistakable—two burning red orbs that seemed to pierce through Leo's very soul.

I want you to understand, it said, its voice low and guttural. You were never meant to escape this fate. The curse you carry is not your own. It is older than time itself, born from the deepest corners of the universe. And now, you will become part of it. You will join the Hollowing.

Leo stumbled back, his heart pounding in his chest. The creature's words cut through him like a blade, and for a moment, he thought he might lose himself to the darkness once and for all.

But then—there was a shift.

The world around him flickered, and suddenly, he was no longer alone. He could feel them—his companions—standing with him, their presence like a light against the encroaching dark. Eris, Kaelara, Marcus—they were all there, their eyes determined, their weapons drawn.

"We won't let you take him!" Kaelara shouted, her sword raised high.

Eris stepped forward, her eyes narrowed with defiance. "We've come too far. We won't let Leo be consumed by this."

The figure turned its burning gaze on them, its form shimmering as if it was both there and not there at the same time.

You cannot stop this, it said, its voice growing louder, more insistent. You are nothing. The Hollowing cannot be undone. This is the end.

Leo looked at his friends, his heart heavy with the weight of their sacrifice. They had come this far—faced so many horrors—yet here they were, about to face something far worse than any of them could have imagined.

But he couldn't let them go. Not like this.

"No," Leo whispered, his voice gaining strength. "We've made it this far. I'm not giving up now."

With a desperate cry, Leo reached for the staff that had once pulsed with power in his hand, now lying on the black stone. The fragments, the curse—it had all led to this moment. He would fight.

He would not give in.

As his fingers closed around the staff, the power inside it surged, flooding him with a new, raw energy. For a moment, the darkness seemed to recoil, the creatures around them shrieking in fear as Leo's body began to glow with an intense, blinding light.

And then, for the first time in what felt like forever, Leo felt free.

The voice of the Hollowing, the whispers of the darkness—it all faded.

He wasn't just fighting for himself anymore. He was fighting for all of them.

With a cry of defiance, Leo thrust the staff forward, and the world exploded.