Road To The Abyss

Lin Jian walked through the barren landscape, the weight of the woman's words still lingering in his mind. The curse, the darkness, the trials ahead—everything seemed to be pushing him toward something inevitable, something he wasn't ready for. Yet, there was no turning back now. The power inside him pulsed, guiding him forward like a constant reminder of the burden he carried. The road ahead was unclear, but he couldn't afford to stop.

The wind howled again, sending a chill through his bones. His surroundings were empty, save for the occasional crack in the earth or a shattered stone lying in the dust. It felt like he was walking through a graveyard, a world left behind, abandoned by time itself. No animals, no plants, not a single sign of life.

But he wasn't alone.

Every step he took seemed to echo in the silence, but that was only part of the unsettling feeling gnawing at him. The mark on his palm burned, like an unhealed wound, throbbing with a steady rhythm. It was as though something was watching him—something waiting for him to make a mistake, to falter in his journey.

"Focus," Lin Jian muttered to himself, trying to block out the creeping fear that sought to overtake him. He had no time for hesitation. His thoughts were sharper now, more focused than they had been before the trial. The power inside him stirred, beckoning him to use it, to command it.

But the words of the woman from the plains echoed again: "The darkness within you is always watching. It will test you. It will try to consume you."

Was the power a gift or a curse? Lin Jian wasn't sure anymore. He knew it had saved him, that much was undeniable. But it was also something far more dangerous. If the woman was right, he could not let the darkness control him. He had to control it, no matter what it took.

A sharp noise broke through the silence, a low growl carried on the wind. Lin Jian froze, his instincts immediately on edge. Something was near, something dangerous. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword, though he had never used one in combat. He felt the weight of the weapon in his grasp, more a symbol of protection than something he was truly skilled with. His fingers trembled slightly as he gripped the handle.

A shadow flickered in his peripheral vision, fast and fleeting. He whipped his head to the side, his pulse quickening. There, moving silently through the fog, was a creature. Its form was sleek and monstrous, its body shifting in and out of focus like a phantom.

Lin Jian didn't wait. His feet moved before his mind could catch up. He dashed toward the shadow, but as soon as he took a step, the creature lunged. It was like nothing he had ever seen. Its eyes were glowing red, its mouth filled with jagged teeth, and its body twisted and contorted in ways that defied logic. It moved with terrifying speed, faster than anything Lin Jian had ever encountered.

The creature's claws slashed at him, and Lin Jian barely managed to dodge, rolling to the side. His heart pounded in his chest, the adrenaline surging as he regained his footing. This was no ordinary beast—this was a creature born from the abyss, a manifestation of the very darkness the woman had warned him about.

The air around Lin Jian grew heavy as the creature circled him, its glowing eyes never leaving his. It hissed, a sound that sent chills down his spine, and then it charged again. There was no time to think, no time to second guess. Lin Jian reacted purely on instinct.

The mark on his palm flared to life, glowing with an intense, searing light. Without thinking, he thrust his hand forward. The power erupted from him in a burst, a wave of energy that shot toward the creature. The blast of light collided with the beast, sending it skidding back, but it didn't disappear. It howled in fury, shaking off the light as though it were nothing more than a nuisance.

Lin Jian's breath hitched. The creature wasn't defeated. It was enraged, and now, it was coming for him with even greater speed.

His mind raced. What am I supposed to do?

The answer came without warning. The energy inside him surged once more, this time more violently than before. His palm tingled with heat, but this time, the power felt different. It was darker, more chaotic, as if it was reacting to the beast's own darkness.

"Control it," he whispered to himself, his voice shaking. "Control it!"

He thrust his hand out again, but this time, the light that erupted from him was twisted, jagged, like something born from the deepest shadows. The wave of energy slammed into the creature, not with the soft glow of before, but with a ferocity that tore through the beast's form. The creature screeched as its body was torn apart, its form dissipating into dark smoke that vanished into the air.

Lin Jian collapsed to his knees, his hand still crackling with energy. His breathing was shallow, his chest tight. The power had felt wrong this time, like it had been infected by the darkness, as though the line between light and shadow had blurred within him. He couldn't control it. Not entirely.

The mark on his palm throbbed, pulsing with an almost malicious rhythm. Sweat dripped down his face as he stared at it, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

The creature was gone, but the feeling of its presence lingered in the air. Lin Jian knew this wasn't the last he would face. The abyss was watching him, waiting for him to slip up.

But there was no turning back.

He pushed himself to his feet, wiping the sweat from his brow. The ground beneath him shifted as though it were alive, cracking and groaning in response to his every move. This place, this wasteland, was not just a test—it was a reflection of the curse he carried, a place where the darkness could shape reality itself.

Lin Jian took a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest. The woman's warning was clear now: The darkness within you will try to consume you. But he wasn't ready to let it win. Not yet.