Chapter 5: The Voidborn Awakening

Chapter 5: The Voidborn Awakening

The moment the island began to sink, panic surged through Luna's chest. The abyss beneath them wasn't just darkness—it was alive, shifting and writhing like a sentient void, pulling them downward with an invisible force.

Adrian grabbed Luna's hand, his grip tightening. "Jump!"

They leaped toward the next floating island, barely making it as the platform they had stood on was swallowed by the abyss. The air itself seemed to hum, charged with an energy that made their skin prickle. Around them, the floating islands drifted erratically, some spinning, others crumbling into the abyss below.

Then, the eyes blinked again.

A deafening roar shattered the silence, sending shockwaves rippling through the chasm. The abyss was no longer passive—it was waking. From its depths, something enormous began to rise. A serpentine form, its body impossibly long, coiled and twisted within the void. Jagged protrusions lined its back, and its skin shimmered like liquid shadow.

Luna's breath hitched. "What... is that?"

Adrian's face was pale. "Something that should never have been disturbed."

The creature, its eyes glowing like twin suns, uncoiled fully, its massive head rising level with the floating islands. Tendrils of darkness extended from its form, reaching toward them. The air around it distorted, bending reality itself as it moved.

"We need to get out of here!" Luna shouted, pulling Adrian forward.

The islands continued to shift, moving unpredictably as though responding to the monster's presence. One collapsed into the abyss, sending rocks tumbling into the void with no sound, as if they had ceased to exist entirely.

Adrian pointed to a distant landmass, larger and more stable than the others. "That one! If we can reach it, we might be safe!"

Luna nodded, and together they jumped from island to island, narrowly avoiding the creature's tendrils as they lashed through the air. One struck too close, grazing the edge of a floating platform and causing it to disintegrate instantly.

They reached the final jump. The gap was wide, far too wide.

Adrian turned, determination hardening his features. "I'll throw you across."

"No!" Luna shook her head. "We go together!"

The void-born beast let out another bone-rattling shriek, its massive form closing in. There was no more time to argue.

Adrian lifted Luna and, with every ounce of strength, hurled her forward. She screamed as she tumbled through the air, landing hard on the other side, rolling against the dirt.

She turned just in time to see Adrian leap—but the moment he left the ground, a tendril lashed out, wrapping around his ankle.

"No!" Luna scrambled to her feet, reaching out, but Adrian was yanked downward, his fingers barely brushing the edge of the platform before he was dragged toward the abyss.

His eyes met hers, wide and full of defiance. "Run!"

And then, he was gone.