Chapter 6: The Dark Pact
Luna's scream echoed into the abyss as Adrian was swallowed by the void. Her knees hit the rocky surface of the floating island, hands trembling as she stared into the darkness below. He was gone. The void had taken him.
A gust of cold wind swept through the chasm, carrying an eerie whisper that sent a chill down her spine. The massive creature that had emerged from the abyss let out a deep, reverberating growl, its glowing eyes locked onto her. But it didn't attack. It lingered, watching, waiting.
Luna's breaths came in ragged gasps. She couldn't stay here. She had to move. But where? How? Adrian was gone, and she was alone in an impossible world.
Then, the voice came.
"Do you wish to save him?"
Luna's body stiffened. The voice was neither male nor female, neither young nor old. It was everywhere and nowhere, speaking directly into her mind. She turned frantically, but there was no one there—only the shifting void and the floating ruins of this forsaken realm.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice hoarse.
"A being beyond your comprehension," the voice replied, calm, patient. "But that does not matter. What matters is your choice."
Luna swallowed hard. "What choice?"
"A pact," the voice whispered. "A binding agreement. Your soul, in exchange for his."
She recoiled. "My... soul?"
The darkness shifted, forming an outline of something vaguely humanoid, composed entirely of swirling shadows. "The void does not take without giving. He is not lost yet. But if you want him back, you must be willing to pay the price."
Luna's heart pounded in her chest. Adrian. Could she bring him back? Could she save him? But at what cost?
She clenched her fists. "If I agree... what happens to me?"
The figure stepped closer, its formless body flickering like a dying flame. "You will belong to the abyss. Your fate entwined with its will. You will become something... more. Something less."
Luna's mind raced. The creature from the void still loomed, unmoving, as if waiting for her to decide. Was this real? Could she even trust this entity?
But if she did nothing, Adrian would be lost forever.
She inhaled sharply, steeling herself. "I accept."
The shadows surged forward, wrapping around her like liquid chains. Cold, suffocating darkness swallowed her whole. The last thing she heard before the world faded was the sound of the abyss... laughing.