Chapter 23 - The Abyss Stares Back

The Divine Crystal's glow had vanished.

And with it, so had our momentary hope.

The streets of the fort were eerily silent. Not the silence of peace, but the kind that clings to a battlefield after the dead have settled. The city was still standing, but it felt hollow—like a corpse still pretending to breathe.

Blood smeared the stone beneath my feet, a reminder of the battle we barely survived. Yusheng was unconscious, barely holding on. Zhao Yue's left arm hung limp, her face twisted in pain, but she still stood, gripping her sword like she'd rather die than let it go.

I wiped the sweat and blood from my forehead and exhaled.

The Outer God was gone.

But it wasn't defeated.

No, it had allowed us to live.

It was watching.

Waiting.

I turned my gaze toward the towering stronghold at the city's heart, where the so-called leaders of this place resided. A deep pit had settled in my stomach ever since we arrived here, and after what we just witnessed, I finally understood why.

The people in charge weren't just surviving this apocalypse.

They were feeding off it.

System Notification:

[Warning: Corruption in the area is still rising.]

[Survival Chance: 18% → 12%]

[The Outer Gods have taken notice of you.]

Twelve percent.

A fucking joke.

I clenched my fists. If that thing had actually wanted us dead, we wouldn't be standing right now. No, this was worse. It was treating us like insects crawling through its domain, watching how long we would last before it crushed us.

Zhao Yue's sharp voice cut through my thoughts.

"We need to move. Now."

She was right. We couldn't stay here. The fort's rulers had soldiers, resources, and a fortress. We had two barely functioning bodies and a dying man.

And worse—if they were really in league with the Outer Gods, then the entire city was a trap.

A freshly baited one.

We moved through the back alleys, sticking to the shadows. The fort was still active—people were alive, some peeking out of their homes, eyes hollow with fear. They weren't mindless cultists.

Not yet.

But something was wrong.

The people here weren't starving, weren't desperate. Unlike the outside world, where survivors clawed for scraps, this city had food. Clean water. Protection.

It didn't make sense.

And then I saw it.

A group of soldiers dragging a struggling man through the street. He screamed, begging for mercy, but no one stopped them. No one even looked. The people just lowered their heads, pretending not to see.

And then the man locked eyes with me.

"They're taking us! They're—!"

A blade slammed into his gut.

His scream cut off into a choked gurgle. Blood spilled onto the stone as the soldiers kept walking, dragging his body along like discarded meat.

Zhao Yue inhaled sharply.

"They're not just ruling this place," I murmured. "They're feeding something."

I glanced around at the people still avoiding our gaze.

They weren't free.

They were livestock.

And we had walked straight into the slaughterhouse.

We found shelter in a collapsed inn, barricading the doors behind us.

Yusheng barely stirred as I set him down. His wounds weren't fatal, but he was in bad shape. Zhao Yue slumped against the wall, clutching her injured arm.

"We need to figure out our next move," I said.

She exhaled. "What do you suggest? Marching into the governor's palace and demanding answers?"

I unsheathed Shusui, the sword I'd taken from the fort's underground vault. The weight was perfect, the balance deadly. This weapon had been hidden. Locked away.

It wasn't meant for the rulers of this place.

It was meant for someone like me.

Someone who would tear them down.

But not yet.

Not like this.

"We need information," I said. "We need to know why the Outer Gods are interested in this city."

Zhao Yue nodded. "Then we find someone who knows."

The problem was that anyone who did know the truth was either dead or working for the enemy.

Unless—

A thought struck me.

"The dungeons."

Zhao Yue frowned.

"The city had prisoners before the apocalypse," I said. "And if these rulers are making sacrifices… they'd start with the ones they didn't care about."

She caught on immediately.

"If there are survivors," she murmured, "then they're next."

And they might be the only ones who could tell us what the hell is really happening here.

The fort's dungeons were beneath the governor's palace. A place meant to hold criminals before the world ended.

Now, it was a prison for something worse.

We reached the outer walls under the cover of night. The city was quiet—too quiet.

No guards. No patrols.

Because they didn't need them.

The doors weren't meant to keep people out.

They were meant to keep people in.

The entrance reeked of old blood and piss. We pried open the rusted gate, stepping into pitch-black corridors.

Then we heard it.

A whisper.

A rustling sound, like something slithering.

Then—

A voice.

"Kill me… please…"

Zhao Yue tensed beside me.

I stepped forward, Shusui raised—

And saw them.

Rows of cells.

People inside.

But they weren't just prisoners.

Their bodies were changing.

Their skin bubbled, their eyes darkened into bottomless voids. Some were barely human anymore—mouths stretching unnaturally, fingers elongating into claws.

This wasn't some ancient ritual.

This was new.

Something had just started turning them.

One prisoner, still mostly human, lifted his head. His eyes gleamed faintly in the dark.

"You shouldn't have come here," he rasped. "You're already too late."

My gut twisted. "Who are you?"

His head tilted, bones cracking. "A dead man."

Then he laughed.

A sound filled with madness, despair—

And knowledge.

"The leaders?" he whispered. "They made a deal. They didn't want to starve. They wanted power. So they sacrificed the first batch."

My stomach turned. "The first batch?"

His smile widened.

"Us."*

System Notification:

[You have uncovered a Forgotten Truth.]

[The Fort's leaders made their first deal with the Outer Gods one week ago.]

[They traded prisoners for power. Now, the sacrifices are growing.]

[Quest Updated: The Truth Beneath the Fort]

Objective: Kill the city's rulers.

Optional: Learn the full extent of their deal with the Outer Gods.

Optional: Destroy the sacrificial shrine.

Failure Consequence: You will become part of the next sacrifice.

I inhaled sharply.

The apocalypse had only begun a month ago.

And these bastards had already sold their souls.

The rulers weren't just corrupt.

They were the first to kneel.

And now?

Now, they were leading the rest of the city straight into the abyss.

My grip tightened around Shusui.

I wasn't here to save them.

I was here to cut them down.

To end this nightmare.

No matter what it took.