Echoes of the Abyss

The cold air inside the ruins was suffocating. Shin stood at the center of the chamber, his sword still vibrating from the force of his final strike. The remnants of the collapsed ritual still lingered—a strange, almost imperceptible energy that clung to the very air like an unshakable whisper.

Kaede and Renji flanked him, both breathing heavily from the fight. The Cultists had vanished, their shadows retreating into the unseen depths of the structure. The eerie silence that followed was more unnerving than the battle itself.

"Did we stop it?" Kaede asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Shin wasn't sure. The sigils had been destroyed, the energy disrupted. But the whispers—that sensation of something ancient reaching toward him—hadn't faded completely. It was still there, like an echo trapped between the walls.

Renji wiped his forehead, his fingers coming back damp with sweat. "We should leave. This place isn't safe."

Shin hesitated. Something told him they hadn't uncovered everything yet. His gaze flickered across the chamber, searching. There had to be more.

Then he saw it.

At the far end of the room, partially buried beneath the rubble, a narrow passageway stretched into darkness. The stone around it was cracked and weathered, but unlike the rest of the ruins, the carvings on these walls were untouched—pristine, as if time itself had refused to erode them.

Kaede followed his gaze. "You're not seriously thinking of going in there, are you?"

Shin didn't answer. Instead, he moved forward, stepping cautiously over the debris. The closer he got to the passage, the heavier the air became. It was as if something on the other side was waiting.

"Shin," Renji called out. "This isn't a good idea."

Shin glanced back at them. "We came here looking for answers. We're not leaving without them."

Kaede sighed. "Of course you'd say that."

Despite her protest, she followed. Renji shook his head, muttering under his breath before reluctantly stepping forward as well.

As they entered the passage, the last of the torchlight from the chamber behind them faded. The walls closed in, the only illumination coming from the faint glow of the ancient carvings. The symbols pulsed rhythmically, as if responding to their presence.

Shin's heartbeat matched the slow, eerie cadence.

The tunnel twisted and turned, leading them deeper underground. The air grew colder, damp with the scent of something old and forgotten.

Then, suddenly, the passage widened into an open space.

Shin stepped into what could only be described as an underground shrine. Towering stone pillars, covered in intricate carvings, surrounded the chamber. At the center stood an altar—cracked and worn, but undeniably significant. Faint traces of violet energy flickered around it, remnants of whatever ritual had taken place here long ago.

Kaede shuddered. "I don't like this place."

Renji approached the altar, his fingers brushing over its surface. "This is… definitely connected to the Void Cult. Look at these symbols. They're different from the ones we've seen before."

Shin examined them closely. Unlike the other carvings, these weren't just markings—they told a story. Images of figures with eyes of pure darkness, reaching into the void itself.

Then, at the very end of the sequence, a depiction of something monstrous.

A being wreathed in shadows, its form shifting, undefined, yet unmistakably powerful.

Shin's fingers hovered over the final carving. The moment he touched it, a surge of energy pulsed through him.

And then—

Darkness.

Shin's vision blurred as the world around him dissolved. He was no longer in the shrine. No longer in the ruins.

He stood at the edge of an abyss.

The whispers grew louder, circling him like unseen specters. The air was thick, suffocating, pressing against his lungs.

Then, from the depths of the darkness, a shape began to form. A massive, writhing presence, shifting and twisting, as if reality itself couldn't contain it.

The entity loomed before him, and though it had no eyes, he could feel its gaze pierce through him.

You have seen what should not be seen.

Shin gasped, gripping his head as a wave of agony crashed over him. His mind burned, images flashing too fast to comprehend. A ruined world, consumed by void. A figure standing alone against the darkness. A blade of pure nothingness.

Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

Shin staggered, his knees nearly buckling beneath him. The shrine came back into view. The altar. The carvings. Kaede and Renji staring at him, concern in their eyes.

"What the hell just happened?" Kaede demanded.

Shin struggled to catch his breath. He didn't know how to explain it. He had seen something—felt something—that he couldn't put into words.

Renji frowned. "Shin… your eyes."

Shin blinked.

Then he saw his reflection in the altar's cracked surface.

His normally dark irises had changed. A faint, eerie glow now flickered within them—a remnant of whatever force he had just encountered.

Kaede's expression darkened. "That's not normal."

Shin clenched his fists. No, it wasn't. But he couldn't shake the feeling that it was only the beginning.

-----------

For Advance chapters visit : patreon.com/Oskin