Shadows of the Gate

The group made their way to their next destination, venturing into the thick of the forest, where the trees around them became more twisted and evil the deeper they went.

Something in the air was heavy with unseen pressures, and the distant sound of crashing thunder seemed to stagger out of time with the ominous hum of the seal inside Alex's chest.

Each step dragged more than the last, the shackles of the Abyss pulling stronger, demanding.

The ghost was awake, and it was whispering to him.

The trees engulfed them, and the shapes of their makeshift trunks and crooked branches morphed into hateful hands; he could almost feel them closing around his throat, unmerciful, unyielding.

His heart was pounding painfully in his chest, the whispers in his mind getting closer, with greater intensity.

But every time he heard them, he recalled Mara's words, her hand resting on his arm, grounding him.

We're with you. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it together.

Knows that his confirmer knows there is a load heavier on his shoulder.

The Abyss was waiting for him to fall, to crumble, and he couldn't risk it.

"We're close," Gideon said, his voice gravelly as he surveyed the darkened woods.

His staff glowed eerily, casting light on the way ahead.

The ancient wizard was more silent than ever; whatever the glorious battle that awaited them, it clearly filled his mind.

His magic had been spread thin after the battle with Darius, but there was no going back now.

They all knew what was on the line.

Alex's mind momentarily wandered back to Astra's cryptic warnings, the prophecy of the coming gate.

The heaviness of it lay in his gut like a stone. All will be consumed by The Abyss.

He had to stop it.

But was there any part of him left to be saved? Each win, each battle, brought him closer to the call of the gates. Would he have the strength to resist when the end battle arrived?

The path ahead appeared to run on infinitely into the dark, the trees growing thick, closing in like vice grips, trying to corral them. All of Alex's instincts were firing.

He could sense it, the presence of something old and evil, lurking just beyond his vision.

He heard it now, a scurry of motion, a sound not quite human.

"They're here," Alex said under his breath, drawing his sword. Painfully, the seal on his chest flared, as if the air had shifted. The air crackled with a stifling energy, evil thrumming beneath his feet.

It was as if the forest had suddenly come to life.

Hunger-filled, angry eyes stared out from the darkness as figures started to emerge.

They vanished, dim at its coal colors; the thin layer of dirt coating everything turned to ash by a flame no one could see, but the sound of their luminescence flickering lightly under the wind silenced the air.

They moved not as men do, but quickly, closing around the group on all sides.

"Stay close! " Alex cried out, his voice rising above the fray.

Hellfire came to his palms, the flames roaring to life in a brilliant surge of power. His heart raced as he watched the creature approach.

They were gatekeepers, ancients, twisted creatures that had given their lives to the Abyss. And now they had come for him.

The first guardian charged, a brutish hulk of darkness and fire, its claws reaching out like crooked blades. Alex swung at it, his blade clashing directly with the strike of the creature.

The two moments collided, a shockwave throbbing through his body as his blade cleaved through the shadow, sending the guardian sprawling.

It shrieked in pain, its body dissolving into smoke only to coalesce in an instant.

Alex had never seen anything quite like the guardians, his enemy; they're almost impossible to kill, ruthless in their chase.

The group sprang to action behind him. Mara charged in with twin daggers drawn, slicing effortlessly through two shadowy creatures that had leapt from the trees.

The guardians were not mindless beasts; they displayed intelligence and tactical ability.

They knew how to fight, how to make them go past it.

Gideon's staff crackled with arcane energy, releasing bursts of light to illuminate the night, yet the guardians were unperturbed, merely left dazed for a moment.

No, Ella thought, her face white but resolved, and sent forth a volley of magic, bolts of energy twisting in the air as they cut down one of the shadow things before it could cross the distance.

I had them on too many of them.

But for every one they brought down, two more seemed to emerge from the shadows of the woods.

Lila fell back first, panting hard as she parried a guardian's blow with her sword.

"We can't hold them back forever! " She shouted. "There are too many! "

"Keep fighting! " Alex shouted, his voice stretched thin with immediacy.

Deities came charging towards him, the sword placed high. But then another wave of energy crashed over him, cold, dark, and oppressive, and it sent a shiver up and down the hairs on the back of his neck.

He caught sight in the distance of the silhouette of another guardian, one that was a far bigger and more ominous one than all the rest.

It had a presence of ancient evil, and when it walked, the ground seemed to quake at its footfalls.

This one had been sent by the Abyss to make sure they didn't get any farther.

"Alex," Mara said, pulling him from his thoughts. She was close now, her face ravaged. "We have to move. We can't fight them all! "

Yet Alex held his ground, his sense of duty pressing down on him.

But he'd sworn to keep the people he cared about safe, to prevent the gate from opening at all, no matter what the price.

He couldn't let this one go, not when they were this close.

"Go," he said to her, his voice low but firm. "I'll hold them off. You get to the gate."

Mara couldn't believe that statement. "Alex, no."

"I'm fine," he lied, putting a smile on his face. "I'll catch up. I won't let them win."

But Mara didn't move. Instead, her eyes softened, and she moved closer, her hand pressed on his arm.

"You're not doing this alone. We're all in this thing together, remember? "Her voice was steady, but Alex could see fear in her eyes. Not for herself, but for him.

A warmth flooded Alex's chest, and for the briefest period of time, the pressure of the Abyss was lifted.

He always would get back up because as dark as things became, Mara and the others up there wouldn't let him fall.

One last look at the looming guardian, and then Alex turned back to the battle.

Then let's end this," he said, determination coloring his tone.

He took one step forward, hellfire bursting from his palms as he called upon the full might of Lucifer's strength.

The war was just starting, and Alex knew that, whatever followed from here, his loved ones would be preserved, even if it cost him everything.

The Abyss could sing to him, but he had not yet been prepared to respond.

Not while he still had friends fighting beside him.