The Final Chain

The Awakening Below

Mira wiped the sweat from her brow, her fingers tightening around her staff. "Tell me we didn't just make things worse."

Leila, standing near the pit's edge, let out a slow breath. "It's moving."

Tomas exhaled sharply. "The sacrifice worked. The seal is breaking."

Beren stepped forward, rolling his shoulders. "Then we stop them before they break the last piece."

The cavern shook again.

A sound rose from the depths—a slow, shuddering inhale, as if something vast and hollow was taking its first breath in centuries.

A moment later, they felt it.

A heartbeat.

Not a sound.

A pulse, rippling through the stone beneath their feet.

Tracking the Vairlith

"They left in a hurry," Leila muttered, scanning the ground. "Not a single body left behind."

Tomas frowned. "They retreated?"

Arlan studied the ground, then glanced at the cavern walls.

"No," he said quietly. "They're ahead of us."

He pointed to a fresh marking carved into the stone.

Not Ogryn script.

Not a summoning rune.

A message.

Mira leaned in, frowning. "That's… not a sigil."

Arlan's expression darkened. "It's a warning."

Tomas crossed his arms. "What does it say?"

Arlan hesitated before answering.

"The final chain is within."

The Truth About the Final Seal

They stood in silence.

Leila shook her head. "Okay. That's bad."

Mira's jaw clenched. "We already knew the chains were breaking. What does that mean?"

Arlan swallowed, staring into the shifting blackness of the pit.

"It means the last part of the seal isn't just down there," he said. "It's… inside that monster"

The words hung in the air.

Mira paled. "You're saying—"

Tomas took a slow breath. "The last part of the seal isn't something we can just break or repair." His eyes hardened. "It's part of the creature itself."

Leila cursed. "And the Vairlith?"

Arlan's gaze didn't waver.

"They went inside."

The Dilemma – Rest or Pursue?

For the first time in hours, they paused.

Mira wiped the back of her hand across her face. "We should rest. Just for a moment. We don't know what's down there."

Leila nodded, checking her remaining arrows. "We're not exactly in great shape."

Beren cracked his knuckles. "We don't have time to sit around."

Arlan remained quiet.

He knew Mira was right. They were worn down. If they rushed in now, they might not come back out.

But waiting?

That was worse.

Tomas glanced at the pit, then at the others.

"Five minutes," he said.

No one argued.

The Descent

The ground trembled beneath them as they descended.

The air grew heavier, thick with the stench of old blood, rot, and something deeper.

The path led them to a lower chamber, more ancient than anything they'd seen.

Here, the walls weren't Ogryn.

They weren't even Vairlith.

They were something else.

Mira's voice was barely a whisper. "This place is older than the war."

Leila's fingers tensed on her bow. "Then what the hell built it?"

No one answered.

They reached the end of the passage—a vast chamber lined with carvings.

And at its center—

A gaping hole.

Entering the Maw

The pit yawned before them, a spiraling descent of broken stone and hanging chains.

The Vairlith were nowhere in sight.

But the air was thick with their presence.

Arlan stared down into the blackness.

Mira exhaled. "So, what's the plan? We just… climb down and hope we don't get devoured?"

Tomas checked his sword. "We follow them."

Leila's gaze darkened. "And if they've already finished what they started?"

Tomas didn't look away from the pit.

"Then we stop them before they finish the last step."

Mira sighed. "I hate this plan."

Beren grinned. "We all do."

Arlan took a slow breath.

Then, one by one, they descended.

Final Moments

The stone was damp beneath their fingers, slick with old blood and ancient decay.

The further they climbed, the more unnatural the walls became.

Smooth. Organic.

Like the inside of something alive.

Then—a sound.

Not a whisper.

Not a chant.

A heartbeat.

Deep. Slow. Growing stronger.

Mira froze mid-climb. "Tell me that was in my head."

Tomas tightened his grip on the chain. "It wasn't."

Arlan stared into the abyss below them.

The Vairlith were already here.

The final chain was about to break.

And Vorr'gol was about to wake.