Chapter 20: Into the Void

Kara's heart pounded in her chest as the vortex surged, swallowing the entire chamber in a blinding maelstrom of dark energy. The walls of the underground temple crumbled around them, the sound of the stone groaning and splitting filling the air. It was as if reality itself was being shredded, the very fabric of existence torn apart by the force of the rift.

The ground beneath their feet heaved violently, sending Kara sprawling to the floor. Reed and Evelyn barely managed to stay upright, their faces pale with terror. The air was thick with pressure, almost suffocating, and the deep rumbling of the vortex reverberated through every fiber of their being.

"Evelyn, hurry!" Kara shouted, trying to push herself up. Her hands were shaking, and her breath came in ragged gasps as the very air around her seemed to bend and twist. "We need to finish the ritual!"

But Evelyn was already scrambling toward the inscription on the wall, her fingers trembling as she traced the final symbol. Sweat dripped down her face, and her eyes were wide with panic. "I—I can't! It's too powerful! The rift is destabilizing everything!"

Kara's mind raced. This was it. They were running out of time. The vortex was pulling everything in, dragging it toward some unknown dimension, some terrifying abyss beyond their comprehension. If they didn't close it now, the world would be lost. And with it, all the people they had fought so hard to protect.

"We don't have a choice!" Kara yelled, her voice breaking through the cacophony of noise. "We have to stop this now or we're all going to be swallowed by it!"

The ground cracked wide open, and dark tendrils of energy shot out from the vortex, reaching toward them like monstrous, clawing hands. Kara barely managed to dodge one as it slashed the ground where she had been standing moments before. The temple was crumbling at a terrifying pace, the ceiling beginning to collapse in on itself as the rift's pull grew stronger.

Reed grabbed Kara's arm, pulling her back from the edge of the rift as another tendril lashed out. "Kara, we need to think! We're running out of time!"

"I know!" Kara snapped, her mind scrambling for a solution. There was no time to think. No time for strategy. The only thing left to do was to act, and act fast.

Evelyn's hands were still shaking as she reached for the final rune, her voice rising in desperation. "I need more time! If I can just—"

Suddenly, the temple shook violently, a deafening crash echoing through the chamber as a massive stone column collapsed, sending debris flying in every direction. Kara and Reed barely had time to react as the rubble rained down, forcing them to shield their heads.

"Evelyn!" Kara shouted over the din of collapsing stone. "Get to the ritual! We can't wait any longer!"

Evelyn nodded, but her face was pale with fear. She turned back to the inscription, her hands steadying as she placed her fingers on the final rune. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. Kara held her breath, waiting for the inevitable, praying that Evelyn could pull it off.

Then, with a sound like thunder, the vortex suddenly pulsed, a shockwave of dark energy rippling outward. The rift grew wider, the space around them warping and twisting like a broken mirror, as if time itself was splintering apart.

"No!" Evelyn cried out in panic, her hands flying away from the rune. "It's too much! I can't—"

But Kara wasn't listening. The vortex was their only enemy now, and if the ritual failed, there would be no stopping it. Kara knew what she had to do.

"Evelyn, I'm going in!" Kara shouted over the chaos.

Reed's eyes widened in shock. "What? No, Kara—don't!"

But Kara didn't wait for him to stop her. Without a second thought, she sprinted toward the rift, her legs barely able to hold her steady against the overwhelming pull of the darkness. The tendrils of energy reached for her, but she pushed through, her heart hammering in her chest as she leaped toward the edge of the void.

And then, without warning, she was gone.

---

Kara's world was consumed by a cold, suffocating darkness. The moment she crossed the threshold of the vortex, she felt herself falling, tumbling through an endless expanse of blackness. There was no gravity, no up or down, just an infinite void that seemed to stretch on forever. Her body felt weightless, as though it no longer belonged to her, lost in a space where the laws of reality no longer applied.

Time and space seemed irrelevant here. She could no longer sense where she was, or even when. The moment she had crossed into this place, she had lost all concept of reality.

She couldn't breathe. The pressure of the nothingness around her pressed down on her chest, squeezing the air from her lungs. She gasped, but there was nothing to breathe. Her skin felt like it was being torn apart, as if the very fabric of her being was unraveling.

But through the suffocating dark, there was a faint glimmer—a pulse of light, a presence that called to her.

"Reed…" Kara whispered, her voice barely a whisper against the void. "Evelyn…"

She tried to reach out, but there was nothing to grasp. Her mind spun with fear, and she fought to steady herself, to focus on that distant light. Whatever it was, it was her only hope.

She pushed forward through the infinite dark, using every ounce of willpower she had left to propel herself toward the light. As she drew closer, the light grew brighter, until it began to take shape, forming into something—or someone—familiar.

"Reed…" Kara gasped, her voice barely audible as she reached out.

The figure before her solidified into the shape of Reed, but he wasn't the Reed she knew. His face was distorted, his eyes hollow and black, as though drained of all life. He reached out to her, his hand cold and unfeeling.

"No…" Kara gasped, taking a step back. "You're not real."

The figure of Reed smiled, his lips twisting into a cruel grin. "No one is real here, Kara. Not you. Not me. Not anyone."

Kara's heart skipped a beat. The realization hit her with a jolt of terror—she wasn't just lost in the void. She had crossed into something far darker, something that wasn't bound by the rules of reality or time.

This was not just a rift in space. This was the place where everything they had fought to protect would be consumed.

The dark figure of Reed stepped closer, his smile growing wider.

"This is the abyss, Kara. Welcome to the end."