Chapter 70: The Call of the Abyss

Jin Long and Yue Lan moved cautiously through the labyrinth's corridors, the eerie silence pressing against them. The oppressive darkness that once filled the air had lessened, but the lingering remnants of the Void's influence still seeped through the cracks in the stone walls.

Jin Long's body ached from the previous battle. The Genesis Core had absorbed much of the Warden's dark energy, and it now pulsed within him, its rhythm erratic and unsettling.

"Are you okay?" Yue Lan asked, her brows furrowed with concern.

Jin Long nodded, but his jaw was tight. "I'm fine. It's just... the Core. It's reacting to something."

Yue Lan's eyes darkened. "Something worse?"

Before Jin Long could respond, a deep, resonant hum echoed through the labyrinth, vibrating the walls. The air grew colder, and the shadows seemed to stretch, clawing toward them like grasping hands.

"Do you feel that?" Yue Lan whispered, her voice barely above a breath.

Jin Long closed his eyes, focusing inward. The Core's energy surged, as though it were trying to warn him. He could feel it—a presence deeper within the labyrinth, a vast, pulsing power that resonated with the same dark energy as the Warden.

"It's coming from below," Jin Long said, opening his eyes. "Something is waiting for us."

Yue Lan swallowed. "We should be careful."

They pressed on, their footsteps echoing through the winding corridors. The labyrinth seemed to twist and shift around them, the pathways growing darker and more oppressive. The air was thick with the scent of damp stone and the faint, acrid stench of decaying energy.

After what felt like hours, they entered a vast chamber, its ceiling lost in darkness. In the center of the room stood a towering altar, carved from black stone and inscribed with runes that pulsed with crimson light. Above it, a portal of swirling darkness hovered, its edges crackling with void energy.

Jin Long's eyes narrowed. "That's the source."

Before he could take another step, a chilling, disembodied voice echoed through the chamber.

"You defeated my Warden," the voice said, dripping with malice. "But the true master of the Void is far beyond your reach."

Jin Long raised his sword, his eyes scanning the shadows. "Show yourself!"

The portal flared, and a figure stepped forward, emerging from the swirling darkness. It was a woman, tall and regal, with hair as black as the abyss and eyes that glowed with a haunting, ethereal light.

"I am Xian Fei, the Abyssal Emissary," she said, her voice smooth as silk. "And you, Jin Long, have something that belongs to us."

Jin Long felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The Genesis Core pulsed within him, its energy surging in response to Xian Fei's presence. It was as though the Core recognized her—as though she, too, was a part of its dark history.

Yue Lan stepped forward, her eyes blazing. "The Core doesn't belong to you. It was given to Jin Long to protect this world!"

Xian Fei chuckled, the sound soft and mocking. "Protect? The Core was never meant to be in mortal hands. It is a gateway to the Abyss, a conduit through which the Void can reclaim what is rightfully its own."

She raised her hand, and the runes on the altar flared with crimson light. Shadows surged from the ground, coalescing into dark specters that surrounded them, their eyes burning with malevolent fire.

"You may have defeated the Warden," Xian Fei said, her smile widening, "but the Abyss is limitless. And the Core will return to its true master."

The dark specters lunged forward, their claws gleaming like obsidian blades. Jin Long swung his sword, the Genesis Core's energy flaring as he struck them down, but for every specter he destroyed, two more emerged from the shadows.

Yue Lan lashed out with her whip, lightning crackling through the air as she struck the specters, but they were relentless, their forms reforming even after being shattered.

Xian Fei watched, her eyes gleaming with cold amusement. "Your power is impressive, Jin Long. But the Abyss cannot be defeated with mere force."

Jin Long clenched his teeth, the Core's power raging within him. His vision blurred, and for a brief moment, he saw it—a glimpse of a vast, dark void, where shadowy tendrils reached out toward a distant, pulsing light. The Genesis Core.

"Jin Long!" Yue Lan shouted, her voice snapping him back to reality. A specter lunged at him, its claws aimed for his throat.

Jin Long swung his sword, cleaving the specter in two, but Xian Fei's laughter echoed through the chamber. "You can fight all you want, but in the end, the Abyss always consumes."

Jin Long's jaw tightened. The Core was trying to tell him something, to show him a way to fight back. But what?

Then it hit him—the Core wasn't just a source of power. It was a bridge, a connection to the Abyss itself. If he could tap into it, he might be able to disrupt Xian Fei's control over the shadows.

"Yue Lan," Jin Long said, his eyes blazing with determination. "Cover me."

Yue Lan nodded without hesitation, her whip snapping through the air as she struck down the advancing specters. Jin Long closed his eyes, focusing inward, reaching deep into the Core's energy.

The Genesis Core pulsed, its light growing brighter and brighter until it became a blinding, radiant beacon. The dark specters recoiled, their forms disintegrating in the face of the Core's light.

Xian Fei's eyes widened, her smile vanishing. "What... what are you doing?"

Jin Long opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through the darkness. "You said the Core was a gateway to the Abyss. Well, I'm closing it."

The Genesis Core flared, its energy surging outward in a wave of brilliant light. The shadows evaporated, the dark specters reduced to dust. The portal above the altar trembled, its swirling darkness unraveling like threads of smoke.

Xian Fei staggered back, her eyes wild with fury. "You... you cannot stop the Abyss!"

Jin Long stepped forward, his sword gleaming with the Core's light. "Maybe not. But I can stop you."

Before Xian Fei could react, Jin Long lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air. The blade struck her chest, and the chamber shook as the Core's power surged through her, shattering the dark energy that bound her to the Abyss.

Xian Fei screamed, her form disintegrating into wisps of shadow. As her body crumbled, the portal above the altar collapsed, its dark energy dispersing into the air.

Silence fell over the chamber. Jin Long lowered his sword, his body trembling as the Core's power settled within him once more.

Yue Lan ran to his side, her face pale but relieved. "Are you okay?"

Jin Long nodded, his breaths heavy. "It's over."

But even as he spoke, a chilling voice echoed through the air, as though carried by the wind.

"You may have closed the gate," the voice whispered, "but the Abyss is eternal. And the Core... the Core will always be ours."

Jin Long shivered, his grip tightening on his sword. The battle was far from over. The Abyss was still out there, waiting, watching, and hungering for the Core's power.

And now, it knew Jin Long's name.