Afterimage in Purgatory

They had only taken a step forward, yet the world was completely different. The blazing light and shadows seemed to have all disappeared. Everything became dark and ambiguous like a blurry dream.

Under the high tower, before the sealed black metal gate, Charles watched Gaius take out a key. The man placed it into the lock carefully and used all his might to turn it. Gears began creaking and grating and the door opened.

Charles froze.

There should have been a spiral staircase in the large room behind the door. Now, the room was still there but the staircase was not. The originally solemn room was eerie as if it had been abandoned for decades. There was a giant crater in the ground.

Charles stood at the edge and looked down, feeling the eerie breeze from the abyss. The steel staircase extended brokenly to somewhere deeper underground. There were faint lights but had all been covered by dust and cobwebs, making everything dark and subtle.