Chapter 14: The Abyss Below
The path twisted downward once more.
No stairs this time.
Just a long slope of black stone, narrowing into a tunnel lined with cold iron lanterns. Their blue flames flickered, but gave no warmth.
The silence felt heavier here.
Thalen walked beside Maika, their footsteps echoing in the emptiness. Twenty-two remained now. Some had emerged shaken. Others walked with haunted eyes, their pride hollowed out.
The deeper they went, the more the air changed.
It was hard to breathe not from smoke or poison, but something worse.
It was like the place itself did not want them here.
The Final Chamber
They emerged into a vast cavern, so wide the walls were lost in shadow. A stone bridge arched over a black void, suspended in nothingness.
In the center of the bridge stood a statue a giant humanoid figure made of jagged obsidian.