Single Part
Broke found herself in a vast emptiness, where the ground and sky blended into an indistinguishable gray. There was no sound, no wind, just an absolute silence weighing on her shoulders. She looked around, trying to understand where she was, but everything seemed endless and eternal.
Suddenly, a soft light began to shine in the distance. Broke turned, her eyes fixed on the source of light. As the light approached, it revealed the form of a young woman, enveloped in a radiant aura that obscured her face. The figure walked gracefully, each step illuminating the void around her.
"Broke..." the young woman's voice was sweet and comforting, echoing softly in the empty air.
Feeling a strange familiarity in the voice, Broke began to walk towards the figure. Each step felt lighter, as if the presence of the young woman was lifting the weight of the emptiness around her.
"Kyra, is that you?" Broke asked, her voice echoing softly in the silence.
"Of course it's me, Broke..." the young woman replied, her voice melodious and comforting.
"Come. Touch my hand, I miss you."
As Broke approached, the light around the young woman intensified, creating a sensation of warmth and comfort. When she finally got close enough, Broke reached out, hesitantly, to touch the young woman's hand.
Just as their fingers were about to touch, a sense of reality jolted her. The void around her began to dissolve, and the light of the young woman faded. Broke blinked, trying to hold onto the comforting vision, but it was futile.
Suddenly, Broke was back in the garden of flowers. She quickly realized the imminent threat: the giant spider, its long, hairy legs moving with frightening precision, was preparing a spell, its multifaceted eyes glowing with malevolent energy.
"I won't let you!" Broke shouted, standing up with determination. She grabbed her greatsword, feeling the familiar weight in her hands, and charged with relentless fury. With an agile leap, she struck the spider, delivering a devastating blow that severed one of its legs. The spider screeched in pain, the bright purple liquid gushing from the open wound.
Meanwhile, Garen, trapped in the spider's sticky webs, struggled to free himself. With a great effort, he tore through the webs, freeing himself with a triumphant shout.
"I'm free!" Garen yelled, grabbing his sword and rushing to help Broke.
Desperate and enraged, the spider let out a piercing scream that echoed throughout the garden. The sound was so sharp and penetrating that it seemed to tear the very air. Broke and Garen instinctively covered their ears, trying to block out the deafening sound.
From every dark corner of the garden, smaller spiders began to emerge, answering their mother's call. They moved swiftly, their mandibles clicking menacingly as they advanced to surround Broke, Garen, Ellen, Lirian, and Thalon.
"We're surrounded!" Lirian shouted, shooting enchanted arrows at the approaching spiders. His arrows glowed with a blue energy, piercing the creatures' exoskeletons with lethal precision.
Broke, still focused on the larger spider, delivered another strike with her sword, opening a new wound in the creature's body. The spider retreated, its legs trembling as it tried to conjure another spell.
Garen, now beside Broke, used his sword to fend off an attack from the smaller spiders. They lunged at him, their sharp legs and venomous mandibles trying to pierce his armor. With quick and precise movements, Garen managed to repel most of the attacks, but the growing number of spiders was beginning to overwhelm him.
The larger spider, seeing its children attacking its enemies, concentrated its magic on its body. A pink energy mantle began to form around its body, pulsing with malevolent power.
"She's preparing something!" Thalon warned, still recovering from his injuries.
Ellen, realizing the imminent danger, shouted urgently: "Grab Ethan and run!" Without hesitation, everyone started running through the Abyss' corridors, their shadows elongated by the flickering torchlight.
The spider, having successfully activated its magic, became more furious, stronger, and faster, and had regenerated all its wounds and legs. With a deafening roar, it launched itself in pursuit, its smaller offspring running around it like a dark tide.
As they run, the group tried to fend off the spider and its offspring. Garen struck down the smaller spiders with his sword, his movements precise and deadly. Lirian fired enchanted arrows, each one glowing with magical energy, while Ellen used her rogue agility to throw precise daggers, aiming at the joints of the spiders' legs.
"Keep running!" Thalon shouted, beginning to prepare a powerful spell. His hands moved in complex patterns, the magical energy gathering around him in an intense orange glow.
But in the midst of the chaos, Lirian ended up falling behind. He tried to shoot one more arrow but was caught in the sticky webs of the spider mother. In a second, he was trapped, his legs and arms immobilized.
"Lirian!" Ellen shouted, stopping abruptly and turning to help her companion.
"No! Keep going!" Lirian shouted, his voice desperate.
"Thalon, do what you need to do!"
Thalon hesitated, the pain evident in his eyes. "Lirian, no!"
"Now, Thalon! We have no choice!" Lirian shouted, as the spider prepared to deliver the final blow.
With a heavy heart, Thalon concentrated all his energy on the spell. "I'm sorry, Lirian," he murmured, before casting the spell with a cry of despair.
A wave of fire and light exploded from Thalon's hands, racing through the corridors of the Abyss like a devastating storm. The magic engulfed the spider and its offspring, their exoskeletons cracking and burning under the intense heat. The creatures let out agonizing screams as they were consumed by the flames.
Lirian, trapped in the webs, was engulfed by the fire along with the spiders. His scream echoed through the corridors, a sound of pain and agony.
When the light finally dissipated, only silence remained. Thalon fell to his knees, exhausted and devastated. Ellen and Garen looked around, their eyes filled with tears and shock. The spiders were dead, but at what cost?
***
Ethan cautiously advanced through the dark corridor, each step echoing softly against the damp, cold steel walls. The air was heavy with the smell of mold and something metallic, like old blood. The darkness seemed almost tangible, as if it could envelop and suffocate him at any moment. The distant sound of water dripping and the occasional noise of something crawling amplified the sense of isolation.
His hands trembled slightly as he held his dagger, his knuckles white from the tension. He knew he should hurry and find his companions, but something compelled him to keep going deeper into the Abyss, like an invisible force drawing him in.
Suddenly, a light breeze blew through the tunnel, carrying with it an almost inaudible whisper, as if the Abyss itself was breathing. Ethan stopped, his survival instincts screaming for him to turn back. But his curiosity, mixed with a primal terror, kept him moving forward.
It was then that he noticed the opening in the wall to his left, a narrow, jagged crack that seemed to have been created by something very ancient and powerful. The faint, supernatural light emanating from within that opening caught his attention, standing out in the near-total darkness of the corridor.
Ethan approached the crack, his heart pounding wildly. When he peeked through the opening, his eyes widened in pure terror. On the other side, amidst an inhuman and unknown vastness, a massive eye stared fixedly at him. The iris was a deep red, like coagulated blood, and the vertical pupil, similar to that of a serpent, seemed to pierce his soul.
The eye was monstrous, larger than any creature Ethan had ever imagined. The veins surrounding it pulsed with their own light, a malevolent glow that seemed to beat to the rhythm of a gigantic and evil heart. He couldn't see the body to which the eye belonged, but the mere sight of that immense, watchful eyeball was enough to paralyze any rational thought.
The eye blinked slowly, and Ethan felt as if his entire being was being devoured by that insane, insatiable gaze. The sensation was of an ancient terror, as if he was facing an entity that had existed since the beginning of time, something beyond human comprehension.
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice echoed in his mind, a voice that wasn't heard with the ears but felt in the depths of his spirit. "Grivimiji, Vinori ragui. Hoge vaimir forguir."
Ethan felt a wave of panic, but his feet were rooted to the ground. He wanted to scream, run, do anything to escape that implacable gaze, but he couldn't move. His breath became labored, and sweat poured down his face in large drops.
The voice continued, each word reverberating in his mind like distant thunder. "Vaz terimor batar civoz. Nar mir sadifot cer que divor i Ferrum."
Finally, with superhuman effort, Ethan managed to pull away from the crack. He stumbled backward, nearly falling on the cold, damp floor of the corridor. His heart hammered in his chest, and his mind was on the brink of collapse.
He turned and run, his hurried steps echoing through the passage while the sound of the Abyss' breathing followed him.