The next day, the whole team gathered around the orb, desperately searching for a way to access the lower floor. Tension simmered in the air as they inspected the room and orb, looking for anything they might have missed.
"It's impossible for us to find a way!" Voltra shouted in frustration, pounding the orb in a fit of rage. "Josh, just destroy the floor with your new arm! Concentrate and release an energy blast."
Josh hesitated, glancing at his upgraded arm. "Alright, I'll try," he said, stepping forward cautiously. "This is my first time using a blast this powerful, so everyone, be careful!"
He closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. Concentrating on the feeling in his right arm, he began to channel the energy flowing through the metallic veins, which pulsed and shifted with black matter. In the center of his palm, a circular crystal embedded in the metal started to glow brighter and brighter, radiating with intense energy. Suddenly, a massive beam of energy burst forth, striking the floor and tearing through everything in its path.
"Stop, Josh! Stop, or you'll destroy everything!" Voltra shouted, seeing the immense damage beginning to spread. Josh cut off the blast, stumbling backward, his chest heaving from exertion.
Voltra laid a hand on his shoulder, grinning. "It's pretty cool, right?"
Josh looked down at his arm, marveling at the power it held. "Yeah, it's incredible. I feel like I could break anything in my way." He glanced at Voltra, a pleased look on his face. "So… are we just going to jump in?"
Moros approached the edge of the newly formed hole and peered down. "It's a long way down. We're going to need a rope."
"Already done!" Lawless announced with a triumphant grin as he lowered a rope into the hole. "See you all on the other side!" Without waiting, he began to climb down.
"Oh, that idiot. He's going down without any protection," Solutus muttered, rolling his eyes as he followed Lawless.
One by one, everyone climbed down, carefully descending into the dark, spacious room below. The chamber was massive, mirroring the room above, but it was eerily empty, save for a series of thick cables snaking along the floor, leading into a large, ominous hallway.
"Let's move," Moros said, pointing towards the hallway. The team advanced cautiously, their footsteps echoing off the cold, metallic walls. Just as they crossed the threshold, the doors behind them opened with a resounding crash.
They had only a moment to register the sound before a guttural roar filled the air. Without warning, monstrous creatures burst out from the door, their deformed bodies twisting and writhing as they charged towards the team.
There was no need for words. Everyone bolted, sprinting down the hallway as fast as their legs would carry them. But the creatures were faster, their snarls growing louder as they closed in. Josh, Hanz, and Solutus fought off the monsters as best as they could while running.
"Turn on the shields, quick!" Spinell shouted over the din of the creatures' roars.
"It's impossible!" Moros yelled, his voice tight with panic. "The batteries are dead! Just keep running!"
With the growling beasts snapping at their heels and a slew of curses filling the air, the team pressed onward. In their blind dash, they almost didn't notice when skeletal figures began to appear in the walls, their hollow eyes following the team as they ran by.
Suddenly, the wall cracked, and the skeletons started to move. Bony fingers reached out, and eerie whispers echoed around them. "Praise the Doom. Death awaits the living," the voices hissed, merging with the sounds of terror in the hallway.
"What… what the hell is happening here!? I don't want to die!" Lawless screamed, his voice high-pitched with fear. Lagging behind, he was closer to the monsters than anyone else, his movements growing sluggish with exhaustion. He finally stumbled, gasping for breath as a skeleton reached out and gripped his face.
As Lawless fell to the ground, surrounded by monsters, he braced himself for an attack. But strangely, they just stood there, silent, as if waiting for something. He tried to speak, "Why don't they attack? I should…" but his words were cut short as he began coughing up blood. Pain overtook him, blood streaming from his eyes, nose, and ears. Writhing on the floor, he could barely hold onto his thoughts as hallucinations started creeping in, showing the monsters laughing at his suffering.
Gradually, Lawless's anguished cries morphed into eerie laughter, a sound no longer his own. Solutus, watching from afar, was horrified by his friend's condition. Without hesitation, he charged forward, his lightsaber cutting through monsters in his path. "I won't let you die in a place like this! You're the only family I've got!" he shouted, pressing forward.
Finally, Solutus reached him, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll save you, or I'll die with you!" But as Lawless looked up, Solutus froze in shock. His friend's face was unrecognizable—his eyes replaced by black, writhing tentacles, and his body was overrun with worms forcing him to laugh madly, hollowly. These creatures, relentless and parasitic, poured out of Lawless's mouth, rushing toward Solutus.
In a swift motion, Solutus severed Lawless's head, a bitter resolve in his voice. "I refuse to believe this is Lawless!" he shouted, turning his fury upon every monster before him. Their roars mixed with the haunting echo of Lawless's laughter, and the psychological strain began wearing Solutus down.
At last, surrounded and weary, he understood there was no escape. Setting down his sword, he gently held Lawless's head. "Huh, you're even uglier now," he murmured. "Let's meet in hell, my friend." In that moment, the worms overtook him too, and their bodies began to merge, forming a single monstrous entity—a creature with eight limbs and two heads, united in madness.
The newly-formed creature let out a deranged cry, "Now, together, we will kill everyone in the name of Doom!" With newfound strength, it charged after the remaining survivors, its laughter filling the air.
The group, realizing too late what happened, scrambled to escape. In the distance, a small door appeared—their only hope. "Come on! Faster—we have to reach it!" Josh shouted, urging everyone forward. As he glanced back, he saw the mutated Solutus-Lawless monstrosity racing after them, its limbs pounding against the ground, its voices screaming, "In the name of Doom, you will all die!"
In desperation, Josh turned to face it, releasing an energy blast that tore off six of the creature's limbs. "Ha! Take that!" he taunted, though he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Yet, despite the damage, the creature continued its relentless pursuit, dragging its remaining limbs forward.
Voltra, seeing Josh falter, ran back to help him. "Get up! I'm not leaving another friend behind!" he shouted, pulling Josh to his feet. "Hey! Someone, help me—he's too heavy!"
Moros rushed to their side, taking Josh's other arm. "Let's move before it's too late!" Together, they hurried toward the door.
However, the doorway could only fit one person at a time. Moros quickly helped Josh through, then slipped in after him. Just as they thought they were safe, the creature's remaining limbs reached through, grabbing Voltra and pulling him back into the corridor.
"Help me!" Voltra's desperate scream echoed as the hybrid creature dragged him away, preventing Hanz from intervening. Its two heads, once belonging to his friends, leered at him hungrily. "You will join us," the creature sneered. "But first, we want to hear your pain."
The hybrid began to consume Voltra" starting with his legs, as he screamed in agony. "Stop… I don't want to die!" he pleaded, but the monstrous entity showed no mercy. Its voracious worms devoured his flesh, bones, and drank his blood, leaving no trace behind.
As they reached his arms, Voltra had lost nearly all strength, his voice barely a whisper, "Why…what did I do to deserve this?" With his last bit of consciousness, he watched as the creature used its long fingers to pry out one of his eyes, eating it with a twisted delight.
Before it could take the other, an energy blast struck the creature, forcing it to release Voltra. Hanz seized the opportunity, catching his injured friend and rushing him toward the door. The others fired relentlessly at the hybrid, determined to save one more of their friends.
The creature, now heavily damaged but still alive, retreated slightly under the onslaught.
With great effort, Hanz managed to pull Voltra through the door, and as the last of the team slipped inside, the door sealed shut, leaving the monsters trapped behind it.
The team stood there in the darkness, panting, each of them shaken to their core. Josh, clutching his new arm, looked over at Voltra, who lay unconscious and battered. Misa knelt beside him, checking his vitals. "He's alive… but barely."
A heavy silence settled over the group as they absorbed the loss of their friends and the horror of their narrow escape.