The wasteland stretched out before them, endless and desolate, as though the earth had been stripped of all life. The sky, once a murky black, was now a swirling abyss of dark clouds and crimson lightning that cracked through the air like a warning. Nathan, King, and Angel trudged forward, their bodies battered and minds weary from the horrors they had faced inside the temple.
Nathan glanced at Angel, who walked several paces ahead, her steps silent and deliberate. The glow that had once surrounded her was now barely visible, flickering like a dying ember. Her face was blank, distant, as though she had already resigned herself to whatever darkness awaited them. King limped beside Nathan, holding his side, blood still oozing from his wounds.
"She's different," King muttered, his voice hoarse. "I don't know if she's even the same Angel anymore."
Nathan didn't answer. He could feel it too. Ever since they escaped the temple, something about Angel had changed. It wasn't just the eerie silence or the way she moved with a strange, unnatural grace. It was the emptiness in her eyes, like she had left a part of herself behind in that cursed place.
"I don't know what happened to her," Nathan finally said, his voice heavy with uncertainty. "But we can't lose her. Not again."
As they continued through the wasteland, the oppressive atmosphere seemed to thicken. The air was dense, filled with the stench of decay, and the ground beneath their feet was slick with an oily substance that stuck to their boots. The only sound was the distant rumble of thunder, growing louder with every step.
Suddenly, Angel stopped. She stood at the edge of a vast chasm, her eyes fixed on something in the distance. Nathan and King followed her gaze and saw what she was staring at: a twisted, decaying city, its towers crumbling and half submerged in the oily mire. Dark figures moved within the ruins, their forms grotesque and misshapen, barely human.
"This is where it ends," Angel said, her voice hollow. "We're not getting out of here."
Nathan's heart sank. "What do you mean? We've come this far—we can find a way out!"
Angel shook her head, her expression unreadable. "There is no way out. This place… it's feeding off us. The more we fight, the stronger it gets."
King staggered forward, clutching his side. "So what? We just give up and let it consume us? That's not happening."
Nathan stepped closer to Angel, desperation creeping into his voice. "We can't stop now. We have to keep going. We'll find a way."
Angel turned to face him, her eyes glowing faintly in the gloom. "It's too late for me, Nathan. I've already seen what's waiting for us on the other side of that city. There's nothing but death."
Before Nathan could respond, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble. The oily substance covering the wasteland rippled, and from its depths, grotesque creatures began to rise. Their bodies were twisted amalgamations of bone and flesh, their mouths gaping open in silent screams. They moved slowly at first, dragging themselves across the ground, but soon they began to swarm, their numbers growing with every second.
"Run!" King shouted, pulling Nathan by the arm.
But Angel didn't move. She stood at the edge of the chasm, watching the creatures approach, her eyes glazed over as if lost in a trance.
"Angel!" Nathan yelled, but she didn't respond.
With no time to waste, Nathan grabbed her arm and yanked her back just as the first of the creatures lunged toward them. The three of them ran, the monstrous horde close on their heels. The landscape shifted around them, the ground rising and falling in waves, as if the entire realm was alive and hunting them.
They sprinted toward the ruined city, the creatures closing in from every direction. Nathan's legs burned with exhaustion, and his heart pounded in his chest, but he didn't dare stop. Every few seconds, he glanced back to see the twisted forms gaining ground, their grotesque limbs flailing as they crawled across the mire.
"Faster!" King shouted, his voice strained. "We're almost there!"
The city loomed ahead, its towers casting long, jagged shadows over the wasteland. As they neared the outskirts, Nathan could see that the figures moving within the ruins weren't just shadows—they were people, or what was left of them. Their bodies were emaciated, their skin stretched tight over their bones, and their eyes were empty, hollow.
They stumbled into the city, the creatures still pursuing them. Nathan could hear their guttural snarls and the sickening sound of their limbs slapping against the ground. But as they crossed the threshold into the city, something changed. The creatures stopped, as if they were unable to enter. They circled the perimeter, watching from the shadows, their grotesque forms shifting and writhing in the gloom.
"We made it," King gasped, doubling over to catch his breath. "We're safe... for now."
Nathan looked around, the city feeling more like a prison than a refuge. The air was thick with the smell of rot, and the buildings around them seemed to groan under the weight of unseen horrors. Dark figures moved in the distance, but they didn't approach. The city was alive, but it was a different kind of terror, more subtle and insidious.
Angel stood apart from them, her eyes still distant, her face expressionless. Nathan approached her, his voice soft. "Angel… I know you're still in there. We'll find a way to fix this."
But Angel didn't respond. She looked at Nathan, her gaze unfocused, as if she didn't recognize him. Then, without a word, she turned and began walking deeper into the city, disappearing into the shadows.
Nathan started after her, but King grabbed his arm. "Let her go, man. She's not herself anymore."
"We can't just leave her," Nathan protested, his voice cracking with emotion.
King shook his head. "She's gone, Nathan. Whatever happened to her in that temple… it's changed her. We need to focus on surviving."
Nathan looked into the darkness where Angel had disappeared, his heart heavy with guilt and despair. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had already lost her—lost all of them, to this place. But he knew King was right. If they wanted to survive, they had to keep moving.
"Come on," King said, his voice grim. "We'll figure out what to do next. But we can't stay here."
Reluctantly, Nathan nodded, and the two of them turned away from the ruins. The city stretched out before them, a maze of crumbling buildings and shadowed streets. As they ventured deeper, the darkness around them grew heavier, the sense of dread sinking into their bones.
Nathan glanced back one last time, hoping to see Angel emerging from the shadows, but there was nothing. Just the silence of the city and the echoes of despair that seemed to whisper their fate.