Xander tumbled into the darkness, the ground slipping away beneath him as the abyss swallowed him whole. The last thing he saw was Lyra's eerie, unnatural smile fading into the distance. His heart pounded as he twisted in freefall, the air thick and cold around him.
Suddenly, the fall stopped. He hit something solid, but instead of the hard ground he expected, it felt like… water? Xander gasped, his body submerged in the icy depths. Panic surged through him as he kicked upward, desperately trying to break the surface, but his limbs felt heavy, weighed down by the pressure.
His lungs screamed for air, and just as he thought he might drown, he burst through the surface, gasping and coughing. He was in a vast black sea, the water as cold as death. Above him, the sky was a swirling void, no stars, no moon—just endless darkness.
"Where… am I?" Xander muttered, shivering as he tread water, his mind reeling. This place, wherever it was, felt wrong. It wasn't the same forest, nor the abyss. It was something else entirely—somewhere between reality and nightmare.
"Xander…"
The voice echoed again, faint but unmistakable. Lyra. He turned toward the sound, squinting through the dim light. And then he saw her, just a few feet away, floating in the black sea. Her eyes were still glowing with that unsettling light, her expression blank, almost serene.
"Lyra!" he called, trying to swim toward her, but his movements were sluggish. The water seemed to thicken around him, resisting every stroke.
She didn't move, didn't respond, just floated there, her hair fanning out around her in the water like dark tendrils. And then, in a sudden motion, she began to sink, her body slipping beneath the surface without a struggle.
"No!" Xander shouted, pushing through the thick water with all his strength, but it was like trying to swim through mud. He watched in horror as Lyra disappeared into the depths, her form vanishing into the abyss below.
I won't lose her!
The Veil stirred within him, the dark energy surging up like a tide, begging to be released. He fought the urge, but the panic in his chest was overwhelming. He couldn't let her go. Not again.
Just as he was about to give in, something sharp brushed against his leg. Xander froze, his breath catching in his throat. The water around him shifted, rippling as if something massive was moving beneath the surface.
Not again…
Before he could react, something erupted from the depths, a dark, serpentine creature with eyes that glowed like burning coals. Its body was long and twisted, covered in slick scales, and it moved with terrifying speed. It circled him, its movements creating whirlpools in the water, trapping him in place.
Xander raised his sword instinctively, though he wasn't sure how much good it would do against something this large. The creature hissed, its voice slithering into his mind like poison.
"She is ours, Xander," it whispered, its eyes locking onto his. "You cannot save her. You cannot even save yourself."
He gritted his teeth, refusing to let the fear consume him. "I don't believe that."
The creature reared back, preparing to strike. Xander braced himself, his grip tightening on the sword. Just as the beast lunged, he dove to the side, narrowly avoiding its massive jaws. The water exploded in a wave of force as the creature's head crashed into the sea where he had been.
I need a way out!
He knew he couldn't fight this thing directly—not like this, in the water. He was too slow, too vulnerable. But there had to be a way. There was always a way.
The creature roared, circling again, but this time slower, more deliberate, as if it was savoring the hunt.
Think, Xander…
Then, he remembered something. The last time he had fought one of the Veil's creatures, back in the forest, its energy had dissipated into the air after he killed it. What if this creature wasn't entirely real either? What if it was just another extension of the abyss, a manifestation of the darkness trying to trap him here?
He focused on the Veil's energy within him, that dark, dangerous power that he had been so afraid to use. If this creature was connected to the abyss, then maybe—just maybe—he could use that same connection against it.
The creature lunged again, its jaws wide, but this time, Xander didn't try to dodge. Instead, he thrust his hand forward, reaching deep within himself to draw on the Veil. The energy surged through him, dark and cold, wrapping around his arm like a living shadow.
The creature's jaws snapped shut around his outstretched hand, but instead of biting through flesh and bone, it recoiled, hissing in pain as the Veil's energy burned it. Xander felt the connection—felt the way the creature was tethered to this place, to the darkness. He could feel its presence like a thread, and with a grunt of effort, he pulled.
The beast shrieked, thrashing violently as Xander ripped the thread of darkness free from it. The water around them churned, the creature's form unraveling before his eyes, its body disintegrating into mist.
In seconds, the massive beast was gone, leaving only silence in its wake.
Xander collapsed in the water, his energy drained, but the darkness of the sea had begun to clear, the water turning from black to a murky gray. He struggled to stay afloat, but his limbs felt heavy, and his vision was starting to blur.
I have to… keep going. I have to find her.
But as the last of his strength faded, the water beneath him rippled again, and something began to rise from the depths.
At first, he thought it was another creature, but as the shape broke the surface, his heart skipped a beat.
It was a boat.
A small, simple rowboat, made of dark wood and worn by time, floated toward him, as if guided by an unseen hand. Xander stared at it, bewildered, but he didn't have the strength to question it. He swam weakly toward the boat and pulled himself over the edge, collapsing inside.
As he lay there, his breath ragged, the boat began to move on its own, gliding across the now-calm waters. Xander's mind was spinning, exhaustion pulling at him, but he forced himself to stay awake.
The boat carried him across the sea of shadows, and in the distance, he could see the faint outline of land—a jagged shoreline of dark stone and twisted trees.
He had no idea where he was headed, but one thing was clear: this was far from over.