Chapter 10: Into the Abyss
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Nathan stood at the edge of the portal, his breath coming in sharp, shallow gasps. The air around him had become thick, heavy with a sense of impending doom. Quinn Voss, the arrogant noble with ambitions beyond his control, had stepped through the swirling doorway of shadow, disappearing into the unknown.
Nathan hesitated, his mind racing. What was he thinking? The academy had warned all students about the dangers of the forbidden arts, of the dungeons hidden across the land. They were not just places filled with ancient magic but also cursed realms, home to horrors that no one should ever unleash. Yet here Quinn was, charging headfirst into whatever lay on the other side, driven by a thirst for power.
But Nathan couldn't just stand there. The thought of Quinn tampering with forces that could easily destroy them both sent a jolt of fear through his chest. He had to follow.
With a deep breath, Nathan stepped forward, his fingers brushing against the edge of the portal. The moment he did, the darkness seemed to grip him, as if the very air was pulling him in. The shadows twisted, distorting reality, and for a brief second, Nathan could feel the weight of an unseen force pushing against him. Gravity, he realized—it was warping the space around him.
But he didn't pull back. The portal was unstable, and if Quinn kept pushing forward, there was no telling what kind of chaos they would unleash. If Nathan was going to stop him, he had to act now.
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The world around him flickered, and suddenly, the darkness gave way to an eerie, cold light. The air was thick, heavy with the smell of something ancient, something forgotten. Nathan staggered forward, his footing uncertain on the uneven ground. The ground beneath his feet was dark stone, cracked and worn, as if it had been abandoned for centuries. Above him, the sky was a sickly shade of purple, dotted with swirling clouds that seemed to shift and change at will.
He looked around, feeling a gnawing unease crawl up his spine. There was no sign of Quinn, but the remnants of magic were everywhere. The faint hum of power thrummed in the air, tingling against Nathan's skin. The dungeon—the place that had been sealed for centuries—was now open, and its influence was palpable.
"Quinn!" Nathan shouted, his voice echoing off the stone walls. It was strange, calling out in a place like this. The very air seemed to absorb sound, as if the space itself refused to allow anything to escape.
Nathan took a cautious step forward, his eyes scanning the desolate surroundings. There were strange markings carved into the stone, symbols that seemed to shift and change as his gaze moved over them. The gravity around him felt heavier now, as though the dungeon itself was pressing down on him.
Another step. Then another. Nathan's heart raced as he ventured deeper, a sense of dread building in the pit of his stomach. The deeper he went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. Shadows—black and thick as ink—stretched unnaturally across the ground. They seemed to pulse with life, curling and twisting in ways that were completely unnatural. Nathan instinctively reached for his magic, but it felt… different. The shadow magic he had grown so familiar with seemed to resist him, like a stranger trying to slip through his fingers.
"Quinn!" Nathan shouted again, but there was still no answer. The silence was suffocating, and the deeper he ventured into the dungeon, the more he could feel the presence of something ancient and hostile stirring in the dark.
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And then, Nathan saw him.
Quinn was standing in front of a massive stone door, his back turned to Nathan, completely oblivious to his approach. The door was etched with the same strange symbols, glowing faintly with an eerie light. Quinn's hands were raised, and his focus was absolute. He was channeling space magic, trying to open the door. His affinity shimmered around him, the air bending and warping as the stone door slowly creaked open.
"Quinn!" Nathan shouted, his voice now laced with urgency.
Quinn froze, his hand still raised, but he didn't turn around. There was a coldness in the way he held himself, as if he had already separated himself from everything outside of the door.
"You shouldn't be here, Beaumont," Quinn said, his voice flat, cold. "This is my moment. You don't understand what this is. You don't understand the power that's on the other side."
Nathan's heart skipped a beat. "Quinn, stop! You don't know what you're doing. This place—it's dangerous. You can't control whatever is in there. It's forbidden magic for a reason!"
Quinn turned his head slightly, his eyes glinting with an unsettling mixture of resolve and obsession. "You're wrong, Nathan. I know exactly what I'm doing. This power—it's mine. All mine."
He spoke with such certainty that for a brief moment, Nathan wondered if Quinn truly believed he could control whatever lay beyond the stone door. But then Nathan remembered the rumors—the stories about the madness that had plagued past mages who had sought the dungeons, how they had lost themselves to the corruption of the forbidden arts.
Suddenly, the air around them grew colder, the shadows stretching longer and more twisted. The door was opening wider now, and Nathan could feel it—a presence, like a weight in the air, pressing down on him. His instincts screamed at him to turn and run, but his feet were frozen to the spot.
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A low, guttural growl echoed from the dark beyond the door, and Nathan's heart lurched in his chest. The shadows seemed to come alive, swirling and shifting around the opening like a living thing. Whatever Quinn had unleashed, it wasn't something he could control.
"Quinn, no!" Nathan shouted, his voice desperate now.
But Quinn didn't listen. With a final push of his magic, the door creaked open all the way. The shadows poured out like a tidal wave, rushing toward Quinn with a speed that was impossible to follow. He was too focused on his power to see the danger, and before Nathan could even react, the shadows slammed into him.
Quinn's scream echoed through the dungeon as he was swallowed by the blackness.
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Nathan didn't think. He just acted.
With a snap of his fingers, he unleashed his shadow tentacles, summoning them from the ground to try and grab hold of Quinn, but the shadows were too strong. The tendrils were torn apart as if they were nothing more than smoke. The darkness continued to surge forward, and Nathan could feel his own power being consumed by the void.
He had to get Quinn out.
He reached deep inside himself, pulling at his gravity magic, focusing on the weight of the world around him. With a forceful twist, he manipulated the gravity to push against the oncoming darkness, pushing Quinn's body out of the way and away from the portal. The shadows recoiled for a moment, allowing Nathan the opportunity to pull Quinn to safety.
But Quinn was no longer the same. His body was limp, his eyes wide open but unseeing, filled with a strange, unnatural glow. He had been marked by whatever force had been unleashed.
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Nathan's breath came in ragged gasps as he pulled Quinn back, his heart pounding in his chest. The portal was still open, but the darkness had receded for the moment. Something far worse had been awakened.
"What did you do, Quinn?" Nathan whispered, his voice shaking. But Quinn's only response was a hollow stare—empty and lost.
The dungeon had taken something from him. And Nathan had no idea how to save him now.
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Chapter 10: Into the Abyss