Chapter 20: The Pull of the Abyss
Wenyan's mind was a storm of confusion, swirling with thoughts that refused to cohere. The Nexus, once a distant concept, was now an inescapable force, a darkness that had enveloped him, drawing him in with a suffocating grip. His body felt like it wasn't his own. His thoughts didn't belong to him either. The markings had spread across his skin, an invasive force that threatened to erase everything that was familiar, everything that made him human.
"You can't fight it," Professor Wei's words echoed in his mind, a haunting refrain. "Let go. There's no point in resisting."
The gravity of those words weighed heavily on Wenyan's chest, squeezing the air from his lungs. How could he just give up? He had spent so much time fighting, seeking answers. Wasn't there a chance, just a sliver of hope, that he could find his way out?
The darkness around him seemed to pulse with a life of its own, its presence pressing in on him, forcing him to confront his innermost fears. The Nexus was not just a force—it was an entity, one that had waited patiently, silently, for centuries. And now it was awake. Now it was feeding. And Wenyan... Wenyan was its prey.
He could feel the pull of it, the way it tugged at his soul, inviting him to surrender. "Give in," the voice whispered, its words not belonging to any one person. It was the Nexus, speaking to him in a thousand different voices, melding into one.
Wenyan staggered, his legs shaking beneath him as he tried to find his bearings. He was in a place that wasn't a place—a vast, empty expanse that defied all logic, a realm that twisted and bent under the weight of the Nexus. Shapes shifted in the darkness, swirling around him in a dizzying dance. The ground beneath him seemed to disintegrate, reforming itself into alien patterns. Reality was no longer something he could understand.
"No," Wenyan gasped, reaching out, grasping for anything solid, anything to hold onto. "I won't become like them."
But it was too late. He could feel the Nexus inside him, already taking root, wrapping itself around his consciousness. The symbols on the walls of the chamber flickered and pulsed, as if they were alive, waiting to consume him. He wasn't just here physically—his mind, his very essence was trapped, caught in the Nexus's web.
And then, he heard it. Mei's voice, distant and distorted, filtered through the haze. "You're here," she said, though her tone was not her own. "You're one of us now."
Wenyan's chest tightened. "No," he said, his voice breaking. "I'm not."
But the words came anyway. The Nexus had already begun to claim him, and soon, there would be nothing left of Wenyan. Only the darkness, only the call to give in.
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Chapter 21: The Abyss Awaits
When Wenyan awoke, he didn't know where he was. Or if he was anywhere at all. The landscape before him was an endless stretch of void, an expanse that seemed to stretch beyond the boundaries of time and space. There was no sky, no ground. Just a cold, empty darkness that swallowed everything.
He tried to move, but his limbs felt heavy, sluggish, as though they were no longer his own. The markings on his skin had spread further, glowing softly beneath his clothes. They were no longer just symbols; they were part of him, as though his body had become a canvas for the Nexus's twisted art. He could feel their presence even when his eyes were closed, an eerie sensation of something crawling beneath his skin.
The voices were there too, whispering, urging him to listen, to understand. At first, they were faint, like a distant hum. But soon, they grew louder, overwhelming his thoughts. Some of the voices were familiar, like echoes of people he had known—Mei, Heng, even Professor Wei. Others were strangers, their words twisted and strange.
"You're not alone," they told him. "You are one of us now."
Wenyan tried to block them out, but it was impossible. The more he resisted, the louder they became, until they were deafening. His head throbbed with the weight of them.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him, flickering in and out of existence. It was Mei—or what was left of her. Her body was no longer human, but a shifting mass of glowing symbols, her face an empty void, devoid of expression. The markings on her body writhed, twisting like serpents.
"Mei?" Wenyan whispered, though he was uncertain if the name still held meaning here.
Her mouth moved, but her voice was distant, mechanical. "We are part of it now," she said, her tone flat, devoid of emotion. "The Nexus chose us. It chose you."
Wenyan's heart sank as he realized the truth. The Nexus had been drawing him in all along, manipulating his every step, leading him down this path. The markings, the voices, the strange occurrences—they had all been signs, warnings. But he hadn't understood. He had thought it was just a mystery, just a puzzle to solve. But the Nexus was not something to be understood. It was something to be obeyed.
"You're wrong," Wenyan said, his voice trembling. "I don't want this. I won't become like you."
Mei's form flickered, and her voice became more insistent. "You don't have a choice. You never did."
The world around Wenyan shifted again, the darkness closing in. He could feel the pull of the Nexus, like a tide that was slowly but inexorably dragging him under. The deeper he went, the more he felt himself unraveling. His thoughts were no longer his own. The Nexus was consuming him, piece by piece.
"You can resist," the voice of Mei whispered. "But it won't matter."
Wenyan felt the darkness tug at him, pulling him deeper. He fought, but it was futile. There was no escaping. The abyss had claimed him.