The descent felt endless.
There was no ground beneath me, no sense of up or down, only the sensation of falling through a vast, endless void. My stomach churned, my pulse pounding in my ears as the darkness around me twisted and churned like a living thing. For a moment, I thought I had made a horrible mistake, that this was some kind of eternal punishment for daring to follow Damian into the unknown.
But then, something happened.
The suffocating blackness gave way to dim light, a faint, otherworldly glow that surrounded me, pulling me deeper into its depths. And as the light grew stronger, the sensation of falling began to slow, my feet finding solid ground beneath me once more. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the cold, hard surface, gasping for breath.
I opened my eyes, blinking against the pale light. The air was thick with a strange, metallic taste, like the aftermath of a storm, and the world around me was wrong.
I was no longer in the grand hall, nor in the village. I was standing in the middle of a vast, barren wasteland. The ground beneath me was cracked and dry, the earth a deep, blood-red color, as if it had been scorched by some ancient fire. Jagged rocks jutted up from the ground like the broken bones of a long-dead giant, casting long, twisted shadows across the landscape. And above me, the sky was a swirling mass of dark clouds, flashing with strange, eerie light.
This place, it was alive, pulsing with a dark energy that sent shivers down my spine. I could feel it in the air, in the ground beneath me. It was like the very land was breathing, watching, waiting.
"What is this place?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
"This," Damian's voice came from behind me, calm and measured, "is the world of the damned."
I turned to face him, my heart racing. He stood tall and unwavering, his dark cloak billowing in the faint wind, his eyes glowing with that same strange light I had seen before. There was no fear in him, no hesitation, only the steady confidence of someone who had walked these lands for far too long.
"The world of the damned?" I echoed, my voice barely more than a whisper. "You mean, Hell?"
Damian's gaze softened slightly, but there was no smile on his lips. "Hell is a name given by mortals who only see part of the truth. This place… it's not fire and brimstone, not as you've been told. It is the space between what was and what is, where souls are bound, not by punishment, but by choice."
I took a shaky breath, my mind reeling. "By choice? Who would choose this?"
He stepped closer, his presence both comforting and terrifying at once. "Not every soul that comes here is damned in the way you understand. Some are drawn here because they seek something more, something beyond the mortal world. They've made a pact, a decision to embrace the darkness in exchange for power, knowledge, or even love."
Love. The word felt like a blade slicing through my thoughts. I looked at him, searching his face for answers. "And what about you? Is that why you're here?"
Damian's expression darkened, and for a moment, he was silent. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, almost distant. "I came here long ago, seeking something I thought I needed. But the truth of this place is that it shows you who you truly are. It strips away the illusions of the mortal world and reveals the darkness within. I've seen what lies beneath my surface, Lucia. And now, so will you."
A cold shiver ran down my spine. I had followed him into this place, but I hadn't fully understood what that meant, what I would have to face. "What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely steady.
He looked at me, his dark eyes searching mine. "This is your descent, Lucia. The darkness here isn't just around you, it's inside you. You've always felt it, haven't you? The pull, the shadow that's followed you your entire life."
My heart pounded in my chest, and I took a step back. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do," Damian said, his voice low and insistent. "You've felt it, in your dreams, in the quiet moments when the world goes still. You've always known you were different. That's why you're here."
I shook my head, refusing to believe it. "I'm not like you. I don't belong here."
"But you do," Damian said softly, stepping closer. "This is where your journey begins. And now, you must choose."
"Choose what?" My voice trembled with fear, with the weight of what was being asked of me.
Damian's eyes gleamed with an intensity I hadn't seen before. "To embrace the truth of who you are. To step fully into the darkness and claim the power that lies within you."
The words sent a wave of cold terror through me. Power? Darkness? I didn't want any of this. I hadn't asked for it. But deep down, I knew there was no turning back now.
I looked around, the barren wasteland stretching endlessly in every direction. I had come this far. I had crossed the threshold into a world I didn't understand, but there was something inside me, something Damian had awakened, that wanted to see more. That wanted to understand.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart. "And if I choose not to?"
Damian's gaze hardened slightly, his voice a whisper in the wind. "Then you will leave this place as you came, lost, incomplete. And the shadows will follow you for the rest of your life."
I felt the weight of his words pressing down on me. There was no easy choice. But deep inside, the pull was undeniable.
I met his eyes, my voice shaking. "I don't know what I am. I don't know what I'm supposed to be."
"You'll find out," Damian said, his voice steady. "But only if you're willing to face what lies ahead."
The ground beneath my feet trembled, and in the distance, the sky seemed to crack open, revealing a swirling mass of shadows and light. The air around us grew colder, and I felt the pull again, that deep, irresistible force that had brought me here.
I swallowed hard, my heart pounding in my chest. I had come this far. I had made my choice the moment I followed Damian into the darkness.
"Show me," I whispered, the words barely audible.
Damian's eyes gleamed with approval, and he reached for my hand. "Then let us begin."
As his fingers intertwined with mine, the ground beneath us gave way, and once again, we were falling, falling into the abyss, into the heart of the darkness.