Chapter 24 – Still, We Must Go On

The explosion echoed, the heavy door clanging shut, sealing us off from the horrors beyond. Silence descended, a heavy, oppressive silence broken only by our ragged breaths, Yuri’s soft sobs, and Luna’s whimpers.

“It’s… quiet,” Yuri whispered, her voice hollow, empty. “Arka…” There was no relief in her words, only a profound sense of loss.

I stumbled towards the door, my hand reaching out, touching the cold, unyielding metal, hoping to feel… something. Anything. But there was nothing. Just the cold, hard reality of the steel, a barrier between us and… her.

She’s gone. Sacrificed herself to save us.
The thought was a heavy weight in my chest, crushing me, suffocating me.

“Arka…” My voice cracked, the image of her turning away, her final words echoing in my mind.

“Go on. To the end of the Abyss.”

She’d given us a chance, a chance we wouldn’t have had without her sacrifice. But the knowledge offered little comfort, the grief, the guilt, a raw wound in my soul.

“Noah…” Luna whispered, her small hand clutching my arm, her eyes red and swollen, her voice thick with tears. “What… what do we do now?”

“…We go down,” I said, the words escaping my lips before I’d even consciously formed them. There was no other choice. No turning back. Only down.

A grinding sound echoed from above, and we instinctively stepped back from the door, bracing ourselves for another attack. But it wasn’t another monster.

A staircase, black and shimmering, materialized from the ceiling, descending slowly, as if beckoning us forward.

“The eighth floor,” Yuri whispered, her voice hollow. “The path… Arka made for us.”

I looked at the staircase, its path disappearing into the darkness below, a path paved with sacrifice, with hope, with fear. How much further? How much more would we have to endure?

“The timing…” I muttered, shaking my head. “It’s almost… mocking.”
Why offer us a path now? After… this? Was it a test? Or an invitation to deeper despair?

Luna sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “We… we go down now, Noah?”

I looked at her, her small face streaked with tears, her golden eyes wide with fear, and my heart ached.

“Yes, Luna,” I said, my voice firm, though my own heart was heavy with grief. “We go down. We can’t stop now. Not after… this. This is… Arka’s legacy. We have to… see it through.”

“You’re right,” Yuri said, her voice stronger now, wiping her tears, rising to her feet. “That’s what she wanted. She… she sacrificed herself… for us.”

“We have to keep going,” I said, my gaze fixed on the staircase. “For Arka. For… ourselves.”
For Alice.
“Let’s go. Down to the eighth floor.”

[Abyss – 7th Floor Terminus – 800m Underground]

Pattern: The Spiral’s Heart.

Description: A large spiral surrounded by smaller, dotted lines, its center slowly rotating, pulsing with alternating red and blue light. Located on the floor of the central device, connected to the surrounding pillars, it appears to be a conduit for the Abyss’s energy.

We descended the staircase in silence, the air heavy, oppressive, our grief a tangible presence, weighing us down, suffocating us. The spiral staircase descended into darkness, the faint light barely illuminating the steps beneath our feet. With each step, I felt myself sinking deeper, further into the Abyss.

[Abyss – 8th Floor Entrance – 972m Underground]

“Is this… the eighth floor?”

Yuri’s voice was faint, distant, as if swallowed by the darkness.

“What? I can’t hear you!” I turned to her, but her words were lost, the sound fading, disappearing before it reached my ears.

“I said, is this the eighth floor?!” she shouted, her voice louder, but still… muffled, distorted. Her mouth moved, but the words… they didn’t quite reach me. It was as if the very air was… absorbing the sound.

I looked around. The chamber was shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from small, shimmering fragments that floated in the air, like tiny, dying stars.

“Noah…” Luna whispered, tugging at my sleeve, her voice close to my ear, yet still… faint, as if she were speaking from a great distance. “Something’s… wrong.”

“What is it?”

“The sound… it’s… disappearing. Like… it’s being… swallowed.”

The silence here was different. Deeper. More profound than the quiet of the forest. It wasn’t just the absence of sound; it was the absence of… something else. Something… vital.

“It’s true, Noah,” Luna said, her golden eyes wide, scanning the darkness. “The Abyss… it’s not usually like this. There’s always… something. Movement. Sound. Life. But here…”

I took a step, the ground smooth and cold beneath my feet, the sound of my footsteps fading, disappearing into the silence.

“Here… it feels like… everything… just… vanishes…”

Her words sent a shiver down my spine.

A faint light flickered in the darkness, a narrow path illuminating the floor before us, the fragments of light coalescing, guiding our way.

“We… we have to follow it,” Yuri whispered, her voice barely audible.

It was too obvious, a path laid out for us, an invitation… or a trap?

I pulled out the Abyss Compass, hoping for some guidance, some confirmation.

“Let me check this.”

The compass had been reliable, for the most part, its needle guiding us through the treacherous landscapes of the lower floors. But here…

The needle spun erratically, then stopped, as if… blocked, unable to find its bearings.

“It’s… not working,” I muttered, my heart sinking. “Just like on the sixth floor.”

Yuri frowned, examining the compass. “What does it mean?”

“The Abyss… it only shows the true path…” Luna whispered, her voice trembling. “But now… there’s nothing…”

Her words amplified the growing unease within me.

“What do we do?” Yuri asked, her gaze fixed on the bow in her hand, her knuckles white.

I took a deep breath, shaking the compass again, but the needle remained stubbornly still.

“We have to choose,” I said finally, my gaze returning to the path of light. There was no other way. No turning back. Only forward. Into the unknown.

“Let’s go, Noah,” Yuri said, her voice tight with apprehension. “I don’t like this place.”

We stepped onto the path of light, following its faint glow into the darkness. The silence deepened, pressing in on us, the sounds, the movements, the very sensations of the world around us fading, disappearing, as if swallowed by the encroaching darkness. Only the faint light beneath our feet, the fragments of light brushing against our skin, remained, beckoning us forward, deeper into the Abyss.

We walked, our steps slow, cautious, the path of light our only guide. But where did it lead? What awaited us at its end?

“Noah…” Luna whispered, her small hand gripping my arm tighter, her voice barely audible. “Slower… please… I’m scared…”

“It’s alright, Luna,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, though my own heart was pounding in my chest. “Just be careful where you step. The path… it’s still there.” But even as I spoke, I wasn’t sure. The fragments of light were faint, flickering, the darkness on either side of the path deep, impenetrable. It felt as if… something was watching us, something hidden in the shadows, something… waiting.

“Noah…” Yuri’s voice, sharp, urgent, cut through the silence. “…something moved. On the left.”

I turned, following her gaze, but there was nothing there. Just the faint, flickering light.

“I… I didn’t see anything,” I said. “Are you sure?”

“Something… brushed past me. Like… a cold wind.” She rubbed her arm, her body trembling.

She wasn’t lying. I could see the fear in her eyes.
What was happening? Were our senses… failing us?

“I felt it too,” Luna whispered, her voice barely audible. “Cold… something cold…”

We stood there, silent, listening, but there was nothing. No sound, no movement, just the oppressive silence, the growing sense of unease.
Or rather… we could no longer hear. Could no longer feel.

“We have to keep moving,” I said, my voice low, urgent. “We can’t stay here.”