We had dropped at least a hundred ters, far too deep for an easy escape. The chamber was massive, with walls etched in pulsing, ancient runes that thrumd with an ominous energy. The runes were far more intricate than what we saw above, but the sa dark magic was woven into every line. This was no ordinary summoning altar.
I glanced over at the others. Aurelia was already back on her feet, dusting off her cloak, her eyes narrowing as she took in the scene. Her fiery red hair glowed faintly in the dim light of the chamber, making her look as dangerous as the magic that surrounded us. She muttered under her breath, a string of expletives that ended with a sharp, "What the hell is this place?"
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Aurelia was always quick to anger, but beneath the sharp words and fiery temper was a mind as sharp as her flas. I knew her irritation wasn't just from the fall—it was from the sheer unpredictability of the situation. She hated walking into sothing blind, and this altar was an enigma. But that didn't an she wasn't already calculating her next move.
"This place reeks of abyssal magic," she said, stepping closer to the walls. "Those runes... they're ancient, but they're not just demonic. There's sothing else mixed in. If we don't figure this out, we're gonna end up releasing sothing worse than we bargained for."
She wasn't wrong. The runes weren't just containnt spells; they were sothing more, sothing older. They told a story—a story I wasn't sure I wanted to hear.
Lyan, standing a few feet away, broke his silence. "This is... different from anything I've ever seen." His voice was calm, but there was a note of uncertainty there. Lyan was the expert when it ca to demon lore. If he was confused, it was bad news.
I studied the distance above us again. One hundred ters up. There was no jumping out of here. The walls themselves seed alive, pulsating with the sa twisted magic as the altar above. Climbing wasn't an option.
"We're stuck down here unless we figure out what this place is," I said, my voice cold and pragmatic. "No rash moves."
Aurelia rolled her eyes, still pacing, her frustration mounting. "You always say that, Dravis. It's like your catchphrase now. No rash moves." She mimicked my tone, her eyes glinting. But then she sighed, her voice lowering. "But yeah, you're probably right.
We can't blow the place up until we know what we're dealing with."
Anastasia, who had been quietly observing, stepped forward and examined the walls, her gaze thoughtful. "These runes... they're connected to sothing. I can feel it. They're not just here to imprison; they're summoning sothing."
Her voice was calm, asured. Anastasia was always the quiet one, but she had a way of picking up on the things the rest of us missed. She was right, of course. The magic here was alive, feeding off sothing far darker than we had encountered before.
Lyan stepped closer to the inscriptions, his eyes narrowing as he studied the ancient text. "This isn't just a prison," he said slowly, tracing the runes with his finger. "It's a story. These inscriptions... they're telling the tale of a war between the demons and the Abyss."
"The Abyss?" Aurelia asked, her interest piqued despite herself. "That can't be good."
Lyan nodded grimly. "It's not. The war wasn't just fought here; it was sealed here. This chamber... it's ant to contain sothing. Sothing powerful.
And the altar above is acting as a beacon. Destroying it might release whatever's trapped down here."
Aurelia clenched her fists, her flas flickering around her fingers. "So, let
get this straight. We can't destroy the altar, or we risk letting out so kind of abyssal nightmare?"
Lyan nodded. "Exactly."
She scoffed, though there was a glimr of understanding in her eyes. "Great. We're trapped in a cursed demon prison with no way out. Just another day in hell."
Aurelia might not have liked the situation, but she wasn't stupid. She knew we needed to think this through. Her mind was already calculating the possibilities, the risks, and the best way out. That's what made her dangerous—not just her power, but her ability to adapt. Even if her language was crude, her mind was always sharp.
"We need to figure out a way to stop the beacon without setting this thing loose," I said, keeping my voice steady. "If we leave it unchecked, it's going to summon sothing far worse than anything we've dealt with."
Anastasia, her expression calm but focused, stepped forward again. "We could try containing the energy. It won't be easy, but if we create a barrier strong enough to hold the magic in place, it might buy us so ti."
I nodded. "A temporary barrier could work, but it needs to hold long enough for us to figure out how to disable the altar. If we rush this, we're done."
Aurelia snorted, though I could tell she was already considering the plan. "Fine. No explosions. But if this thing starts crawling out, I'm torching it."
"I'd expect nothing less," I replied, keeping my tone neutral. "Lyan, can you decipher the rest of the runes?"
Lyan glanced at , his eyes shadowed with thought. "I can try, but we're running out of ti. Whatever's sealed here... it's waking up."
The ground beneath us rumbled, as if to punctuate his words. The runes on the walls flared brighter, pulsing in ti with so unseen force. Whatever was down here, it was coming. Fast.
"We need to set up the barrier," I said, my voice cutting through the tension. "Anastasia, you focus on the containnt. Lyan, keep working on the runes. Aurelia, be ready."
Aurelia grinned, though there was a flicker of nervous energy beneath it. "Always."
As we moved into position, the air around us grew colder. The magic in the chamber pulsed, a deep, dark rhythm that echoed through my bones. Whatever was trapped here was stirring, and it wasn't going to stay quiet for long.
Anastasia's shadows wrapped around the altar, weaving a web of dark energy that shimred in the dim light. The runes flickered, fighting against her magic, but she held firm. The barrier was strong, but I could feel the strain in the air. We didn't have much ti.
Lyan muttered sothing under his breath, his fingers tracing the runes faster now. "I've almost got it," he said, though I could hear the urgency in his voice. "But this thing is older than anything I've dealt with. If we break the wrong seal..."
"We're not breaking anything," I replied coldly. "We're containing it. Focus."
The ground shook again, harder this ti. The shadows around the altar flickered, and I saw Anastasia's expression tighten with concentration. She was struggling to hold the barrier in place. Whatever was inside was fighting back, and it was getting stronger.
Then, without warning, the runes on the walls flared brighter than before, and the air in the chamber seed to twist. A low, guttural growl echoed from the darkness, sending a chill down my spine.
"It's coming," Aurelia muttered, her flas flaring to life around her hands. "Whatever it is, it's big."
The shadows in the chamber shifted, and a massive figure began to erge from the darkness. Its form was grotesque, twisted, and pulsing with the sa dark energy that had filled the room. Its eyes glowed with a sickly green light, locking onto us with a hunger that sent a shiver through the air.
Aurelia's flas roared to life, casting a golden glow across the chamber. "Ti to burn sothing," she muttered, though her voice was laced with more caution than bravado.
I stood my ground, my sword at the ready.
This was it.
Whatever was sealed here, it was coming.
An abyssal monster, then I believe it should be even stronger than the Ebon Devourer I fought together with Chancellor Elandris at the MTU.
Then of course.
It ans that if I could subdue it and bring it to the real world, it could give
an even greater pawn to use.
Now let's see what is coming.
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