Frank eyed the chasm, his mind racing for solutions. He was then reminded that Ollie had shot him before. The shot had caused him to float in mid air and then fly away at the exit.

"Hey, you still got that floatie thing you shot me with before? Maybe Alan and I could use it to cross."

Ollie shook his head. "Changed my loadout. Can't do that anymore."

"What? When?" Frank's brow furrowed in confusion. He's been with Ollie this whole time and he didn't see him change anything.

"When we met Jonathan at the airport. He gave me a new reference cube… you wouldn't understand even if I told you." Ollie said.

"Who?" Frank said in passing, not expecting an answer.

Alan piped up and blurted, "I don't wanna get shot just to float anyway. Nope, none of that for me."

"Shut up," Frank snapped, frustration mounting.

Ollie scanned the broken bridge and the walls, his expression grim. "We need to find another way."

"Maybe we could just jump it," Alan suggested casually.

Frank looked at the gap again, his stomach dropping. He couldn't see anything at all as the darkness veiled any light that could show what was below. The gap stretched at least ten meters, maybe more. He shook his head. "Not possible. Not with our physiques."

He glanced at Ollie, knowing the younger man could probably make the leap himself. But Ollie wouldn't abandon them. Frank felt a twinge of guilt, realizing he and Alan were just dead weight.

Ollie motioned for them to backtrack. "Let's just find another way."

As they turned, shadows stirred at the edges of Frank's vision. Suddenly, countless grotesque beasts emerged from the darkness, cornering them on the bridge. Their bony leathery forms blocked any escape route.

Ollie's voice cut through the air, urgent and commanding. "Jump it! Now! I can meet you there later!" He raised both of his Bizons, unloading his magazines and unleashing streaks of bright blue and crimson streaks across the air.

"Are you crazy?" Frank shouted, even as he lifted his rifle and started firing into the sea of monsters. The creatures fell, but more kept coming, an endless tide of nightmarish flesh. Every magazine spent by Ollie looked to be just a drop in the bucket.

Beside him, Alan stood frozen, paralyzed by indecision and fear. The beasts drew closer, their inhuman shrieks filling the air. "Frank, we gotta jump maaan. Ollie even told us to jump!"

"Alan just shoot!" Frank shouted.

Alan finally squeezed the trigger, launching a shell into the swarm of creatures. The blast's shockwave rippled through the air, striking a trio of monsters in its path. Though the projectile felled three targets, it barely made a dent in the never-ending horde.

"Alright, shit! We're jumping. Get yourself ready!" Frank and Alan readied themselves, momentarily stepping back from the gap, then burst out into a sprint. "Jump!"

Frank and Alan launched themselves off the ledge. Yet, their frames reached the highest point of the jump before even reaching halfway across the gap. Suddenly, a pain struck their whole bodies, launching them up even higher. They both glanced back and saw Ollie had shot them with two revolvers.

Frank hit the ground hard, pain exploding through his right leg. He rolled, gritting his teeth against the agony, and came to a stop near the edge of the broken bridge at the other side. Beside him, Alan lay motionless, his eyes closed, both arms twisted unnaturally.

"Alan!" Frank called out, but his partner didn't stir.

Pushing himself up on his elbows, Frank looked back across the chasm. Ollie stood alone on the other side, a sea of monstrous forms surging toward him. Frank's heart raced, second hand fearing for the young man's life.

Suddenly, an M4 materialized in Ollie's hands. He squeezed the trigger, and Frank's eyes widened. Bullets erupted from the barrel, but they didn't fly straight. Instead, they orbited around Ollie like a swarm of angry hornets, leaving streaks of light in their wake.

The bullets danced and weaved, each one piercing through multiple beasts before curving back around. Creatures fell in droves, their inhuman shrieks cutting off abruptly as the magical ammunition found its mark.

Frank watched, transfixed, as the bullets continued their deadly dance. They streaked across the gap, some passing so close he could feel the displaced air on his face. The wooden planks where he and Alan had stood moments before were soon pockmarked with holes, testament to the power and precision of Ollie's supernatural weapon.

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Despite the pain in his leg, Frank couldn't look away from the spectacle. Ollie stood firm, the eye of a storm of lead and light, as the horde of monsters diminished before him.

Soon enough, the sea of monsters relented and retreated as they died in droves. The next moment, Ollie ran straight to the direction of the chasm, jumping at the edge of the bridge, then gracefully landing beside Frank—his face drenched in sweat.

At last regaining his senses, Frank noticed his leg bent in an unnatural angle. The broken unusable leg dawned on him, and agony suddenly flooded his consciousness.

"Quit acting like a child," Ollie remarked. In an instant, the young suit pressed a syringe gun into Frank's leg. A soothing, verdant glow engulfed his entire form. Frank couldn't help but cry out in agony as his leg twisted and contorted itself back into place, the process accompanied by a cacophony of unsettling crunches.

The young suit then pressed another syringe gun into Alan, his arms restored itself back, the pain waking up the half-drunk man with a scream.

"Looks like their cleaning team missed out this area, but we should be fine now. Those things are afraid of something inside this castle." Ollie commented.

With resignation in his voice, Alan remarked, "Not sure if that's a good thing, but I said I didn't want to get shot."

"We're alive aren't we?" Frank grumbled. "What now?"

"We need to rest at that hut over there, my ether is all spent. Whatever is ahead probably is worse than whatever is out there." Ollie said, his tone exhausted.

***

Frank stared into the flickering flames, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The crackling fire cast dancing shadows across the weathered walls of the small hut, their temporary sanctuary in this nightmarish realm. Beside him, Alan fidgeted restlessly, his eyes darting from corner to corner as if expecting another beast creature to come out at any moment.

Across from them, Ollie lay sprawled on the ground, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. The young man's face, usually so alert and focused, now looked peaceful in sleep. Frank couldn't help but marvel at how quickly Ollie had dozed off, as if the horrors they'd faced mere hours ago were nothing more than a fleeting dream.

"It's been a couple of hours already… you think we should wake him?" Alan whispered, breaking the silence that had settled over them like a heavy blanket.

Frank shook his head. "Let him rest. We have no idea how they recover. Just wake him up if you see anything bad."

Alan nodded, then fell silent again. The minutes stretched on, each one feeling like an eternity. Frank's eyes grew heavy, but he fought against the urge to close them. He couldn't afford to let his guard down, not here.

"Hey, Frank," Alan said suddenly, his voice barely above a whisper. "You ever wonder if it's all worth it?"

Frank turned to look at his partner, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Alan sighed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "All of this. The case, the chasing, the... whatever the hell this place is. Sometimes I think we're in way over our heads, you know?"

Frank remained silent, waiting for Alan to continue.

"It's just... ever since we met Jonathan, our lives have been turned upside down. We've seen things I can't even begin to explain. And now we're here, in some godforsaken place that shouldn't even exist." Alan paused, his gaze fixed on the fire. "I gotta be honest with you, Frank. You're the only person I can trust now. We've been through this whole thing together, right from the start. But sometimes… I don't even know anymore."

Frank nodded slowly, feeling the weight of Alan's words. "I know what you mean. There've been times I've wondered the same thing."

"So why do we keep going?" Alan asked, his voice tinged with a mixture of curiosity and desperation.

Frank was quiet for a moment, considering his answer. "Because… I don't know," he said finally. "Because if we don't, then who will? Even those guys want us to solve this."

Alan let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just... sometimes I wonder what our lives would be like if we'd never met him y'know?"

"Forget about not meeting him, he's been eyeing both of you for a while now." Ollie finally woke up. "You two were going to get involved one way or another, its just you're both too much of a coward to just become citizens."

"Why us?" Alan asked.

Ollie's lips opened, but stopped as he was about to say something. "I can't say. There's something weird about you two. That's all I can say."

"Confidential?" Frank blurted out.

Ollie rose to his feet, and with a quick snap of his fingers, his wrinkled attire transformed into a freshly pressed suit. "Let's move."

Ollie stepped out of the hut first. Frank and Alan followed close behind. His eyes adjusting to the eerie unending night that seemed to perpetually blanket this strange realm. They made their way down the desolate broken road towards the looming castle.

As they walked, Frank's gaze swept over the scattered buildings that dotted the landscape. Each structure stood as a silent, windows dark and empty, their facades crumbling under the weight of time and neglect. He peered into one as they passed, noting the thick layer of dust that coated every surface.

"No signs of life anywhere," Frank muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. The absence of even the most basic forms of vegetation struck him as profoundly unnatural.

Alan shuddered beside him.

They pressed on, the castle growing larger with each step. Frank couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, though every time he glanced over his shoulder, there was nothing but the empty road stretching back into the gloom.

Finally, they stood before the massive doors of the castle. Frank craned his neck, taking in the sheer scale of the entrance. It towered above them, easily four times their height, its surface marred by strange symbols and carvings that seemed to beat in the dim white glow.

Ollie stepped forward, placing both hands on the door. With a grunt of effort, he pushed. As the door inched open, a wave of otherworldly pressure slammed into them, nearly knocking both Frank and Alan off their feet.

He steadied himself, blinking away the disorientation. When his vision cleared, he turned to Ollie and froze. The young man's face had transformed, his eyes wide and unfocused, a manic grin stretching across his features. It was an expression of pure, unbridled ecstasy.