Sarina’s body trembled with fatigue, her legs unsteady beneath her. The reflection of herself—the eerie, twisted doppelgänger born of the Abyss—lay motionless at her feet, slowly dissolving into wisps of shadow. The sword in her hand felt heavy, the weight of the battle, the constant strain, threatening to break her.

She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself a single breath of respite. But the silence around her was far from peaceful. The Abyss, though momentarily quiet, was still there, lurking, watching, waiting. Its dark whispers had receded, but their echoes lingered in her mind, their meaning gnawing at her thoughts.

“You cannot escape what you are.”

The reflection’s words clung to her, sinking deep into her bones. Was it true? Was she truly bound to this place, this darkness? Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, the leather of her gauntlets creaking under the pressure. She couldn’t let herself believe that—not yet, not ever. The Abyss might have shown her a vision, but she would not be consumed by it.

As she opened her eyes and looked around the desolate landscape, the strange doorway through which she had come had vanished, leaving only the vast, empty field under a pale sky. It felt surreal, like a dream that had yet to end.

She wasn’t alone anymore.

Lira stood at the edge of the field, her face pale but determined, her hands gripping her bow tightly. Her eyes were wide with a mix of relief and concern as she rushed toward Sarina.

“Sarina!” she called, her voice cracking. “Are you okay?”

Sarina forced a tired smile. “I’m... I’ll live,” she replied, though the truth was, she felt anything but whole.

Lira stopped beside her, casting a wary glance at the fading remnants of the reflection on the ground. “What... what was that?” she asked, her voice hushed with fear.

Sarina shook her head. “I don’t know,” she admitted, her tone tinged with frustration. “But it said something. It said the Abyss is a part of me. That I’m bound to it.” Her voice wavered, and she hated herself for the uncertainty that crept into her words.

Lira’s expression hardened. “That’s not true. We’ll find a way out of this,” she said firmly, her voice full of conviction.

Sarina wanted to believe her. But the weight of everything they had been through, the constant battles, the endless darkness—it was wearing her down. The Abyss had dug its claws into her, and she didn’t know how to free herself from its grip.

But there was no time to dwell on it. They still had a mission, and they were far from safe.

Lira reached out and grasped Sarina’s arm, pulling her gently but firmly. “Come on. We need to keep moving. Staying here won’t do us any good.”

Sarina nodded, and together they set off, their steps slow but purposeful, heading toward the distant horizon where the field seemed to end. As they walked, the ground beneath them began to change, the once soft grass turning brittle and dry, like the remnants of a long-dead forest. The air grew colder, the faint warmth of the sun all but disappearing as a low mist began to creep across the ground.

The further they walked, the more Sarina’s mind wandered back to what the reflection had said. “The Abyss is part of you.” What did that mean? Why had it taken her form, of all things? She glanced down at her hands, flexing her fingers as if expecting them to turn to shadow at any moment.

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It couldn’t be true. It wouldn’t be true.

Suddenly, a low rumble echoed through the air, pulling Sarina from her thoughts. She and Lira froze, their eyes scanning the mist ahead of them.

“What was that?” Lira whispered, her hand already reaching for the arrows slung across her back.

Sarina drew her sword, her heart racing. “I don’t know,” she muttered, her voice tense. The mist ahead seemed to shift, like something was moving within it, hidden just beyond their sight.

They took cautious steps forward, the mist swirling around their feet. And then, out of the haze, a shape began to emerge—tall, dark, and twisted, like the silhouette of some long-forgotten statue. As they drew closer, the figure became clearer, its grotesque form looming over them. It was a massive stone pillar, covered in strange, ancient carvings that pulsed faintly with the same eerie energy they had seen in the Abyss before.

Lira took a step back, her eyes widening. “What is this place?” she breathed, her voice laced with unease.

Sarina’s gaze narrowed as she studied the carvings. “It looks like... some kind of altar,” she murmured. “But to what?”

Before Lira could respond, the ground beneath them began to tremble, the rumbling growing louder. The mist around the pillar thickened, swirling violently as the carvings began to glow brighter.

“Sarina, we need to move!” Lira shouted, but it was too late.

With a deafening roar, the pillar exploded in a burst of dark energy, the force of the blast sending Sarina and Lira flying backward. Sarina hit the ground hard, her vision blurring as the world spun around her. She groaned in pain, struggling to push herself up, but the energy from the pillar was overwhelming, pressing down on her like a heavy weight.

Through the haze of pain, she saw a figure emerge from the pillar, its form cloaked in shadow. It moved with an unnatural grace, its eyes glowing with a malevolent light.

Azrathis.

The demon queen stood before them once more, her presence as suffocating as ever. But this time, there was something different about her—something more powerful, more dangerous. The air around her crackled with dark energy, and the ground at her feet seemed to wither and die.

“You’ve returned,” Azrathis said, her voice cold and mocking. “I knew you would.”

Sarina struggled to stand, her sword shaking in her hand as she faced the demon queen. “We defeated you,” she hissed, her voice filled with defiance despite the fear gnawing at her insides.

Azrathis’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Did you really think it would be that easy?” she asked, her voice dripping with disdain. “The Abyss is eternal, Sarina. It cannot be defeated. And neither can I.”

Sarina’s grip on her sword tightened, her knuckles white. “We’ll stop you,” she said, her voice hard. “No matter what it takes.”

Azrathis laughed, a low, chilling sound that sent shivers down Sarina’s spine. “You are already bound to me, Sarina,” she said, her eyes gleaming with dark amusement. “The Abyss flows through you. You are mine.”

Sarina’s heart skipped a beat as the words sank in. No. It couldn’t be true. She refused to believe it.

But deep down, in the darkest corners of her mind, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the demon queen’s words held a terrifying truth.

Azrathis raised her hand, and the ground beneath Sarina’s feet began to crack, dark tendrils of energy snaking up from the earth, wrapping around her ankles, pulling her down.

Lira cried out, her voice filled with panic as she tried to fight her way through the swirling energy to reach Sarina. But the force of the Abyss was too strong.

Sarina struggled against the tendrils, her sword slashing at them, but they kept coming, tightening their grip around her, pulling her closer to the ground.

And then, in the midst of the chaos, a voice—faint, distant, but unmistakable—echoed in her mind.

“Fight.”

It was her own voice, the same voice that had urged her on before. But this time, it was stronger, more certain.

With a surge of determination, Sarina gritted her teeth and swung her sword with all her strength, cutting through the dark tendrils that bound her. She pushed herself to her feet, her body trembling with the effort, but she refused to give in.

She would not be consumed by the Abyss. She would not let Azrathis win.

With a fierce battle cry, Sarina charged toward the demon queen, her sword raised high, the darkness swirling around her like a storm. She would fight until the very end.

Because the chains of the Abyss could bind her body, but they would never break her will.