Betty’s engine roared as they tore down the street, dodging hunks of earth and a few dented vehicles with a skill Joe didn’t know he had. The glow ahead beckoned like a siren, promising something he wasn’t sure he wanted to see.

Joe navigated through the chaos as if the world had gone mad, which, judging by the wreckage, it had.

As they got closer, emergency vehicles—fire trucks, ambulances, and a few military Humvees—raced past them, sirens wailing into a blood-red sky that seemed more fitting for a nightmare than reality.

“Damn, Joe, this is worse than I thought,” Dan said, his eyes glued to the carnage outside.

Joe kept his mouth shut, too focused on the road ahead, trying to wrap his mind around the sheer scale of the disaster. What the hell had happened here? The explosion’s epicentre was supposed to be miles away, but as they got closer, it looked like the destruction spread far beyond that.

The glow, which he had pegged as a comfortable ten miles out, now seemed to hover just five or six miles ahead. The air itself felt wrong, heavy and electric, like they were driving into the mouth of a storm.

Every instinct screamed at him to turn back, to put as much distance between them and this hellhole as possible.

Only a fool would drive straight towards whatever caused this mess. But as his foot eased off the gas, ready to swing Betty around and get out of dodge, text flashed in the corner of his vision again.

Move towards it.

Joe stared at the words, his grip on the wheel going slack as the command washed over him like cold water. Before he could puzzle out what was going on, something loomed in front of Betty.

“Shit!” Joe shouted as he jerked the wheel to the right.

Too late. Something massive smashed into Betty’s hood with a crunch that rattled his bones, sending them skidding across the asphalt. Joe’s stomach flipped as he fought to regain control, the tyres protesting the sudden shift in momentum.

Betty finally shuddered to a halt, the sudden silence amplifying the blood pounding in his ears.

“Not again Betty!” he groaned, staring at another fresh dent in the hood. A wisp of smoke curled up from under it like a taunt.

“What in God’s name was that?!” Dan bellowed.

They both scrambled out of the car, Joe’s hands shaking as he rounded the front. His breath caught in his throat when he saw what they’d hit.

Sprawled underneath Betty’s bonnet was something straight out of hell. It was huge, bigger than any man, with leathery crumpled wings bent at angles that made him wince. Its skin, sickly grey and webbed with black veins, gleamed in the morning light.

And those eyes—yellow, glowing, and disturbingly lifeless—stared up at the sky like it had seen something truly horrifying before the end. In one clawed hand, it clutched a massive hammer, the metal head engraved with glowing runes that glistened faintly.

“What on earth…?” Joe said, his voice trailing off as he tried to make sense of the impossible sight. It was like a demon you’d see depicted in movies.

Achievement: Your vehicle bulldozered a Level 4 Bird. 500XP gained.

Joe squinted, staring at the text in disbelief. 500xp? bulldozered? BIRD?? The absurdity of it all hit him all at once. It really started to feel like some sort of depraved video game he thought, letting out a shaky laugh.

He was sure as shit that wasn’t a bird either.

“Alright,” Joe said, trying to keep his composure despite the whirlwind of confusion and fear building inside. He looked at Dan, who was still gaping at the creature.

“Dan, are you also seei…”

Before Joe could finish, a shadow passed overhead. They both looked up just in time to see another demon, this one even larger, swoop down with terrifying speed. Its claws latched onto Dan before he could react, yanking him off his feet.

“Joe!” Dan screamed, his voice filled with terror as the demon lifted him into the air, its wings flapping with a power that sent dust and debris swirling around them. The demon let out a piercing growl towards Joe.

“Dan!” Joe shouted, reaching out in vain as the demon began to carry him higher and higher towards the glow, his cries growing fainter until the sound as well as his ducky pyjamas were swallowed by the oppressive red sky.

Panic surged through Joe. He froze, struggling to process what had just happened. One moment, Dan was standing beside him, and the next, he was gone—snatched away by some hellish beast. What the fuck.

Joe’s attention snapped back to the horizon, where the glow seemed to pulse even brighter, more urgent. Instinct kicked in and he scrambled back into Betty, slamming the door shut behind.

His hands trembled as he fumbled with the keys.

What the hell was he doing?

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But even as the questions battered his mind, he found himself gunning the engine, the tyres squealing as he tore down the road, leaving the wreckage of the demon and the spot where Dan was taken behind.

The glow in the distance had taken on a sinister hue, and still, Joe couldn’t stop. The same text stood in his vision, driving him forward.

Move towards it.

Joe tensed up, pushing Betty harder, her engine thundering as he sped down the country road. Joe glanced around, catching glimpses of people fleeing in every direction. Yet here he was, driving straight into the mouth of madness.

The thought of turning back felt…wrong. Shit, was Dan already dead? What if there are more of those demons ahead?

Before he could second-guess himself, the road ahead opened into a wide clearing, and Joe slammed on the brakes again. Betty came to a stop and Joe stared in shock at the scene before him.

The source of the explosion was clearer now. It wasn’t just a glow—it was a massive, gaping hole in the earth, sloping sharply down into what looked like the very gates of hell. A fiery red light poured out of the opening.

And it wasn’t just Joe. A whole host of people had gathered here, standing in stunned silence at the edge of the abyss.

There were cars, motorcycles, even a lone bike and an electric scooter parked haphazardly on the roadside, their owners just as bewildered as Joe was.

The sky above was a chaotic swirl of dark clouds, illuminated by the red light, with strange, winged shapes flitting through the air—hovering, but not moving forward. Joe guessed they were more of whatever had just taken Dan.

Weirdly, none of the emergency service vehicles he had spotted were there.

Joe stepped out of Betty, feeling the makings of a headache forming as he took in the crowd. They looked like normal people—some still in their work clothes, others dressed for a night out, all of them just as confused as he was.

There was a police officer, a man in a high-vis, another man standing near the edge, his hat tipped low, his demeanour weirdly reminiscent of Clint Eastwood in an old spaghetti western.

Beside him, a boy no older than fourteen clutched a green sack slung over his shoulder, his wide eyes staring at the abyss.

A woman in a waitress uniform also stood nearby, her heels looking completely out of place on the rubble-strewn ground. Her hands trembled as she clutched a small purse to her chest, her eyes darting around as if searching for some explanation.

And then, just as Joe thought things couldn’t get any more messed up, the text appeared again. This time, it wasn’t just in front of his eyes—Joe could tell everyone else saw it too. Their gazes fixed forward, staring at the same words that had appeared in front of him.

Humans of the Lower Domain,

I am sorry. They have done what they should not. The time has come. You have been chosen as the last line of defence for your realm. The Inferno has broken through, seeping into your realm. This is not just an invasion; it is a slow, inevitable consumption. If left unchecked, it will devour everything.

You may feel unprepared, and rightfully so, but there is no other choice.

The Inferno is not a single place, but a realm of layers, each more dangerous than the last. You must descend into it. Fight. Survive. Rally with others, if fate allows. There is no turning back, and stopping the Inferno is your only hope.

Heed this warning. Once this message ends, you have a brief window to enter through the gate. The gate will not stay open long. If you fail to enter before it closes, the Inferno will begin its feast—consuming a mile of your world every two minutes. Once the feast begins, there will be no escape.

Enter. Fight for your home. The moment you step inside, there is no return until the job is done. Beware the Inferno’s pull—it is not just a realm, but a sentient force. I will endeavour to help you as much as I can, but it is up to you to disrupt the balance.

Remember: Remain composed. Once you falter, the Inferno will take more than just your life.

Good luck.

Achievement: You investigated the glow… 100XP gained.

Joe could see beyond the text a ramp suddenly forming from the very depth of the hole. It rose quickly and stopped just in front of everyone. It looked steep, but fine enough to get down.

The text faded away, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. The crowd shifted, murmurs spreading as people tried to process what they had just read. But before anyone could react, the text flashed again, this time with a countdown.

Time until the gateway closes: 05:00

The numbers began ticking down. Panic gripped the crowd as they surged forward, fear and desperation etched across their faces.

Yet not everyone was moving toward the hole; some turned and fled, racing back to their cars, desperate to escape whatever horror awaited them.

But Joe couldn’t move. His feet felt like they were glued to the ground as his mind spiralled, fixated on the abyss before him.

Surely this was just a nightmare, right? Any moment now, he’d wake up in his bed, safe and sound. Just as he was punching himself in the leg in a futile attempt to shake off the surrealness, a tiny chunk of earth crumbled off the ramp and tumbled into the void.

Fuck, this was real, wasn’t it? There was no way he could outrun the Inferno, a mile every two minutes through this chaos. What if it never stopped? What if it consumed everything—every last shred of life?

Though Joe didn’t have a partner or children, his thoughts turned to his parents and little brother. What if the Inferno reached them? Panic clawed at him. If he stepped into that hole, there was no guarantee he’d ever return.

But if he didn’t… the sheer terror of losing everything was unbearable. He didn’t want to die. He didn’t want his family to die. Could he really help?

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to move. His body was on autopilot as he headed towards the edge, the heat from the Inferno below rising to meet him. The ground was cracked and scorched, sulphur and smoke filling the air. He couldn’t just stand here, he had to do something.

Just as he reached the edge of the ramp, he stopped. “Betty!” He couldn’t leave Betty here. If this was really happening, she’d be lost down in the Inferno in the next five minutes. Could he take her down? Could he drive her down into the hole?

Joe turned and saw a few people who he thought were fleeing in their cars begin to drive down the ramp.

Screw it. He turned back and got into Betty, put her into gear and began his descent into the Inferno.