When I finally hit the bottom, the impact was like slamming into solid rock—because that's exactly what happened. The breath was knocked from my lungs, and stars exploded behind my eyelids. I lay there gasping, each inhale a jagged knife slicing through my chest. The darkness around me was impenetrable, a thick shroud that seemed to swallow all light and sound. The air was damp, carrying the scent of earth and something metallic—blood.
I reached up gingerly, wincing as my fingers brushed against a warm, sticky trail running down my forehead. Blood trickled down my face from where my head had struck something sharp, matting my hair and stinging as it seeped into my eyes. A dull, throbbing pain radiated from my ankle, intensifying with each passing second. I tried to move it, but agony shot up my leg like lightning, forcing a strangled cry from my throat.
"Damn it," I muttered through gritted teeth, the sound barely more than a rasp in the oppressive silence.
I cursed myself for not planning better, for letting my guard down. But there was no time to wallow in self-pity. I needed to move. I needed to find the page.
The page.
The thought cut through the haze clouding my mind, igniting a spark of determination. That golden page was the key to everything—to stopping the impending disaster, to escape before I lost everything.
[Priorities! Who cares about broken bones when there's a shiny piece of paper somewhere out there? Truly the hero we all deserve.]
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself into a sitting position. Every muscle screamed in protest, but I ignored them. I couldn't afford to be weak. Not now. Using the damp wall for support, I struggled to my feet. The cavern spun around me, shadows dancing at the edges of my vision.
"Come on, Jamie," I whispered to myself. "You've survived worse than this."
Have I, though? Doubt gnawed at the back of my mind, but I shoved it aside. One painful step at a time, I began to limp deeper into the cave. The rocky floor was uneven beneath my feet, slick with moisture. The air grew colder with each step, a chill that seeped into my bones. A metallic taste clung to the back of my throat, and the faint drip of water echoed ominously around me.
And then, faint but unmistakable, I heard it—chanting. The eerie, rhythmic sound sliced through the stillness like a dagger, sending a shiver down my spine.
[Oh good, creepy chanting in a dark cave. The day just keeps getting better. Maybe it's a choir of volcanic cheerleaders here to congratulate you on surviving this long.]
I'm close.
My heart pounded in my chest, each beat louder than the last. Adrenaline surged through my veins, momentarily dulling the pain. Fear whispered at the edges of my consciousness, but I couldn't let it take hold. Not when I was so close.
"I can do this," I murmured, more to convince myself than anything else.
The narrow passageway suddenly opened up into a vast chamber, so immense that the ceiling vanished into darkness above. Stalactites hung like ancient swords poised to strike. The walls were adorned with intricate runes that pulsed with an unnatural light—soft blues and purples that cast an ethereal glow across the stone. Shadows flickered and twisted, creating the illusion of figures dancing just out of sight.
In the center of the chamber stood a massive altar carved from obsidian, its surface polished to a mirror-like sheen. Hovering just above it was the golden page, suspended as if by invisible threads. It shimmered, emitting a soft glow that bathed the altar in warmth.
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My breath caught in my throat. After all the obstacles, all the dead ends—it was finally here, within reach. But unease coiled in my stomach. The air was thick with energy, each particle vibrating with latent power. The chanting grew louder, echoing off the walls in a haunting symphony.
I took a cautious step forward, eyes locked on the page. "Just grab it and go," I whispered. "In and out."
The chamber was suffocatingly quiet. The air was thick, clinging to my lungs as I stared at the shattered remains of the altar. Pieces of stone had sunk into the cracks of the floor like they belonged there, leaving a gaping void where the altar had once stood. My pulse hammered in my ears, the rumble of shifting earth underneath amplifying the dread that had taken root in my chest.
And then the growl came—a deep, guttural sound that made my breath catch. It built into a roar that shook the cavern, vibrating through my bones. My knees locked as the center of the altar erupted, spraying shards of molten stone across the room.
From the depths of that destruction, she emerged.
The god’s presence was like nothing I’d ever felt. Her towering form was hewn from jagged stone, veins of gold and molten light glowing faintly through the cracks in her body. Stone serpents writhed across her shoulders and back, their emerald eyes blazing with the same malice as her own. Her gaze swept over the chamber, twin suns burning into my soul. Heat radiated from her in waves, scorching the air. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but my legs wouldn’t move.
“Who dares spill blood in my domain?” Her voice thundered, each word a storm that rippled through the chamber.
I staggered back, barely staying on my feet as the weight of her presence pressed down on me. My breath came shallow and fast. My thoughts raced. What had Rod done? How could this be happening?
Her eyes locked onto him, standing rigid near the altar, his face pale, blood dripping down one side of his head. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch, even as her molten gaze bore into him.
“Mortal,” she rumbled, her voice like grinding boulders, “you have broken the seal.”
"I didn't—" His voice was weak almost swallowed whole by the monster. I couldn't hear the rest of what he said.
“No,” I whispered, a tremor in my voice. “No, no, no…” My feet finally moved, dragging me forward against the tide of suffocating dread. “Rod, say something! Tell her it wasn’t you!” My voice cracked but it was so weak and pitiful I doubt he heard me.
“Silence!” the god roared, and her voice hit me like a physical blow, stealing the air from my lungs."The time of reckoning has come."
She moved faster than I thought possible for something so massive, her molten hand shooting forward. “Rod, move!” I screamed, but he didn’t. He just stood there as if resigned to his fate.
Her fiery fingers closed around him, lifting him like a doll. A sound I’d never forget tore from his throat—a scream of pure, primal agony that echoed in the cavern and inside my soul. My knees buckled at the sound, and I felt like I’d break apart just hearing it.
“Rod!” I lurched forward, my entire body trembling. “Let him go! Please, let him go!” My voice was hoarse, choked with desperation, but the god didn’t even look at me.
Her fiery grip tightened, and Rod’s body convulsed, his face twisted in pain. “You will serve as the herald of my return,” she intoned, her words slow and deliberate, filled with terrible finality.
“No, stop! Don’t do this!” Tears blurred my vision as I stumbled toward them. I had nothing—no weapon, no power—but I couldn’t just watch. “Rod!” I shouted as loud as I could.
For a moment, I thought he heard me. His head shifted slightly, his dull eyes finding mine. “Jamie…” he whispered, his voice faint, almost broken. But then his body went slack, and the light in his eyes faded.
“No!” I screamed, the sound tearing from my chest as I broke into a full sprint. But I didn’t make it. Something hit me, an invisible force that threw me back like a ragdoll. Pain exploded through my side as I slammed into the cavern wall, the air forced from my lungs.
Gasping for breath, I looked up through the haze of pain. Rod’s body was dissolving into light—motes of golden energy that the god absorbed, her molten veins glowing brighter with every passing second.
“No, no, no… please…” I reached out a trembling hand, even though I knew it was futile.
The god turned her blazing eyes to me. “Your world will crumble,” she declared, her voice calm but no less devastating. “And there is nothing you can do to stop it.”
As Rod’s essence faded completely, a golden page floated in the air where his body had been. Its shimmering light mocked me, untouched by the devastation around it.
My lips moved, but no sound came out at first. And then, I felt fists pummel into my already bruised and broken body as a voice screamed, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BOYFRIEND?”