I need many things for this expedition. But I can only take what I can carry. A knife? I like it, but I don't need it. I have other means of fighting the demons in the Abyss.
Food provisions, check. Meager change, check. Bedroll, check. Firewood, check. Demonology book, check. Besides my food provisions and bedroll, it was my most vital possession, my guide for navigating the world ahead of me.
The Abyss is no normal abomination. It hosts five layers, realms within a realm. Each one is twisted in its own, special way to be miserable for all of its inhabitants. Save for the demons who are native to the realm.
My wife is one such person. At the moment, she's down in the fifth layer within The Devil's fortress. I don't want to imagine what's happening to her, but I can't take my mind off of it.
The way I'm getting to the Abyss is through this abandoned temple. Whichever idiots used to live here worshipped the Devil, and thus a gateway was opened. The temple existed in the middle of a coastal grassland. Four days are now gone for me to save her.
Green grass blew in the wind, a sea of green beneath a dull gray sky. It's a bit cold, but that hardly bothers me, and if it did, it wouldn't be all that hard to do something about it.
The actual sea lies in the distance, white caps dotting the entirety of the ocean. It is tumultuous and constantly moving. It's likely loud, but I'm too far away to hear it.
I step into the monolithic stone remains of the temple, and then I see it
A pool of ebony black sits in the middle of the temple. Dark as tar, and yet the surface is rippled by whatever wisps of wind that navigate through the labyrinth of rock.
I cannot fathom what lies ahead of me. And at the moment, I would rather not even try. But, time will move forward, and I must move with it. Now I'm shivering, but this time there's nothing I can do about it.
I step forward, and face the future that now lies ahead.
YOU ARE READING
Bloodstains in the Flames
FantasyEthnie is a powerful mage who lost the love of her life in the Abyss, a horrifying realm with five layers, each more horrifying than the last. Will she be able to save her wife, or will it be too late when she finally makes it to the fifth layer?
