The fall had no end.
They had dropped more than a thousand meters, but it felt eternal—an abyss that consumed not just the body but the mind. Dylan couldn't scream anymore. His lungs gave up before the fall did. Eventually, when gravity released its grip, he found himself weightless, drifting in a void so black it erased the idea of color. There was no ground. No sky. No sense of direction. Just pure nothingness.
This wasn't a cave. This wasn't the underworld.
This was something else.
The last thing he remembered before the silence was Zephyr's laughter. Then, even that was gone.
Dylan floated alone in the void.
He reached out. Nothing. He whispered. No echo. He moved. No sound.
He was truly, utterly alone.
Panic clawed at him, but Dylan had learned from past nightmares. This was like the Black Void—the same darkness he faced when battling the Sentinels. And just like then, fear would only make him sink deeper. He needed clarity.
"Focus..." he muttered. "Oppose the dark. Embrace the flame."
He dropped to what felt like a soaked, invisible floor and crossed his legs. Closing his eyes, he summoned the black aura within him—the energy he'd harnessed during battle. It hummed faintly, a beacon against the infinite dark.
But this darkness fought back. It wasn't just a place. It had a will. A presence. Something ancient and watching.
Meanwhile, the others weren't lost.
Zephyr, Lilith, Tenshin, and Necros moved like wraiths. Zephyr's burning red eyes illuminated fragments of the abyss—not with light, but with awareness. He could sense the folds of the void, the movements, the hungers.
"Stop," he whispered.
Lilith rolled her eyes. "Again? You and your damn pauses."
Necros chuckled. "Oh, I think I know what time it is."
Zephyr grinned. "Time for entertainment."
With a sudden burst, he vanished into the dark. Not ran. Vanished. The others stood still. They didn't need to see—they could hear.
Screams erupted in the void. Unseen. Agonizing. Not Zephyr's.
Lilith felt blood splatter across her face and shivered with pleasure. She licked it slowly, savoring it like wine. "Mmm... delicious."
Necros giggled, arms swinging aimlessly. "He's painting again."
Tenshin said nothing, eyes locked into the pitch like it was speaking to him. He wasn't just watching—he was listening to the silence.
Minutes passed.
Then Zephyr returned. His coat was soaked in blood. In his hand, he dragged a mangled ghoul-like creature by its hair. Its body twitched. Its eyes were wide with terror.
Zephyr smirked. "Do I need to send invitations for a meal, or...?"
Lilith laughed. Necros bowed mockingly. Tenshin blinked slowly.
Zephyr snapped the creature's neck like breaking a stick.
Far from them, Dylan opened his eyes. The aura he focused on began to shine brighter. He wasn't winning against the darkness—but he was resisting.
Suddenly, a low whisper rippled through the void. Not in words. In feeling.
Welcome.
His skin crawled.
"Who's there?" he called.
No answer. Just silence. And then, a flicker.
In the endless dark, a sliver of light blinked. Dylan stood, cautious, and stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the light, reality bent.
He was no longer in the void.
He stood in a massive cathedral-like structure. The ceiling was infinite. The walls breathed. The ground pulsed beneath his feet like flesh.
This wasn't salvation.
This was another layer of the nightmare.
Suddenly, shapes emerged from the distance. Pale. Crawling. Dozens of creatures, humanoid but malformed, began to surround him, their eyes glowing dimly.
"Shit..."
Dylan summoned his aura, the black energy swirling around him like smoke. He was done playing.
He leapt into battle.
Elsewhere, the cohort sensed the shift.
Zephyr tilted his head. "He's found the cathedral."
Lilith cocked her shotgun. "About time. Let's go before he ruins all the fun."
Necros whispered, "Let the blood be our compass."
Tenshin just walked forward.
Dylan fought like a beast. His blade tore through the swarm, the aura shielding him from bites and claws. He roared, the wolf inside threatening to rise, but he held it back.
One creature lunged from above. Dylan turned, impaling it mid-air.
More poured in.
He was getting tired. Fast.
Then, a shotgun blast blew a hole in a charging ghoul.
Lilith appeared, grinning. "Miss me?"
Zephyr landed beside him like a ghost. "Nice warm-up."
Necros and Tenshin stepped through the doorway, forming a circle.
For the first time, they fought together.
And the cathedral echoed with screams.
When the battle ended, the floor was painted red. Corpses twitched. Breathing heavy, Dylan leaned against a twisted pillar.
Zephyr clapped slowly. "You did well. For someone who almost died."
Dylan snarled. "What the hell is this place?"
Zephyr's smile faded. "The first layer. Of something far deeper. This is no realm you've walked before."
Lilith added, "We call it The Hollow."
Necros laughed. "And this? This is only the beginning."
Dylan looked around, his eyes narrowing.
He knew one thing for sure.
The only way out was through.
And the nightmare had just begun.