---
The world was bleeding.
Every road they passed was littered with twisted corpses — some demonic, some human.
None distinguishable anymore.
But ahead of them, on the path stitched together by bone and steel, stood the last known Crossroad Beacon:
A pillar said to give survivors a temporary route to lesser war zones for reprieve.
A lie.
---
Lian gripped the handles of his Cycle, his fingers numb, his knuckles split. His Crimson Pact Buff still burned in his body — 22%. A hollow reward.
Jayce trudged forward, dragging a piece of torn cloak around his injured demon arm.
It had started whispering names to him.
Real names.
Elyra hadn't spoken in three hours.
Her eyes were bloodshot, lips pale, and her mana was leaking like a cracked dam. She barely held her staff anymore — it trembled in her grasp.
Their HUDs flickered with the new World Modifier.
> [Despair Field Active – World Tier Upgrade Detected]
[Abyssal Invasion Level Increased – Sub-World Classification: "Nightmare Garden"]
New Threat: [Pain Incubators], [Forsaken Revenants], [Void Priests]
---
As they approached the Crossroad Beacon, they saw something moving.
Not demons.
Survivors.
Three of them.
All in ragged cloaks, backs covered in stitched symbols — remnants of a faction.
Jayce raised a hand. "Wait. Those aren't just survivors. That's—"
Then Lian saw the insignia stitched in blood:
> [Crimson Path]
"We kill so we may survive."
A rogue faction of survivors. Former humans. Now twisted by a different kind of pact.
---
Their leader stepped forward. A woman — tall, skin pale as snow, eyes too calm.
"Welcome, travelers," she said. "The beacon is broken. But I can offer you something far more valuable."
Jayce spat blood. "And what's that?"
The woman smiled.
"A way out… for one of you."
A pause.
Elyra looked up. "What…?"
"One of you walks through," the woman said, gesturing to a black portal behind her. "Only one. It leads to a sanctuary — a real one. The price is simple: two of you must stay behind and be claimed by the Revenants."
Lian's breath caught.
> [System Decision Triggered – Irreversible Consequence]
[Option 1: Fight and break the Crossroad Beacon. Gain access to next region but trigger a full-scale Revenant Hunt.]
[Option 2: Accept her deal. One leaves. Two die.]
[Option 3: Do nothing. Let fate unfold.]
---
Jayce didn't wait.
"Lian," he said, "If anyone deserves to get out of here, it's you."
He looked at Elyra, smiling that same joking smile — but this time it broke at the edges.
"I've been hearing their voices for too long. I've got too many sins. If I walk through that portal, I'll bring hell with me."
Then without warning —
He lunged at the rogue survivors.
---
Battle Start: Crimson Path vs Lian's Party
Jayce moved like thunder, his demon arm tearing into one of the rogues — only to find the woman had placed a Soul Anchor on him.
> [Binding: Your soul cannot leave the battlefield.]
He screamed, the arm trying to rip itself out of his shoulder.
Elyra cast spell after spell, but her magic fizzled midair.
Despair Field warped her casting.
Then a Revenant appeared.
A childlike figure in priest robes… with no face.
It floated toward her.
Whispers drilled into her mind.
"You burned them. You liked it."
She fell to her knees.
> [Cognitive Collapse – 79%]
[Permanent Madness Threshold Nearing.]
Lian activated [Soul Dash] again.
This time it wasn't about speed.
He used his own body as a shield — impaling himself on the crimson leader's blade — just to throw Elyra out of the Revenant's reach.
She hit the ground hard.
Her vision red.
But alive.
He fell to one knee.
> [HP: 4/100]
[Soul Fracture Imminent]
The woman approached, lifting her hand.
"You chose wrong," she whispered.
Then… a gunshot.
The woman's head jerked.
One of the rogue survivors turned on her.
A boy — maybe 16. With broken goggles and a cracked shotgun.
"I've seen what happens to the ones who choose," he said. "They don't get out. No one does."
---
In the chaos, Lian grabbed Elyra and Jayce, dragging them behind broken debris.
The boy helped.
Together, they destroyed the beacon.
---
> [Crossroad Beacon: OFFLINE]
[Map Path Unlocked: Abyss Root Sector]
[Revenant Hunt – Activated]
---
As they ran, the boy shouted his name.
"Name's Korran! I'm lucky! I joke a lot! I know what's ahead, and believe me — we haven't seen shit yet!"
Jayce groaned. "You picked a hell of a time to be funny!"
Korran grinned. "Better than screaming, right?"
Lian laughed — blood still dripping from his mouth.
It was hollow.
But real.
---
That night, they camped in silence — until Korran started making shadow puppets with a tiny light.
Elyra chuckled. Just once.
Jayce smirked.
Lian looked at them all.
And for a moment, despite the hellfire and death…
They felt like a team again.
---
Chapter End
---
Chapter 45 Summary:
Party meets the rogue faction Crimson Path who offer a twisted choice.
Jayce nearly sacrifices himself, but it leads to a brutal battle.
Elyra comes close to full mental collapse.
A new survivor, Korran, saves them and is revealed to be a lucky, future-knowing joker.
They destroy the beacon, unlocking a path deeper into the Abyss — but now they're hunted by Forsaken Revenants permanently.
---