Selene's scream tore through the Arena as chains dragged her toward the gaping wound in the floor.
Her blood painted the stone, streaking crimson trails behind her as her fingers clawed desperately at the cracked ground. Shadows writhed from her body, thrashing like dying serpents, but they were too weak, too broken.
Argon's chest heaved, his hacksaw dripping gore. His crimson eyes locked onto her—onto the only fragile light left inside him—being swallowed by the labyrinth's hungry maw.
"ARGON!" Selene's voice cracked, raw with pain and terror. "Don't… let me go!"
And then the ground beneath her gave way.
She fell into the abyss.
The Maze Demands
The Arena shook with laughter. The Game's voice boomed like thunder in his skull:
"Sacrifice incomplete. Survivor's choice required. Pursue… or forsake."
The abyss pulsed, alive with whispers. Countless voices rose from the pit, calling his name, mocking, begging. Pale hands stretched upward from the darkness, grasping, clawing, desperate to pull him down.
Vanessa stood at his side, her nails sliding across his blood-slick chest, her smile a dagger.
"Let her go, darling," she purred. "She's already broken. You've seen it. You've made her bleed. Why waste yourself for someone who was always too weak to keep up with you?"
Her lips brushed his ear. "Stay with me. Claim the labyrinth's gift. And we'll never be chained again."
Argon's grip tightened on the hacksaw until his knuckles split. His breath came ragged, torn. His crimson eyes flickered—not steady, not certain.
Selene in the Dark
Far below, Selene fell through the abyss.
The air was heavy, suffocating, filled with whispers that tore at her mind. Hands clawed her body, nails raking her wounds, dragging her deeper into the pit.
Her shadows lashed out weakly, but for every hand she struck down, a dozen more replaced it. Her blood streamed endlessly, staining the void around her.
Her lips trembled as she whispered his name. "Argon… please…"
And in the distance, she thought she saw him—standing at the edge, crimson eyes burning above her. But would he leap… or would he turn away?
The Struggle
Argon staggered toward the edge. His chest burned, his body trembling as if torn in two.
One voice screamed inside him: Jump. Save her. Don't let her go.
Another hissed: She's weakness. She'll drag you down. Let her die.
Vanessa's hand slid into his, her grip warm, firm, claiming. "Darling. The abyss isn't for you. That pit only devours. Stay with me, and you'll never have to bleed again."
But from the darkness below, Selene's broken voice rose again, hoarse, trembling, desperate.
"I still… believe in you."
The Leap
The hacksaw clattered to the ground.
Argon roared, tearing free from Vanessa's grip, and hurled himself into the abyss.
The pit swallowed him whole, the darkness closing in. Cold hands clawed his flesh, whispers clawed his mind, visions of blood and failure tearing at his sanity.
He fell faster, deeper, weightless and drowning all at once.
And then—he saw her.
Selene, tangled in shadows, her body limp, her eyes barely open. Her hands reached weakly upward, searching.
Argon's crimson eyes blazed brighter than ever. He stretched his arms wide and seized her, dragging her against him.
For the first time since he tasted corruption, he didn't feel consumed. He felt alive.
The Abyss Fights Back
The abyss shrieked. The voices became screams, the hands tightening, pulling harder. Flesh tore, bones cracked. Argon's body was shredded with every second, but he clung to her tighter.
Selene coughed blood, her voice weak. "Why… why would you come?"
His voice was hoarse, savage. "Because you're mine to protect. Not hers. Not the maze's. Mine."
Her eyes widened faintly, her lips parting. And for the first time since the Game began, she smiled.
But the abyss wasn't done.
Chains burst from the void, wrapping around Argon's limbs, sinking into his flesh. They burned like fire, hissing against his veins, trying to rip Selene from his grasp.
Argon roared, thrashing against them, his muscles tearing, his skin splitting. Blood poured from his wounds, feeding the void.
Still, he did not let go.
Vanessa Above
At the Arena's edge, Vanessa watched, her smile faltering for the first time.
Her darling had leapt. For her.
Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood. "Foolish man… you'll regret this."
The labyrinth pulsed around her, as if mocking her loss. But she wasn't finished. Not yet.
If he would rather fall for Selene than rise with her… then she would make sure both were devoured.
Cliffhanger
The abyss shook violently, chains tightening, pulling Argon and Selene deeper into the void.
Selene's head sagged against his chest, her breath faint, her shadows flickering out like dying embers.
Argon screamed, crimson light erupting from his veins, his roar splitting the void. His corruption burned hotter, brighter, devouring everything in its path.
The abyss shrieked in pain.
And as the darkness swallowed them whole, a voice unlike the Game's whispered through the void—ancient, hungry, alive.
"Finally… you are mine."
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Argon and Selene are swallowed by the abyss, where an ancient presence far older than the Game waits. The labyrinth has fed them to something worse… and it already knows Argon's name.