The abyss trembled.
Argon's hacksaw burned with crimson fire, the jagged blade reshaped into something far sharper, hungrier—like a weapon forged from his own veins. His chest rose and fell in ragged gasps, blood streaming down his arms, but his eyes burned with a defiance that silenced the whispers.
"I am not your vessel," he snarled. "Not your pet. Not your toy. I am me."
And then he swung.
The blade tore through the air, blazing with crimson light, and struck the abyss's towering mass of mouths and limbs.
The Abyss Awakens
The impact split the void.
Black ichor burst like thunder, spraying across the pulsating ground. The abyss shrieked, a thousand mouths screaming in agony, its colossal form writhing violently. The void itself quaked as if the blow had cracked reality.
But Argon's victory was short-lived.
The abyss didn't retreat—it retaliated.
The ground split open, and from its gaping wounds poured figures—dozens, then hundreds—each one familiar.
The merchant he gutted during the first stage.
The shadowy reflection he carved apart in the Mirror Chamber.
The butchered guards, the faceless sacrifices, every soul whose blood had stained his hands.
They rose from the ichor, their hollow eyes glowing red, their voices hissing in unison.
"You cannot kill what you already are."
Battlefield of Sins
The horde swarmed him.
Argon roared, swinging the hacksaw in wide arcs, cleaving through twisted bodies, their flesh tearing like wet parchment. Black blood sprayed with every cut, hissing as it hit his skin.
But no matter how many he struck down, more clawed their way out of the abyss. Every scream, every face, every corpse was his own history thrown back at him.
Selene dragged herself upright, leaning against a wall of pulsing flesh, her shadows flickering like dying candles. Blood poured from her side, but her eyes never left him.
"You're not their slave!" she shouted, her voice ragged. "They're not you—they're just what it wants you to believe!"
Her shadows surged weakly, weaving into a barrier that slowed the horde's advance, giving him a precious moment of breath.
Vanessa's Wrath
Above, Vanessa clawed at the Arena floor, veins of crimson power crackling around her as she forced her way deeper into the abyss.
Her voice tore through the void, laced with fury and desperation.
"ARGON! Stop this madness! You belong with me—not in the belly of that beast!"
The abyss mocked her, its laughter echoing like thunder.
"Jealous little parasite. You would cage him. I will free him. He will devour as I devour."
Vanessa screamed, her eyes glowing with eldritch rage. "He's mine!"
The Choice
Chains erupted from the void, coiling around Argon's limbs, pulling him toward the abyss's gaping maw. The horde of the dead pressed in, clawing, tearing at his flesh. His crimson glow flickered, dimming under the weight of countless sins.
The abyss whispered seductively, almost tenderly.
"Why resist? Why bleed alone? Merge with me, and you will never break. No chains. No hunger. No weakness. Only power."
Selene staggered forward, collapsing to her knees, blood dripping from her lips. Her trembling hand reached toward him, her voice breaking.
"You already chose… when you leapt for me. That was you, Argon—not this thing. Don't let it steal who you are."
For a heartbeat, he froze—torn between the abyss's promise and Selene's plea.
The Defiance
Then Argon roared, his voice raw, shattering the whispers.
"I am not your vessel. I am not your sins. I am not your goddamn slave!"
Crimson fire erupted from his body, searing through the chains. His hacksaw blazed, its blade stretching longer, sharper, until it became an executioner's weapon forged from his will.
He swung it down with both hands, splitting the horde apart, their screams dissolving into nothing. The abyss shrieked, its colossal body thrashing, ichor spraying across the void.
Selene's eyes widened, her lips curling into the faintest smile. "That's… him."
The Cost
But victory came with a price.
As his blade bit into the abyss, the ichor didn't vanish—it poured into his body, veins of black carving across his flesh. His crimson glow flickered violently, nearly extinguished beneath the surge of corruption.
The abyss roared in triumph.
"Strike me, and you only feed me more! You are mine whether you resist or not!"
Argon staggered, dropping to one knee, his chest heaving. His vision blurred, shadows crawling across his skin.
Selene crawled toward him, her blood smearing the ground, her hand outstretched desperately.
"Don't… give in… not now…"
Cliffhanger
Argon raised his head, crimson eyes blazing even as veins of black spread across his body. His hacksaw pulsed with both his will and the abyss's hunger, the two forces clashing violently inside him.
Above, Vanessa screamed his name, the Arena trembling under her rage.
Below, the abyss whispered its first command:
"Devour her."
Selene froze, her eyes locking with his—wide, terrified, but unwavering.
And Argon's blade trembled in his grip, suspended between salvation and damnation.
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Argon stands on the edge of corruption as the abyss commands him to devour Selene. Vanessa claws her way closer, determined to claim him, while Selene gambles everything on one final act of trust. The labyrinth itself begins to crack under the weight of his choice.