The abyss's voice thundered through the void, heavy and absolute.
"Devour her."
The command didn't echo in Argon's ears. It clawed through his veins, sank into his marrow, and coiled around his mind like chains made of hunger. His grip on the hacksaw trembled violently, the blade pulsing between crimson light and black ichor.
Selene froze where she knelt, her eyes wide, blood dripping from her lips. The abyss's will pressed against her chest, suffocating, trying to erase her before Argon could even act.
But she didn't move.
Her fingers, trembling and slick with blood, reached for him again.
"Argon," she whispered. Her voice broke, but her eyes held steady. "If it takes me… then it wins. Don't let it win. Don't let it take you."
The Struggle Within
Argon roared, clutching his skull with one hand, the hacksaw trembling in the other.
The abyss screamed inside him: "Feed! She is weakness! Her blood will make you whole!"
Vanessa's voice cut through, sharp as a blade, dripping with venom.
"Don't listen to it, darling. It wants to turn you into a beast. Choose me instead. Cut her down, and I'll free you from this abyss. From all of this!"
Selene's voice was softer, fragile yet unyielding. "You already chose. When you leapt into this pit—you chose me. Don't… undo that now."
The three voices clashed in his skull, a cacophony of hunger, poison, and fragile hope. His crimson glow flickered violently, black veins tearing across his flesh as the abyss tightened its hold.
Visions of Devouring
The abyss forced visions into his mind.
He saw himself sinking his blade into Selene's chest, her body collapsing against him as her shadows dissolved. He saw her blood pour into the abyss, feeding its endless hunger. He saw himself rise, taller, stronger, a god of crimson flame and black ichor, Selene's corpse forgotten at his feet.
And the abyss whispered, "This is your destiny."
Argon's body shook violently. His blade hovered inches from her, the hunger gnawing at his soul. His teeth bared, his throat raw with a snarl.
Selene didn't flinch.
Her bloodied hand pressed against the blade, cutting her palm open, crimson streaming freely. Her gaze pierced him, calm amid the storm.
"Then take it," she said softly. "If it means you'll live, if it means you'll keep fighting… then take me."
Vanessa Breaks Through
The Arena above cracked open as Vanessa tore through its floor, forcing herself into the abyss. Her body shimmered with crimson light, her form twisting with the labyrinth's corruption as she descended.
Her eyes locked on Argon with a feral glare.
"You would waste yourself on her?" she hissed. "No, darling. Not while I breathe."
She extended her hands, crimson chains snapping from her palms, coiling around Argon's arms and chest. Her voice was a whip of command.
"Obey me! Strike her down, and the labyrinth is ours!"
The Collapse
The void cracked violently. The battlefield twisted, folding in on itself. The abyss shrieked, its ancient form thrashing, its mouths dripping ichor as Vanessa's intrusion destabilized its grip.
The labyrinth screamed as walls of flesh and stone shattered, entire sections collapsing into endless black.
Selene clung to Argon's arm, her voice breaking through the chaos.
"Don't… give in. Not to it. Not to her. Choose yourself, Argon."
Her shadows surged weakly, wrapping around his blade—not to stop it, but to steady it.
Argon's crimson eyes flickered wildly, torn between black ichor and burning flame.
The Twist
And then, something shifted.
Argon's lips curled into a snarl—not of submission, but of defiance.
"You tell me to devour her?" he growled. His voice was rough, jagged, but steady. "Then I'll take your command… and turn it against you."
He swung—not at Selene, not at Vanessa—but upward, straight into the abyss's writhing core.
The hacksaw screamed as it cleaved through the ancient flesh, Selene's blood on its blade searing the abyss like fire.
The abyss shrieked in rage, its mouths splitting wide, ichor flooding the void.
The Cost
But the blow came at a price.
The abyss's ichor surged into Argon's body, burning through his veins, tearing at his flesh. He dropped to his knees, screaming as his crimson glow and black corruption battled violently inside him.
Selene collapsed beside him, her shadows flickering desperately, wrapping around his body to hold him together.
Vanessa screamed, her chains snapping under the backlash, the abyss's roar drowning even her fury.
Cliffhanger
The void quaked, collapsing violently around them. Selene clung to Argon, her blood mixing with his, her voice breaking.
"Stay with me, Argon… don't let it take you…"
His crimson eyes burned brighter, but the black veins spread across his face, reaching toward his heart.
The abyss whispered one last time, weaker but still alive:
"If you will not devour her… then I will devour you both."
The ground split open beneath them, and Argon and Selene plunged into a deeper, darker chasm—one even the abyss seemed to fear.
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Argon and Selene fall into the abyss's hidden heart, where something older than even the Game waits. Vanessa follows, determined to seize Argon before he is lost forever. But the deeper they fall, the closer Argon comes to either annihilation—or transcendence.