HUMMM.
The portal snapped shut behind them, sealing the fiery chaos of Layer 4 away.
Damien braced himself for an impact, a crash into jagged rocks, a splash into acidic sludge, or a tumble into a pit of bones.
Instead, his boots made a sharp, clean clack against a surface that was perfectly smooth.
He opened his eyes.
"Bright," Damien whispered, instinctively shielding his face with his hand.
For the first time since falling into the Abyss, there was light. Blinding, pristine, white light that didn't come from a sun, but from the world itself.
They were standing on a massive plaza. But it wasn't made of stone. The floor was a flawless mirror of liquid silver, rippling gently under their weight like water, yet holding firm with the surface tension of steel.
And around them… was a city.
It was a metropolis of impossible geometry. Towering spires of chrome twisted into the sky, connecting with bridges that flowed like rivers of mercury
