Not the gentle green swirl of Victoria's normal portals. This one was darker. Wrong. Tinged with grey and black like it was opening into a realm that should not be accessed.
The Underworld.
Nicholas looked at it.
Looked at the darkness waiting.
Looked at the ending he was walking toward.
"Ready?" Victoria asked.
"Ready," Nicholas confirmed.
They stepped toward the portal together.
The darkness swirled.
The air grew cold.
Nicholas took one last breath of mortal air.
Then he stepped through.
Victoria stepped through beside him.
And the portal closed behind them.
***
The Underworld felt wrong.
That was Nicholas's first coherent thought after stepping through the portal.
Everything about this place felt fundamentally incorrect. The air was too heavy. The grey light came from nowhere and everywhere at once. The ground beneath his feet was smooth stone that should not exist.
And the silence....
