The grin on Ignotus's face didn't fade as the light of the upper world vanished.
It stayed there, a defiant spark against the absolute blackness that swallowed him.
But as the seconds turned into minutes, the "fun" began to rot. The wind screaming past him changed. No longer just the realm's air, it became a physical weight, thick with the scent of stagnant blood.
Hell's Corruption didn't wait for him to land to begin its work.
It seeped into his open wounds, directly into his blood, trying to rewrite the very essence of his Soul.
'Ignotus!'
Eris's voice was faint, sounding like She was underwater.
'Don't listen to the dark! Keep your eyes—'
Her voice cut out.
The silence that followed was louder than any explosion.
Ignotus reached out, grabbing at nothing but the freezing void.
"Eris?"
His own voice sounded like a stranger's.
That was when time itself broke.
Before he knew it, an entire day had passed while he kept falling.
