Nightmare of the Abyss

Bruno's eyes locked onto the crystal left by the creature, its smooth, cold surface glinting faintly in the dim light. It rested among the rubble, half-buried in the dust of a world long forgotten. Something about it felt wrong—not in the way the Abyss usually did, with its creeping dread and unnatural silence. This was different.

He stepped closer.

The shape, the markings, even the texture beneath his fingers—he knew this object. But that was impossible.

The colors were off, the symbols slightly different from what his mind insisted they should be. Yet the familiarity remained, a whisper at the edge of his thoughts, scratching at something buried too deep to reach.

He turned the relic in his hands. A faint pulse ran beneath its surface, like a dying heartbeat.

Behind him, Raine shifted uneasily. "That thing… we should be careful with it."

Silas stepped forward, his gaze darkening as he took in the crystal's markings. His expression, always unreadable, became unreadable for a different reason—something close to recognition flickered across his face before he masked it.

Bruno caught the change. "You've seen one of these before."

Silas didn't answer immediately. Instead, he exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "These crystals are… pieces. Fragments of something larger. They don't just exist—they remember."

Raine's brow furrowed. "Remember what?"

Silas hesitated. "Depends on what left them behind. Some hold power. Some hold knowledge. And some…" His jaw tensed. "Some hold things better left forgotten."

Bruno turned the dark crystal again, its markings casting thin, flickering shadows over his fingers. "So what do we do with it?"

Silas didn't hesitate. "Destroy it."

Raine flinched. "Wait—what?"

"You saw what happened last time we let a piece of this place inside our heads," Silas said sharply. "We don't know what this one does. And I don't like guessing when the cost is our minds."

Bruno remained silent.

Destroy it.

The words felt wrong.

The idea of shattering the crystal sent a cold pulse of resistance through him. He had no reason to feel that way. No logic behind the instinct. And yet, every fiber of his being screamed that it wasn't just an object.

It was a key.

Raine, still watching the relic warily, shifted uncomfortably. "...I don't want it."

Bruno looked at her.

She crossed her arms. "Not after what happened with you in that cavern. Those things—were inside your head remember? If that thing is anything like them, I don't want it anywhere near me."

Silas grunted. "Smart choice."

"Okay, so give it to—"

Bruno exhaled.

Then, before he could second-guess himself, he slipped the relic into his coat.

Silas saw.

Bruno looked at him, did you say something?

His shoulders tensed—i said keep it to yourself, you are the one who killed the creature, you deserve it.

Raine shook her head, muttering something under her breath.

Bruno ignored them.

It was his.

Even if he didn't know why yet.

A tense silence stretched between them before Raine cleared her throat. "Alright. So what now? Keep wandering until something eats us?"

Silas didn't look at her. Instead, his gaze had drifted past them, toward the ruins that loomed ahead. "No."

Bruno frowned. "No?"

Silas lifted a hand and gestured toward the crumbling structures around them.

Bruno followed his line of sight.

And he froze.

The ruins weren't just ruins.

The walls weren't just cracked stone.

They were marked.

His breath caught in his throat.

The same symbols from the relic—etched across every surface. Some were carved deep, others hastily scratched in like warnings. They stretched along the fallen pillars, ran through the shattered streets like veins beneath skin.

Bruno stepped closer, his fingers ghosting over the rough stone.

They weren't just random etchings.

They were instructions.

And he could almost understand them.