The Last Nightmare

A terrible stillness followed.

Dust swirled in lazy spirals, carried by the lingering shockwave from the Golden Wolf's impact. The cavern, once filled with the clash of steel and the desperate cries of battle, had fallen into a suffocating quiet.

No one moved.

The only sound was the faint echo of loose stones tumbling into the abyss, their descent swallowed by an endless void.

Elena stood frozen, her mind refusing to process what had just happened. Her fingers trembled around the shaft of her staff, knuckles pale with strain. One second, Nate had been there. Fighting. Standing. Alive.

And then—

Gone.

Swallowed whole by the chasm.

Her breath hitched. It didn't make sense. It couldn't make sense. Nate was strong, skilled, too determined to fall like that. He should have—there should have been something. Some last-minute escape, some final move that would have let him stay standing, sword in hand, against all odds.

But he wasn't standing.

He was gone.

Kai groaned, shifting his weight painfully as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He blinked past the blood trickling into his eye, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His entire body felt like it had been smashed against a mountainside—because it had—but none of that mattered.

His gaze darted toward the chasm, searching, pleading for a glimpse of movement. Something. Anything.

But the abyss gave no answers.

Darius, still slumped against the cavern wall, coughed. A harsh, ragged sound. Blood dribbled from his lips as he wiped his mouth, his fingers tightening around the handle of his useless axe. He forced himself to his feet with a pained grunt.

"Tell me that didn't just happen," he muttered. His voice was hoarse. Low. Afraid.

Kai said nothing.

Elena still wasn't moving.

Because if she moved—if she took even one step—then that meant it was real.

And she wasn't ready for it to be real.

Then, suddenly—

Elena ran.

Her boots scraped against loose gravel as she skidded toward the chasm's edge. "No… No, no, no!" Her voice cracked, the words breaking apart into something raw, something desperate. She dropped to her knees, fingers digging into the dirt as she leaned forward, frantically scanning the chasm below.

But there was nothing.

Just a vast, yawning darkness.

"Nate!" she screamed, her voice echoing uselessly into the void.

No answer.

"Gods, no, please—!"

She reached for her magic, pouring her remaining strength into a light spell. A golden orb materialized at her fingertips, humming softly as it drifted downward, descending into the abyss.

Falling.

And falling.

And falling.

Her breath hitched.

The light didn't stop. It never stopped.

It just kept going.

She waited, counting the seconds, expecting it to hit something—anything—but it simply vanished into the black.

A hollow, sinking feeling coiled in her chest.

Kai staggered to his feet, his legs weak beneath him. His stomach churned, his breathing uneven. His fingers curled into fists as his gaze locked onto the abyss.

"This… this can't be real," he muttered, then turned to Darius."We have to do something!"

Darius shook his head, his jaw tight. "And do what, Kai?" His voice was cold. Too cold. The kind of cold that meant he was barely holding himself together. "Jump in after him? You saw that fall. You saw that—" His voice faltered. He swallowed hard. "He's gone."

His voice was bitter, but beneath it lurked something else—frustration, guilt, helplessness.

Kai whipped around, his teeth bared. "Don't you dare say that."

Darius met his glare but didn't respond.

Because deep down, he didn't want to believe it either.

Elena's breathing quickened. Her shoulders shook as she clenched her hands, nails digging into the dirt. "He's not dead," she whispered. "He can't be."

She pressed her lips together, shaking her head violently.

Not Nate. Not him.

Then—

A rumble.

Deep. Ancient. Hungry.

The cavern trembled, dust cascading from the ceiling like drifting ash,as if something deep below has awakened.

The group freezes.

The abyss was stirring.

Elena's light spell flickered.

She inhaled sharply, her head snapping up.

Kai and Darius went rigid, their battle instincts screaming at them. The air changed—a presence pressing down on them, thick and suffocating.

Darius gritted his teeth. "We need to move. Now."

"But Nate—!" Elena choked out.

"We don't even know if he's alive," Darius growls. His hands tremble, but he forces himself to turn away. "We can't save him if we die too."

The words slammed into her like a physical blow.

Her breathing turned ragged, her pulse hammering in her ears.

She wanted to scream at him. To hit him.

But she didn't.

Because somewhere, deep down—

She was afraid he was right.

Kai's shoulders trembled. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists, his nails biting into his palms as he glares at the chasm. He took a slow breath, forcing himself to stay steady.

"If he's alive…" His voice was quiet. Dangerous. "I swear—I'll bring him back."

Elena wiped her eyes. Then, slowly—painfully—she stood.

She stole one last, aching glance at the abyss—at the place where he had fallen, where he had vanished. Then, with a breath that tasted like defeat, she turned away. But in her heart, she knew. This wasn't over. Nate wasn't gone. He couldn't be.

They can't stay here forever—but they also can't abandon hope.

Hope was a dangerous thing. But she wasn't ready to let go.

This wasn't over.