The humming of the galleon gradually faded as it descended toward the colossal fortress below.

For the first time in three days...

It stopped.

"Hmm?"

I pushed myself to my feet, placing Liz down gently before stepping onto the galleon’s deck.

The moment I did...

I felt it.

The atmosphere.

It was...

Wrong.

Heavy.

Ancient.

Foreign.

For the first time in a very long time I felt... disconnected..

Like I had suddenly become a stranger.

My connection to the atmosphere... had vanished.

The atmosphere... She no longer recognized me..

"....Well that’s rude."

My face couldn’t help twitching a few times.

I took a deep breath.

"Revolting.."

Every breath carried an indescribable taste.

Metallic.

Stale.

As though the world itself had been left exposed for far too long.

"..."

I stopped.

Then took another breath.

"Heh..."

It still tasted like despair.

I looked up.

Before me stretched a landscape unlike anything I had ever imagined.

The world looked.. Wrong.

Not ruined.

Wrong.

The land didn’t stretch naturally into forests or mountains.

It simply...

Broke.

An endless expanse of blackened earth spread across the horizon, fractured like cooled glass after suffering an impossible impact.

"...Now what exactly happened here?"

No answer came.

Only silence.

Nothing grew properly.

Twisted charcoal colored trees leaned in impossible directions.

Jagged formations erupted from the ground in looping veins that resembled neither crystal nor stone.

Everything looked...

Incomplete.

As though reality itself had attempted to become something else...

Then forgotten how.

"Heh..."

The corner of my lips twitched.

"Why do I feel like the old man would be right at home in this place?"

The sky above refused to behave.

Its colors shifted continuously.

Ash.

Violet.

Black.

Then back again.

Like the heavens themselves couldn’t decide what they wanted to be.

"..."

I blinked.

It changed again.

"...Interesting."

Even the light felt...

Late.

It reached the wasteland reluctantly.

Just a fraction slower than it should have.

Like it was hesitating.

Like even light itself didn’t want to come here.

The deeper my gaze wandered...

The stranger everything became.

Distances subtly shifted.

Perspective refused to remain consistent.

Nothing dramatic.

Nothing I could immediately point at.

Yet enough to make me question whether my own eyes were playing tricks on me.

"...Or maybe they’re finally starting to work properly."

A chuckle escaped me.

Then...

My gaze stopped.

Far beyond the broken wasteland...

Something stood there.

"..."

I couldn’t explain why.

My instincts simply...

Locked onto it.

It wasn’t glowing.

It wasn’t moving.

Yet everything around it somehow felt...

Wronger.

The surrounding air appeared distorted.

Space itself seemed reluctant to exist near it.

The longer I stared...

The less convinced I became that I was judging the distance correctly.

It felt impossibly far away.

Yet...

Close enough that I could almost reach out and touch it.

"..."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Now what do we have here...?"

No response.

Only that strange pull.

A feeling that refused to leave.

Not fear.

Not unease.

Recognition...

Without understanding why.

Like every instinct I possessed was silently whispering...

There.

Whatever this place truly was...

It revolved around that.

Only then did I notice them.

Fortresses.

One.

Then another.

And another.

Layer upon layer of colossal walls surrounded that distant phenomenon.

Walls large enough to divide kingdoms.

Countless soldiers stood silently upon them.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Every gaze...

Without exception...

Was fixed on the same place mine had drifted toward.

"..."

I followed their line of sight once more.

This time...

Understanding clicked.

"So..."

I whispered.

"That’s the Abyss..."

The words had barely left my lips when...

A smile crept onto my face.

Slowly.

Unconsciously.

It grew.

And grew.

Until every tooth was on full display.

"Heh..."

A laugh escaped me.

Then another.

"Hahah..."

"Hahahahahaha..."

Every instinct I possessed screamed the same thing.

Wrong.

Everything about this place rejected reason.

Rejected common sense.

Rejected the very laws the world was built upon.

Every step beyond those walls promised death.

Every breath carried warning.

Every inch of this place felt like reality itself had begun to rot.

"..."

The grin on my face widened further.

"So that’s it..."

I muttered.

"Finally..."

I drew in another deep breath.

The metallic taste coated my tongue.

It should have been unsettling.

Instead...

It was exhilarating.

The excitement I had been trying to keep in check, bled out thoroughly.

I closed my eyes.

Savoring that foul, ancient air as though it were the sweetest fragrance imaginable.

Then I opened them again.

My gaze never leaving that impossible tear in the distance.

"So this..."

My voice came out barely louder than a whisper.

"...is the Abyss."

"Heh..."

Finally...

Something interesting...

Step.

Step.

Step.

The soft sound of footsteps approaching came from behind me as Liz made her presence known.

"How is it.. is it all you thought it would be." She asked. Voice soft.

"Heh! It’s better. I’m already itching to start." I replied.

"Then, let’s move out."

"Soon.. but first..." I closed my eyes.

The atmosphere here. It was rejecting me. Treating me like an outsider.

I refused to accept that.

I was feeling a profound sense of incompletion and I couldn’t have that.

So. I let my perception drift through the atmosphere.

I didn’t know what I wanted to connect with, but I know it was there.. I knew SHE was still there..

Almost as if the world was waiting for a cue...

[Your title is activating...]

Click!

There weren’t any explosions. No loud sounds.

Just a subtle clicking noise as it felt like a piece had finally been placed where it should’ve been.

A profound sense of euphoria washed through my entire body as I felt it..

Excitement.

Joy.

"Heh! Seems like I wasn’t the only one bothered huh?" I muttered quietly.

The winds around me stirred gently in response.

"Hahahahaha!! Worry not. You’re not escaping from me. Doesn’t matter how fucked the world wants to be. It’ll always be me and you." I laughed.

"Hmm? Dante? Something wrong?" Liz’s concerned voice broke my thoughts.

"Haha! Don’t worry. I was just pacifying someone. Now then, shall we?" I stretched forth my hand.

"Hehehe.. gladly." She took it.

Together, we made our way towards the already waiting row of military personnel, conveniently ignoring the fact that this was supposed to be a group trip.

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A/N: Welp... the transition Chapters, like I said, I don’t really like. But, I’ll try to make up for them with the actual abyss action. Anyhoo...

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Thanks for reading...