Far Beyond the Abyss

The world was crumbling around Ethan—not literally, but in the most terrifying sense of the word. Reality itself seemed to tremble, as if it were about to be peeled away layer by layer, revealing something horrific beneath. The water surrounding him was an endless void, and he was nothing more than a thought on the verge of dissolving into time.

He wondered, with an eerie calm, Why didn't she help me?

The answer never came. Or perhaps it did, in the form of a hand that emerged from the depths.

It was a strong hand, calloused, radiating a presence that made the very water around them shudder. It grabbed him firmly, and Ethan felt something shift inside him—like his fate had just been realigned by forces he would never fully comprehend.

Darkness swallowed everything.

Then, he woke up.

The first thing he felt was the cold stone beneath his body. The place was vast and empty, submerged in shadows so thick they seemed to pulse. The air was dense, saturated with something indescribable, like an invisible weight pressing against his lungs.

And then, he saw Lian Xuan.

The cultivator stood there, an unshakable monolith of tranquility amidst chaos. His presence felt out of place—like a tale of hope told in the middle of a forgotten tragedy. His body glowed with a deep blue light, subtle flames dancing around him, his white robes untouched despite everything he had faced.

— "You did well, Ethan." His voice was like a calm river cutting through a desert.

Ethan felt a knot form in his throat. The weight of what had happened—of what could have happened—hit him like a tidal wave.

— "Thank you, Master Xuan."

The cultivator nodded, a small gesture, but one full of meaning. Then, Ethan noticed the little girl standing nearby, watching everything with unfathomable eyes.

The memory of the well unraveled in his mind like a recurring nightmare. She didn't help me. She just stood there, motionless, as he nearly drowned in time. Resentment flickered inside him, a spark threatening to become a flame.

— "One minute." She spoke, just like that.

Ethan froze.

Time.

They didn't have much time.

He turned to Lian Xuan, his heart hammering in his chest.

— "We need to wake up the being that controls this loop."

— "I know." Lian Xuan began walking, leading them through the labyrinth of underground tunnels. — "But only you can do it without disturbing the souls trapped in the cycle."

— "Why?"

— "Because, from the beginning, you have been ignored by this world. Something about you makes you invisible to the loop's rules. And that might be our only advantage."

They passed yellow roots that pulsed like living arteries, exuding a scent that was both sickly sweet and rotting at the same time. The very ground beneath them seemed to breathe. Ethan couldn't tell if this place was alive or just slowly dying.

Finally, they reached the end of the tunnel.

And that's when Ethan saw it.

The thing shouldn't exist.

It occupied space the wrong way, as if it were being projected there by a mind incapable of comprehending its true form. Its core floated in the air—a sphere covered in golden thorns, pulsing with a sickly light that spread like a distorted reflection on water. Around it, fibrous tentacles stretched like roots, dripping a sticky substance that made reality vibrate wherever it touched.

Ethan had the terrible feeling that this being was dreaming of them.

The air buzzed, as if time itself were caught in an endless echo. Every pulse from the creature's core made the underground tremble, like the ticking of a clock counting down to something no one wanted to see happen.

Ethan swallowed hard.

How do you wake this thing up?

The answer came from within him, born of sheer desperation.

He ran.

His footsteps echoed in the darkness, each one feeling heavier than the last. He could feel time trying to pull him back, as if reality itself was resisting. But he didn't stop. He reached the massive roots of the creature.

And then, he jumped and kicked it.

— "WAKE UP, DAMN IT!!"

His foot collided with the roots. Physically, it shouldn't have done anything.

But something happened.

The world shook.

It was as if the very concept of time had been shattered for a moment. The Feiticeiro's laughter exploded around them, spreading like a mad thunderclap.

— "Congratulations, my dear boy!! YOU WOKE UP MAGNALITH!! Now things are about to get interesting!"

Before Ethan could even process what was happening.

He felt something yank him backward, a force ripping him away from the impact before the creature could crush him. Lian Xuan enveloped him in his immortal essence, a blue glow shielding him from the rising chaos.

And then, Magnalith's roots moved.

They twisted, rose, like serpents waking from an ancient slumber. The entire underground roared, dust and stone crumbling from the walls.

Ethan saw Magnalith's "face" turn toward them.

It wasn't a face—not in any human sense. It was a vortex of light and shadow, a presence that should not be there, a hole in reality itself.

And then came the attack.

A storm of vibrant, fibrous tentacles lashed toward them, moving as fast as blades slicing through space.

Ethan held his breath.

But before the attack could reach them, the little girl moved.

She tore through the roots with a silent brutality, her movements too fast to be real. The underground trembled. But it wasn't enough.

More and more roots emerged

Ethan felt the panic rising.

Then, the shadows began to rise.

Around the little girl, they took form, growing, shaking, like creatures stepping out of a nightmare. They collided against the roots, and the impact was like a thunderclap deep underground.

The world beneath the village collapsed.

And above it all, Magnalith awoke.

The ceiling of the underground chamber began to cave in.