The fall felt endless. 
Elara’s body tumbled through a void, her senses overwhelmed by the oppressive darkness. Her chest tightened as the air was knocked from her lungs, and for a terrifying moment, she thought she might be falling into an eternal abyss—a place where neither light nor time could reach her. The pressure in her skull intensified as if the very weight of the universe was crushing her. 
But then, like a jagged strike of lightning, her body slammed into something solid. Her vision exploded in sparks of white-hot pain, and she gasped, trying to find her bearings. The ground beneath her was rough, unforgiving, but at least it wasn’t the void. 
“Elara…” Kael’s voice drifted to her, distant, muffled, yet filled with unmistakable panic. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog in her mind, to make sense of her surroundings. 
Her hands scraped across the stone floor as she pushed herself to her knees. She could feel the dampness of the air, the weight of something ancient pressing down on her. The sound of her own heartbeat pulsed in her ears. 
“Elara, can you hear me?” Kael’s voice, closer now, trembled with fear. 
She forced herself to her feet, wincing as pain lanced through her side. She could barely see through the shadows that swirled around them, thick and oppressive, but Kael’s form was unmistakable—a silhouette against the dark. 
“I’m here,” she rasped, her throat raw. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she took a hesitant step toward him, only to stumble. She couldn’t let the darkness swallow her again. Not now. Not when they were so close. “What… where are we?” 
Kael steadied her with a hand on her arm, his grip warm but firm. “I don’t know,” he admitted, his voice strained. “But it’s not the Abyss. It’s something… worse.” 
A chill crawled up her spine, her senses sharpening despite the disorientation clouding her mind. The air here was thick with magic, older and darker than anything she had ever felt before. It was ancient—too ancient. 
A soft whisper brushed past her ear, too soft to be heard clearly but enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. The shadows shifted, flickering like the remnants of a dying flame, and a low hum began to vibrate beneath the stone floor. 
“Something’s here,” Elara murmured, instinctively drawing on her magic, trying to steady herself, to protect herself. Her hands crackled with power, but the air itself seemed to resist her. The energy felt stagnant, like it had been here for centuries, waiting. 
Kael’s hand tightened around hers, and she could feel his pulse matching hers in a frantic rhythm. "Whatever it is, it’s not friendly.” 
As if on cue, the ground beneath them rumbled, the hum intensifying until it felt like the very bones of the earth were shaking. The shadows in the cavern seemed to thicken, congealing into a solid mass in the center of the chamber, and Elara's breath hitched as the shape began to form. 
At first, it was an indistinct blur, but then, slowly, a figure emerged—a towering figure, cloaked in darkness, its features hidden beneath a hood that seemed to absorb all light. Its presence was suffocating, and Elara’s stomach turned as she recognized what it was. 
“ The Guardian. ” 
The words slipped from her lips without her control, a chill settling over her heart. She had read of such beings—ancient protectors created by the original wielders of magic, beings bound to the realm’s deepest secrets. Guardians were meant to protect the world from the forces that sought to tear it apart, but if this one was here… it could only mean one thing. 
They were not in the material world anymore. This was a place between realms—an ancient sanctum where the threads of magic intertwined with the fabric of the Abyss itself. This was where it all began. 
Kael’s grip tightened around her arm. “What does that mean? What is this place?” 
“This is the heart of the Abyss,” Elara whispered, her eyes locked on the looming figure that stood before them. “The place where it all started. The source of its power.” 
The Guardian’s head slowly lifted, and in the depths of its hood, two glowing eyes gleamed—cold, unfeeling, and ancient. Its voice, when it spoke, was a low, reverberating rumble that shook the very air around them. 
“ You should not be here, child of light. ” 
Elara’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m not a child,” she hissed, rallying herself despite the fear rising in her chest. “And I’m not here to be stopped. I’m here to end this.” 
The Guardian tilted its head, its cloak rippling like dark water, and for a moment, the stillness hung heavy between them. Then it spoke again, its voice like the grinding of stone against stone. 
“ You are not the one who will end this. You will only feed it. ” 
Elara’s pulse quickened. “What do you mean?” 
But the Guardian remained silent, its presence weighing heavily on her, the oppressive air growing thicker by the second. Kael moved slightly, his hand shifting to her waist, an unspoken understanding passing between them. They were in this together, and whatever was about to unfold, they would face it as one. 
Then, in a blur of motion, the Guardian raised its hand. The shadows in the cavern surged, crawling toward them like living things. 
“Elara, we need to move!” Kael shouted, pulling her away, but the shadows were faster than they could react. 
With a screech, they lunged at her, wrapping around her limbs, pulling her into the darkness. Elara’s magic flared to life, but the force of it seemed to be swallowed by the very air. The Guardian’s power was too strong, the Abyss too deeply entrenched here. 
“Elara!” Kael’s voice was desperate, but he was being pulled away too. 
The shadows dragged at them, suffocating, trying to drown their light. 
But Elara wasn’t done yet. 
With a fierce cry, she called on the deepest well of her power. Her hands glowed with silver light, and for a brief moment, it felt as though the entire world shuddered. The light of her magic burst forth, cutting through the shadows like a blade. 
But just as she thought she had gained control, the ground beneath her feet cracked, a jagged rift splitting open, and in that moment of distraction—when she was most vulnerable—she felt it. 
The dark presence that had haunted her, the Abyss, slipped inside her. 
Her breath hitched, her hands shaking as the darkness rushed through her like a wave. She was no longer just Elara, the sorceress from a humble background. The Abyss was inside her now, feeding on her, turning her strength into something darker. 
Her vision blurred, and all she could see was the glowing, mocking face of the Guardian, watching her with cold, calculating eyes. 
“ It is too late, child of light. ” 
Then everything went dark.