Mumbles and murmurs echoed across the deathhold as we lay wasted in the colossal belly of a long-dead shark god.
We, who once swore our sacred oaths to protect the Ascension.
We, the so-called Guardians of the Assembly.
Now here we are, dying slowly - succumbing to the radioactive dust poisoning us from the inside out, all thanks to the rotting remnants of this abominable belly.
I move toward what I would loosely call a window. It used to be loud in here, back when more of us were alive.
The darklings may be malevolent, semi-mindless bastards, but they sure know how to serve the perfect death sentence - slow, excruciating, and poetic in its cruelty. Poison strong enough to kill an Immortal? In the gut of a dead titan? Nice one.
The screaming has died down. Almost everyone else is already gone.
Why I'm still alive? No idea.
But I do know one thing - today isn't going to be like the rest.
Today, I'm getting the hell out of here.
I don't know how long I've been trapped in this festering grave, but pain has taught me things.
This decaying, monstrous body is surprisingly unguarded - at least, near what used to be the mouth.
I have no plan. No gear. No hope but instinct.
But I've noticed something: every time the stomach rumbles like a quake, the darkling guards at the outer gate go into a frenzy, abandoning their posts for a few short minutes.
If I had to guess… I'd say it's a darkfold.
Darkfolds - those unpredictable wormhole-like singularities at the edges of the darklings' plane.
The bastards are semi-symbiotic. Their minds are tethered to their pilots, unless they're elders or burnt ones.
These folds mess with the tethering - send them into a panic.
The dark plane doesn't get much light. So when I see a sudden bright pulse in the distance, I know something's up.
And it's happening again.
The guards are hissing and screeching all around the stomach-turned-hallway.
It's time. I have to move. Think fast.
I stand up slowly. Everything is quiet now.
I walk toward the door, slick with some glowing toxic sludge.
I touch it. It burns instantly. My fingers sizzle.
I look down at the lava-forged chains bound to my ankle.
Still solid. Still pulsing. Still alive.
Emberfall make, I'd bet - nothing less could last this long.
Every time I try to escape, it doesn't just hurt me - it hurts every other prisoner on the same circuit.
A shared pain system. Try to break out, and the others could die.
A failsafe.
The stomach trembles again. The fold is coming closer. I don't have much time.
I rake my trembling fingers through the sticky mess of my hair, searching for something - anything.
An idea. A chance.
Then I remember: the Grand Sahabah is locked up just beside me.
We share the same rib cage - our cells like cancerous sacs on either end.
I haven't seen him since the fall. Only knocks across the wall let me know he's alive.
If I'm getting out, I'll need him.
He's old. Battle-tested. Legendary.
He commanded the Warrior Assembly long before I was even chosen.
I saw him fall at the Nexus Point. Captured with us. Taken down by sheer numbers.
I yank my chains, hard. Trying to send a signal.
The lava veins light up, and a searing jolt climbs from my ankle to my skull. A migraine blooms behind my eyes.
I hold as long as I can. Then let go.
Defeated.
Then - rattle.
His lock shakes. He's alive.
Another pull from his end sends a fresh wave of pain into my skull.
But I smile.
He's still there.
I press my forehead to the slimy wall. I haven't used my Matrix in forever.
But I have to try.
I focus.
Letting my thoughts flow outward like smoke from incense.
My nose starts bleeding. My joints ache.
This might kill me.
But I send the message:
"Sever your chain connection from the other prisoners. We need to break our chains."
Then I collapse. Gasping.
I can only hope he got the message.
The fold is almost here. The window is closing.
Suddenly, a surge hits me like fire.
The chain glows red.
He's doing it. He's breaking the link.
Others scream - growls of pain from every cell - but the darkling guards are still in hibernation, dulled by the darkfold.
I just need to hold on.
The pain rises. My vision spins. My bones tremble.
Then - it stops.
Silence.
Did it work?
He rattles the chains. My ankle lock quivers.
"Are you there? Let's do it now," he calls.
I'm barely conscious. The last surge nearly broke me.
But I stagger to my feet.
Breathing hard.
Fighting through the nausea.
I remember my oath.
Father Nexus. Earth plane.
I will not die here.
With what strength I have left, I squat. Grip the chain.
The pain returns - sharper, deeper.
I scream. I don't care if the darklings hear.
Screams echo from his cell too.
We're in this together.
The other prisoners don't know. Can't risk an uprising.
Too many of them won't survive the pain.
We pull.
Time crawls.
Then -
Crack.
Another.
Then -
CRACK. CRACK.
SHATTER.
I collapse. The chain is broken.
I can't move. I can't breathe.
The fold ends. The rumbling stops.
A loud bang.
I see him - barely.
The Grand Sahabah. Diminished, but still towering.
"Try to get up, boy. I'll be back."
He smashes my lock open and takes off toward the western passage.
Gone. Just like that.
I groan, pull myself up, and stumble out.
The air is fresher here. Still rotten, but bearable.
Damn you, shark god.
I start running. Screeches echo from the east.
The darklings are waking up.
I have to find him.
I pass dead prisoners, rotting, bones poking through withered skin.
Guardians - heroes. Gone.
If the darklings have found a way to kill Ascendants like us…
Skies help us all.
