Page 37 of Dark as the Cursed Abyss

Understanding clicked into place. Chloe did not question it. Her nails extended into claws and she pressed it into her palm. The sting was sharp, immediate, blood welling quickly. Then she did the same to Farah. For a moment, neither moved. Then Farah reached out, her hand closing around Chloe’s, pressing their palms together. Blood mixed instantly, warm and slick between them.

The barrier shuddered. A pulse of energy rippled outward and shattered. The air cleared. The table was theirs.

Farah moved first, her gaze scanning quickly before settling on a double-sided axe, its blades gleaming faintly in the dim light. She lifted it with ease, testing the weight, her grip firm and familiar. Chloe reached for two swords, their hilts cool beneath her fingers. She strapped them across her back, the familiar weight settling against her spine, grounding her in something she understood.

Another roar echoed.

Closer.

“Move,” Farah said.

They didn’t hesitate as the labyrinth swallowed them whole.

Each turn felt wrong. Each path seemed to lead nowhere and everywhere at once. The air buzzed faintly—not with a sound, not quite—but something deeper. A pull.

Chloe slowed, frowning. “Do you feel that?”

Farah nodded. “Yes.”

“It’s like—”

“A thread,” Farah finished. “Pulling us somewhere. It’s what Acacius told me—what your brother confirmed in his letter.”

“Then we follow it,” Chloe said.

It was the only direction they had. They moved quickly, boots pounding against stone and earth, the distant sounds of the labyrinth growing louder with every step. Scraping claws. Low growls. The echo of something massive shifting just out of sight. They weren’t alone. Turning the corner was a mistake.

The creature towered above them, easily three times their size, its body a grotesque blend of muscle and shadow, skin stretched too tight over something that should not exist. Its eyes burned with a dull, lifeless glow, and when it moved, the ground trembled beneath its weight.

A titan.

Chloe didn’t think. She drew her swords, steel singing as they met the air. “Run!” she screamed, but Farah did not falter.

The creature lunged.

Chloe moved on instinct, ducking beneath its sweeping arm as one of her blades struck against its side. The impact barely slowed it. Farah’s axe came down hard, biting into its shoulder—but the creature roared, unfazed, swinging wildly. They couldn’t kill it. Not like this.

“Go!” Chloe shouted.

This time, Farah didn’t argue.

They broke away together, sprinting down the nearest path as the titan’s roar chased them through the maze. Its footsteps thundered behind them, close enough that Chloe could feel the vibration in her bones. A turn. Another. A third. All leading nowhere. The sound faded, not gone, but distant enough.

Chloe slowed just enough to breathe and something moved in the shadows ahead. It was too late. The second creature struck fast, claws slicing through the air. Pain exploded across Chloe’s stomach and she gasped, stumbling back as heat and wetness spread beneath her hands. The world tilted for a moment, her vision blurring.

“Chloe!” Farah’s voice cut through her daze.

Chloe forced herself upright, teeth gritting against the pain. “I’m fine,” she lied.

The creature lunged again. This time, they didn’t stay to fight, it would be hopeless anyway. They ran faster than before, driven now by something sharper than fear. Survival. The thread pulled stronger, buzzing beneath Chloe’s skin, guiding her forward even as her strength began to waver.

“Do you see that?” Farah called.

Ahead, the maze opened. A clearing. Light.

Chloe pushed harder with every step, ignoring the pain, ignoring the blood soaking into her clothes, ignoring everything but the space just beyond reach. They burst through the final turn—and the labyrinth fell away into something else entirely. She slowed to a halt barely in time to keep her from tumbling right off the cliff that now lay before them. Dirt and rock tumbled below, but no sound of it hitting ground came after. The light they saw only moments before was merely a mirage.

They were trapped.