Before them, the rift pulsed like a living thing, crackling with the dark energy from its edges in a way that seemed to twist reality itself around. Alex saw through a blurred vision, feeling his body in agony from releasing the full blast of the power of the Veil.The ground beneath him felt unstable, cracks appearing in the earth, tearing the ground apart every time the rift pulsed with its beat. Every fiber of his being screamed in agony as the last remnants of his strength bled away.Helena's weak, trembling hand on his shoulder brought him back to the moment. She had crawled closer, blood staining her skin as she fought to stay conscious."Alex," her voice rasped, barely audible over the roaring wind. "What the hell is that thing?"He didn't answer back. His eyes were fixed on the rift, staring into the swirling darkness, which seemed to promise only despair. Something was coming out of it something he had never felt before.It wasn't just darkness; it was something far older, fa

The ground trembled beneath them as the sky, once clear and untouched, erupted into a storm of violent, crackling energy. Dark clouds, thick with the scent of burning ozone, swirled above, as though the heavens themselves were breaking apart.Beneath the weight of that unnatural force, Alex felt his pulse quicken. He knew they were at the edge of something that could swallow them whole a precipice that neither he nor Helena could escape."What the hell is that?" Helena's voice quivered, her eyes fixed on the figure that had stepped out of the rift. It was no longer just shadow, no longer a mere trick of darkness. No, this being this monster was something far worse.It stood there, shrouded in the darkness itself, with eyes like two pits of liquid red burning with twin hellfires. The ash-colored skin of its twisted form seemed impossible by any real means. The sheer size made it tower above them, its claws sharp enough to rip a tear through the fabric of reality itself.The weight of h

The world was falling apart around them.Alex's heart pounded as he pulled Helena to her feet. The ground beneath them shook, cracks snaking across it like a living creature. The air stank of sulfur and charred flesh, and in the distance, the rift hung like a maw, its edges rippling and shining with dark power.He could feel it the pull of the rift, like an invisible hand gripping his chest, threatening to drag him into the abyss. Helena's weight was the only thing anchoring him, the only thing that kept him from being sucked into the chaos. She was barely conscious, her body leaning against his as he supported her, her breath shallow, her face pale."Helena, stay with me," he growled, his voice strained with urgency.Her eyes snapped open, their whites filmed with pain, but the fire had not gone out of them. "I'm… I'm here," she whispered, her voice weak but firm. "We need to stop this… whatever it is. We can't let it consume everything."Alex peered into the rift, at the growing dar

Darkness enveloped the world. But Alex felt that first so cold and devoured that perhaps gravity had played a trick upon him, hurling him all the way back into the abysmal deep. His breathing caught in his throat for a moment, as if nothing held weight. Yet then came a crushing pressure so intense that not even breathing was possible; it was like suffocating all over again and every breath hurt, pulled somehow from an unfathomable vacuity."Helena!" he bellowed, but his voice was devoured by the nothingness around him.He reached out, hand grasping in the empty air, but she was nowhere. Nothing was there. Only the cold, vast emptiness and the heavy thud of his own heart beating in his ears.The earth dropped from beneath him, and for a long, terrifying moment, he was convinced he was going to drop forever.Then, with a sickening lurch, he hit the ground. Hard.Alex panted, his lungs afire, but there was no time to catch his breath. He rolled over onto his back, his eyes dimming, his s

The darkness took them both in, pulling hard at the strands of reality itself, as if the universe itself was being rent asunder. Alex's brain spun, the panic clawing inside his skin as the void began to stitch shut around him. The opening in the gap was closing one heartbeat at a time, along with their one and only shot at getting free."Helena!" he screamed, the word raw, urgent.She lay still in his arms, her blood coloring his hands as her life force slipped further and further from his grasp. Each breath she took was shallow, a fragile thread keeping her tethered to this world.Alex's heart was heavy with it. He couldn't lose her. Not after everything. Not when they were so close.The pull of the rift grew stronger, tugging at his body, dragging him away from her. His power, such as it was, was waning fast, but his determination burned like the hellfire in his veins. He'd let that be over with them."No," he muttered to himself, a low growl of defiance. "I won't let it end like th