Chapter 16 - Descent into the Abyss
As they plummeted into the darkness, Elara wrapped her body around Lyra, using her cloak to shield the child from the jagged stone walls. She focused every ounce of her remaining solar energy, creating a warm golden sphere around them to slow their descent.
They fell for what felt like hours, passing through layers of cold void mist, until they crashed onto a bed of ancient, black crystal at the bottom of the trench.
The sphere shattered upon impact. Elara coughed, pushing herself up with a groan. She immediately checked Lyra. "Are you hurt, my sweet light?"
"I'm okay, Mother," Lyra whispered, looking around in awe and terror.
The bottom of the Void Chasm was not a pit of dirt; it was an ancient, subterranean city built from dark glass and silver stone—the long-forgotten capital of the Void-Bringers who had ruled the realm before the Sunborn dynasty arose.
Floating in the center of the subterranean city was a massive, pulsing heart made of pure black crystal—the Void-Heart. Millions of dark tendrils extended from the heart, feeding power into Aurelian, who descended silently into the plaza before them.
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"This is where the darkness was born," Elara realized, stepping between Aurelian and Lyra. "The crown Seraphina wore... it was just a fragment of this crystal."
Aurelian raised his corrupted scepter, his voice echoing through the vast underground city. "Here, light dies. Here, you will join me in eternal night."
