The Corrupted Lands
The journey north revealed something disturbing.
The closer they got to the target location, the more the environment changed.
Forests grew silent.
Animals disappeared.
The ground itself began to darken, cracks spreading across the soil as if something beneath was trying to break through.
Leon kicked a rock along the path.
"Yeah… this place is definitely cursed."
Seraphine crouched down, touching the ground lightly.
"It's not just corruption," she said.
"It's transformation."
Kael looked ahead.
"The world is changing."
Seraphine nodded.
"Yes."
"The Abyss isn't just invading… it's merging."
Those words hung heavily in the air.
Because if that was true—
Then this wasn't just a war.
It was something far worse.
They reached the gate by sunset.
But this one was different from anything they had seen before.
It wasn't small.
It wasn't unstable.
It was massive.
A towering rift in the sky, stretching far beyond the trees, pulsing with dark energy that seemed almost alive.
And beneath it—
A battlefield.
Dozens of creatures moved across the corrupted land, guarding the entrance like soldiers.
Kael stopped.
"This is it."
Leon smirked.
"Finally."
Seraphine's eyes narrowed.
"No…"
She pointed toward the gate.
"That's not the real problem."
Kael followed her gaze.
Inside the rift—
Something moved.
Something enormous.
Something waiting.