ONE
Aria
The fall wasn’t a descent. Gravity implies a connection between two things, a pull from one surface to another. This was an eviction. The mortal realm didn't just let us go; it vomited us out, and the Underworld swallowed us whole.
There was no sensation of wind rushing past, no whistling in my ears. There was only the violent, tearing scream of reality being shredded as we punched through the floor of the world. Darkness folded around us, not like night, but like a heavy, suffocating velvet hood.
Then, we hit.
We didn't land on stone. We slammed into a surface that felt like the frozen hull of a dead ship.
CRACK-BOOM.
The impact was immediate and unforgiving. I hit the ground hard enough to rattle the newly fused lattice of my soul. My organic knee hit something wet and freezing, sending a jolt of sharp, human pain up my thigh. My left side struck the surface with a sound that wasn't a thud, but a discordant, vibrating scream of metal on metal.
It rang out, a high-pitched, harmonic shriek that cut through the darkness, echoing off walls I couldn't see.
I skidded, my metal fingers carving deep, sparking gouges into the floor before I came to a halt. I gasped, trying to suck in air, but the atmosphere was wrong. It was thick, heavy, and tasted of galvanized nails and water that had been stagnant since the dawn of time.
"Kaelen?" I rasped, pushing myself up. "Thane?"
A massive, wetthudshook the ground to my left. Heat, blistering and familiar, washed over me, dispelling the immediate chill. I turned, my eyes adjusting to the gloom.
Kaelen had landed. The Dragon Prince was a sprawled mess of obsidian scales and jagged spines. He thrashed, his massive wings scraping against the invisible floor, unsure of his footing. He let out a roar, but like my voice, it was muted, probably thanks to me ears still ringing from the initial impact.
Then came the others.
Crunch.Thane. The Bear didn't skid; he cratered. The ground groaned beneath his immense, Titan-heavy density.
Splash.Flynn. The Wolf Prince landed in a crouch, sliding through a puddle of something dark and oily, his claws frantically scrabbling for purchase.
Hiss.Elias. The Phoenix spilled onto the ground like a bucket of dropped coals, his fire sputtering and dimming, turning from brilliant turquoise to a weak, sickly blue.
I scrambled to my feet. The veins on my body flared, casting a harsh light over our landing zone.
We were standing on a vast, flat plain of… something. If I had to say it looked like something, then I'd say it reminded me of iron, but that was impossible since it stretched out infinitely in every direction. It was pitted, giving it the texture of a scarring disease. Puddles of black, motionless water dotted the landscape, reflecting absolutely nothing.
And above us...
I looked up, expecting the rock ceiling of a cavern.
There was no ceiling.
The sky was a void. It wasn't the purple, bruised rot of the Devourer’s storm we had left behind. This was worse. It was a grey, featureless expanse of anti-light. It looked like a cataract on the eye of the universe. It was empty. Terrifyingly, hopelessly empty.
"Form up," I said, or tried to say. The vibrations in my throat felt sluggish. "We need to move."
Nobody moved.
I looked at Kaelen. He was crouched low, his tail lashing violently back and forth, slicing the stagnant air. His golden eyes were blown wide, the pupils dilated until they swallowed the iris. He was looking everywhere and nowhere, his head snapping from left to right in jerky, panicked motions.
Kaelen?I projected the thought, reaching for the bond.
The connection was there, but it was filled with static. It wasn't the screaming panic of the Anvil ritual. This was different. It sounded like some kind of interference, a white noise of pure, animalistic confusion.
Too quiet,his thoughts bled through, primitive and jagged.Where is the wind? Where is the friction?
"It's the Underworld," I said aloud, stepping toward him. My boots clanged on the iron floor. "The physics are different. Calm down."
