Chapter 92
- Evan -
The descent was silent; not one of us spoke.
The corridors leading to Father's lab felt like they were not carved into the earth so much as they were grown from it. Smooth obsidian ribs arched overhead, slick with condensation that glowed faintly an electric blue. Each drop echoed through the tunnels as the sound of a slow, steady heartbeat counted down our steps to the forward unknown.
Josh walked ahead, silent but stiff, like a man being led on an invisible leash. I kept watching his hands, glowing faintly beneath the ragged ends of his sleeves—they were not like the hellfire from the past. Nor, quite the same as his ice fire, I remembered he had before. They were paler and flickered between glow and ice blue.
Kaysi stayed behind me, her grip white-knuckled around her sword. I could feel the energy of her tension rolling off of her like heat. She hasn't said more than a few words since we left the viewing chamber of the arena. Her memories were still foggy; I could see that in her face, but that didn't stop her instincts to protect. She watched Josh with worry, her mind sharp for any sign of betrayal.
Josh abruptly stopped.
We stood before a black door embedded into a sheer wall of greenish crystal, which shimmered when we approached. The runes scrawled across its surface as it began to pulse.
"He's close,' Josh whispered.
Is this the door to the centaur and father's lab? I asked.
Josh's golden eyes flicked to the left, down a narrow ramp curling beneath the crystal. "It guards the entrance from below. It doesn't use sight. It listens, it smells. And it never stops moving."
"This beast wasn't here the last time I came. So, how do we kill it?"
"You don't, Josh said plainly. "It's stronger than any of us."
"That's never stopped us before," Kaysi muttered.
Josh shook his head. "No, you don't get it. It doesn't die. It regenerates. It absorbs energy faster than you can attack. It's an Abyss—a forged creature, bonded to the roots of the domain's core. If we kill it, the domain tries to bring it back!"
"Well, we're not going just to sit here and cry about it. I snapped.
Josh raised a hand, not in defense but in resignation. "I know. I knew this moment would come. I just hoped it would be different."
Kaysi stepped forward, her eyes locked on him. "What do you mean by that?"
Josh opened his mouth — but the answer came in a thundering roar from the depths of the ramp.
The walls and floor beneath shook under our feet. Dust fell in rivulets from the seams in the stones.
Then we saw it.
The centaur rose from the shadows with the weight of a storm. Its equine lower body was massive and muscular, charcoal black and cracked with glowing red veins like magma. Its humanoid torso stretched impossibly tall, armored in bone and obsidian. Two burning green eyes glowed from beneath a heavy helm shaped like a ram's skull, and a massive double-bladed axe dragged behind it, screeching sparks across the stone.
Its hooves struck the ramp with such weight that I felt each step in my ribs.
We didn't speak. We didn't need to.
Josh backed away, hands already glowing with twin plumes of ice-blue fire. I drew my sword — chipped but humming with renewed spirit. Kaysi stepped ahead of both of us, her blade glowing a faint white, a contrast to the roiling blackness that poured off the Centaur like smoke.
The creature lowered its head, and then it charged.
Kaysi moved first — a blur of silver and motion. Her sword slashed across its flank, and sparks flew, but the centaur didn't even grunt. It swung its axe in a wide arc, and she ducked under it, sliding across the wet stone like a dancer.
Josh raised both hands. "Ignis glacies!"
Twin jets of fire and ice exploded from his palms, twisting together into a single spiral that slammed into the creature's torso. It staggered — just slightly — and let out a metallic screech, half-horse, half-machine.
I dove in from the side, ramming my sword up beneath its shoulder. The blade slid into something softer than I expected — like jelly — and for a moment, I thought I'd pierced something vital.
Then it twisted around and hurled me against the far wall like a rag doll.
Pain exploded in my back and ribs. I gasped, tasted blood, and forced myself to roll aside just as a hoof crashed down where my skull had been.
It didn't stop.
It kept swinging, trampling, and screaming in that horrible, layered voice.
Josh raised a wall of jagged ice between it and me, but the Centaur tore through it in seconds.
"We can't kill it head-on!" he shouted. "We need to find its core!"
"What core?!" Kaysi shouted, dodging another overhead blow. "You said it was bound to the domain!"
"I was wrong! It's not regenerating — it's channeling from somewhere! We have to cut off the source!" Josh replied.
"Where is it?!" I coughed up more blood.
Josh pointed toward the center of the chamber, where the green crystal wall pulsed harder now, glowing in time with the centaur's movements.
"There!" he cried. "It's tethered to the root crystal!"
Kaysi pivoted, her sword switching to a reverse grip. "Then we sever it."
I pushed myself up, heart pounding. "Cover her. I'll draw it away."
Josh looked at me like I was insane — maybe I was — but nodded anyway; he knew I was always faster on my feet than he was.
"You have sixty seconds," I said.
"More like thirty," Kaysi growled.
I charged, screaming to get the creature's attention. It turned toward me, green eyes flashing, and I felt its hatred lock onto my bones. I ducked under its axe and landed a slash across its lower leg as I sprinted down the chamber.
Behind me, I saw Kaysi race toward the crystal with every ounce of strength she had left.
The Centaur roared again and turned to follow — then Josh was on its back. He had found some chains lying nearby and wrapped them around its throat.
"Now, Kaysi," Josh yelled.
He plunged her blade into the crystal. Light exploded from the wound, a blinding, burning radiance that turned the entire chamber white.
The centaur screamed.
It staggered forward — but this time, it didn't regenerate.
Its body cracked, split, and bled red mist into the air. Its axe fell. Its knees hit the floor.
It was dying.
And it knew it.
Kaysi pulled her blade free, panting. The crystal root pulsed once more — and then darkened.
The centaur's body collapsed into ash.
Josh slumped to the ground, exhausted. I stumbled to his side.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Ask me tomorrow," he muttered.
We turned toward the now-unlocked lab door, still panting, still bleeding — but still alive.
Josh stood slowly, a shadow falling over his face.
"Beyond this door," he said, "is Father. And the truth."
Kaysi and I nodded. I swallowed hard. "Let's finish this."