Chapter 47

Sarah's POV

The rift stretched before me like an endless chasm, its vastness swallowing the light of the stone in my hand. Every step I took sent shivers of uncertainty through my body, my breath ragged, my pulse erratic. The weight of the air pressed against me, suffocating, as if the rift itself was trying to pull me into its depths. My heart pounded in my ribs, each beat a reminder of the stakes. The whispers—low, unintelligible—buzzed in my ears, their eerie presence clawing at my sanity. When I turned to look, there was nothing there. The creatures that lurked just beyond my sight seemed to follow, watching me with cold, unblinking eyes.

I gripped the stone tighter, its warmth grounding me for a fleeting moment before the coldness of the rift seeped back in. The shadows of doubt clung to my thoughts, refusing to release their grip. Axel—his sacrifice, his love, the promise I made to save him—was all that kept me moving forward. But the fear clawing at my chest, the gut-wrenching dread that I might never reach him, threatened to break me. What if the rift had already claimed him? What if there was nothing left of the man I loved?

A shadow darted across my path, and my blood ran cold. I froze, every muscle in my body locking in place. I couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Not real. It's not real. None of this is real. The mantra ran through my mind, but the growl that rumbled through the air shattered it. Deep. Guttural. Echoing through the emptiness of the rift, a vibration that made my very bones hum with dread.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to inhale slowly, to calm the frantic beating of my heart. But I wasn't alone here. I wasn't sure if I was even still in the world I knew. The growl intensified, vibrating the air itself as it reverberated through the rift. Then, without warning, a figure—tall, impossibly thin—lunged from the darkness. Its eyes were hollow pits, its grin stretched unnaturally wide, filled with rows of jagged, gleaming teeth. I staggered back, terror flooding my veins, barely raising the stone in time.

The light flared from the stone, a blinding burst that sent the creature skittering back with a shrill, inhuman screech.

I gasped, my breath ragged, and my legs trembled beneath me. The shadows in my vision shifted, relentless and eerie. Not real. It's not real, I whispered to myself, but the rift twisted the truth. It warped everything around me, bending reality in ways I couldn't escape. The stone flickered, its glow weak, casting ominous shadows that danced along the edges of my vision.

The beast was gone, but its presence lingered like a weight in my chest. The oppressive air around me thickened again, closing in like a vice.

Then the scream tore through the rift—a high-pitched, desperate wail that froze my blood. Axel. His voice. But distorted, stretched, far away, as though the rift itself was twisting his very being.

"Axel!" I cried out, my voice raw, cracking with fear. My heart lurched, and I took a step forward, but the ground beneath me shifted. Jagged, black stones erupted from the earth, slick with some otherworldly substance, nearly making me lose my footing.

Another scream pierced the air, closer this time, unmistakable. I spun around, my eyes scanning the shadows, my breath caught in my throat. The scream—Axel—was coming from deeper within the rift, swallowed by the thick, roiling fog.

I took a step toward it, every inch of me fighting the gut-wrenching fear, only to be thrown back as something massive crashed into me from behind. Cold claws wrapped around my throat, dragging me backward with inhuman strength. My breath was stolen from me, my lungs burning as panic surged through me.

"Get off!" I screamed, flailing, my hands grasping at the clawed wrist that held me, but it didn't budge.

With a desperate twist of my body, I struck the creature's wrist. It hissed, releasing me, and I staggered forward, gasping for air. But before I could regain my bearings, the creature was upon me again, its eyes glowing with a malevolent hunger.

The stone flared in my hand once more, filling the rift with light so blinding it pushed the creature back. But it wasn't enough to make it vanish completely. I stumbled, my heartbeat a deafening drum in my ears, the pulse of terror throbbing with every step.

I couldn't stop. Axel was out there. Calling to me. I had to keep going. No matter what horrors awaited.

The rift itself seemed to mock me as I moved forward, the ground cracking beneath my feet, the whispers growing louder, swirling around me like a storm. But then, with a deafening crack, the earth before me split wide open, a yawning abyss that threatened to swallow me whole. My heart skipped a beat, panic surging through my veins.

The stone in my hand flared again, its light cutting through the darkness. I lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the gaping void, the blackness reaching for me like an all-consuming maw.

Then, the figure appeared—barely discernible through the shifting fog. I froze, my blood running cold.

It was Axel. Or at least, it looked like him.

His once-familiar face was gaunt, his eyes hollow and empty. He didn't move, just stood there, staring at me with an unblinking, lifeless gaze. The same face, but not the same. His presence felt wrong, distorted, like a twisted echo of the man I loved.

"Axel?" My voice came out weak, trembling with hope, but the fear gnawing at my insides drowned it out. Was it really him?

His lips parted, but the words that came out were wrong—alien, broken, as if spoken by something far darker. "You shouldn't have come," he rasped, his voice hauntingly familiar, yet unrecognizable.

"Axel, please—" I took a step forward, but his image flickered, warping in the air like a mirage. The rift was playing tricks on me. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.

"No, Sarah..." His figure seemed to crumble into the fog, his voice morphing into a guttural growl. "You cannot save me. You never could."

My chest constricted, the air thickening around me, suffocating my breath. The space around me cracked open, revealing an endless void that stretched into infinity. Figures began to materialize from the darkness—shadows with contorted faces, people I didn't recognize. They whispered my name in unison, their voices a cacophony of eerie echoes that pulled at my sanity.

The rift was alive. It had taken on a will of its own, twisting my memories, bending everything I had ever known into something grotesque. I staggered back, my mind whirling, struggling to grasp what was real, what wasn't. Axel? Was that him? Was he warning me? Or was the rift playing with me, keeping me trapped in this nightmare?

The stone flared again, its light pulsing with a familiar energy—Axel's presence, still reaching for me from the void. But the voices were growing louder now, pushing against my thoughts, suffocating me. I covered my ears, shaking my head, trying to block them out, but they only grew louder.

"You can't leave," they chanted, their voices joining together in a chorus. "You're one of us now."

I could feel the shadows closing in, their malevolent eyes burning into me, their mouths stretching into cruel, twisted grins.

"No," I whispered, my legs trembling beneath me. "I'm not like you. I'm not like any of you."

I turned and ran, my body unsteady, my heart pounding in my chest. But the shadows followed, drawing nearer with every step I took. I couldn't stop. I couldn't let them catch me. I wouldn't let them pull me into the darkness.

The ground cracked again, and I stumbled, barely managing to stay on my feet. The air grew thick with decay, the stench of death suffocating. And then—something grabbed my ankle, pulling me downward, dragging me toward the abyss.

I screamed, kicking, thrashing with every ounce of strength I had, but the darkness was relentless. It pulled harder, faster, trying to consume me.

No. I won't give in.

The stone in my hand flared brighter than it ever had before, casting a searing light that filled the rift, pushing back the shadows. The grip on my ankle loosened, and with a desperate cry, I tore myself free, stumbling back, my breath ragged, heart thundering in my chest.

The stone pulsed with Axel's presence again, familiar, warm. He was still with me, even here.

The rift might twist my memories, flood my mind with fear, but I wouldn't let it take me. Not when I was so close. Not when Axel was out there, calling to me. I couldn't give up now.