POV: Author
The Abyss broke open.
Red Witch lifted both arms and the sky above the courtyard split into rotating crimson circles, layered one above the other like divine machinery grinding into motion. Runes bled red light. Lightning crashed downward in a single violent beam.
Demons poured out.
Not crawling.
Dropping.
Twisted bodies slammed into stone — limbs too long, mouths opening sideways, eyes burning like coals forced into skulls.
They didn't roar.
They shrieked.
Kiyoshi moved like a shadow cutting through fire. His blade flashed once — twice — bodies splitting into black vapor before they could reach him.
Mong slammed his fist into the ground, stone erupting upward to crush two creatures mid-leap. "I hate caves," he muttered through clenched teeth.
Anna didn't move at first.
She felt it.
The Wind Whisperer ripped into her palm like it had chosen her again. The string vibrated violently, wind spiraling upward around her legs, climbing her spine.
Red Witch hovered above the battlefield, encased in rotating sigils glowing like twin red halos. Her magic descended in slicing arcs — each one precise, calculated.
Shou Feng met her midair.
Steel clashed against scarlet light.
The collision detonated outward.
The courtyard shattered.
Anna exhaled.
And the wind answered.
She turned sharply — releasing an arrow formed entirely from compressed air. It screamed forward, shredding three demons at once. Their bodies tore apart into spirals of ash.
More came.
Too many.
The ground beneath her lit up — turquoise rings forming under her boots, rotating like an ancient clock. Wind bent around her in controlled orbit, lifting dust, stone, fragments of broken pillars.
She moved through it.
Graceful.
Deadly.
A demon lunged.
She stepped aside, twisting her wrist — a spiral of wind snapped its neck midair.
Another dove from above.
She pulled the air downward in a violent column — slamming it into the stone so hard the courtyard cracked.
For a moment—
She was winning.
Red Witch noticed.
Her head tilted.
Then she changed tactics.
The demons stopped targeting flesh.
They targeted the weapon.
Two attacked at once — one low, one high.
Anna blocked the first.
The second struck her wrist.
Pain flared.
The Wind Whisperer flew from her hand.
It hit the ground.
Slid.
Toward the portal.
"No—"
A demon charged her unarmed.
Anna raised both hands.
The air in front of her condensed violently, forming a wall of pressure inches from her face. Claws scraped against invisible force.
She was backing up.
Too focused on holding the wind together.
Too focused on survival.
She didn't notice how close she was—
Until heat hit her spine.
The portal roared behind her.
The demon suddenly froze.
It stepped aside.
Anna's stomach dropped.
She turned.
William stood there.
Not smirking.
Not amused.
Calm.
Close.
Her breath shattered in her chest.
Behind him, red lightning split the sky as Shou Feng and Red Witch collided again in midair, shockwaves ripping across the battlefield.
William leaned slightly toward her.
"Did you really think I would let you stay?"
Her voice came out raw. "Don't."
For the first time—
There was something colder in his eyes.
"You were always meant to fall."
He shoved her.
"SHOU!!!" She screamed
There was no dramatic slow motion.
No graceful descent.
Just absence.
The ground disappeared.
The sky vanished.
And she was gone.
A roar ripped through the Abyss — not human, not controlled — as Shou Feng turned.
Too late.
He struck Red Witch aside with enough force to crack the air itself and sprinted toward the portal—
But William stepped backward into it.
And the spiral snapped shut like a mouth closing.
Silence fell.
—
Anna was falling.
No up.
No down.
No shou feng to catch her .
Just endless red and violet tearing past her skin like burning rain.
She couldn't breathe.
There was no air.
She screamed anyway.
The sound was swallowed whole.
William's voice echoed around her — everywhere and nowhere.
"I have a surprise for you, little love."
Her fingers clawed at nothing.
Wind didn't answer her.
Light didn't answer her.
No one did.
She fell.
And fell.
And fell—
White light exploded across her vision.
—
She jerked upright with a scream.
Air slammed into her lungs.
Her sheets were tangled around her legs. Sweat soaked her back. Her hands shook violently as she looked around.
Pink curtains.
Old wooden cupboard.
Cracked ceiling paint.
Her mother's house.
Her stepfather's house.
Her heart began to pound so hard it hurt.
"No…"
She stumbled out of bed and ran.
The hallway was narrow.
Familiar.
The smell of food drifted from the kitchen.
Traffic noise outside.
Normal.
Too normal.
She stepped outside.
Sunlight hit her face.Cars passed.People walked.
The modern world
Her world.
Her breath came uneven.
From inside the living room—
Laughter.
Male.
Warm.
Casual.
She moved slowly toward the doorway and looked in.
Her stepfather sat comfortably on the sofa, smiling broadly.
Across from him sat a young man in a neatly pressed shirt.
"So, Alex," her stepfather said lightly, pouring tea, "which one of my daughters would you like to marry?"
Anna froze.
The young man turned slightly.
His smile curved slowly.
Not identical.
But close enough.
And for a split second—
His eyes flickered red.
To be continued...