A suffocating heat built in the air as Mitch and Sable moved toward the prison’s back wall. The thick stench clung to their skin, every breath heavy with sweat, blood, and rot. The air felt alive. Waiting to close in and swallow them whole.

  Shadows flickered in the dim light, shifting as if they were carrying lives of their own. Abyssal creatures shifted or paced in their cells.

  Low, rumbling growls filled the silence. Scales scraped against stone; claws raked like metal on bone. Each prisoner sensed the simmering anger in Mitch and trembled back from the bars, hiding from his gaze.

  Mitch ignored the sounds. He was focused on moving forward, grip squeezing Galadrith tightly. Each step was heavy, his mind singularly focused on reaching Hathgar and killing the Warden.

  Hate this fucking place.

  Beside him, Sable’s breathing was ragged. She glanced into each cell, her face tense as she caught glimpses of the twisted creatures that were held within. Their eyes–empty and ruthless, or filled with barely contained hate–followed their movements. She shivered despite the growing heat, and Mitch noticed her stiffen at the sights of the monsters.

  The shadows stretched as if reaching for them as Mitch noticed a single, dim light illuminating something down a claustrophobic corridor.

  There, pinned line an insect against a metal board, was a tiny Abyssal creature. It was barely recognizable as anything but a bleeding mass of flesh. Butcher’s handiwork.

  It was still alive. The exposed beating heart gave that away. Its animal eyes flicked in their direction. Jagged cuts lined its body, and symbols were burned into its flesh. The creature was too weak to make a sound.

  Mitch’s eyes narrowed, his lips pressing into a thin line. He approached the pitiful monster pinned to the wall. This was Butcher’s work–an experiment, half-dead, left to suffer.

  “It’s..alive,” Sable’s voice was barely above a whisper.

  Mitch didn’t answer. He raised Galadrith and delivered a swift, merciful strike. The creature stilled instantly, its suffering ended. The tension in the air between Sable and Mitch lessened.

  He pulled the creature’s soul and flesh into his core. The soul that filled his core that tiny bit more felt thin and faded. Nearly broken and gone forever. The energy still flowed through him, adding yet another subtle addition to his strength.

  “Not anymore. Poor thing. Even if it likely would have wanted to kill us,” he said, giving her a small, pained smile. “Just a little longer Sable. We’ll get out of this,”

  With that, he returned to the corridor, and continued towards the back wall.

  The faint awareness of Varak pricked the back of Mitch’s mind. Through the bond, he sensed her excitement at the task he had given her, and could almost hear the sounds of her scuttling through the prison. Her many eyes assessing each prisoner.

  She sorted through them as he’d commanded, her questions sharp and probing. Her satisfaction with each answer she deemed loyal. He felt her release a prisoner, and through the connection, he shared in her pride. The thrill of executing his will.

  It was a potent rush. His command was reaching beyond his immediate surroundings, rippling outwards with Varak’s movements.

  This is not something to take lightly. I think I can trust her…

  It wasn’t just control over them–there was something deeper. He could control them fully, but he didn’t. It was an unspoken understanding that each of his minions would operate in good faith. They wanted to help him. Those with intelligence, at least.

  Varak’s loyalty and eagerness, throbbing through the Abyssal Bind, reinforced the sense of dominion he was cultivating within and around him. He built in the shadows, just like his Skills pushed him too. Mitch wanted to ensure the goal he walked steadily towards was at least partly just.

  Kill whoever the fuck put this debt on this body. Start with the Warden. That’s enough to start with.

  “Where are the guards? Surely this wasn’t all done by Butcher…” Sable asked as they continued.

  Mitch stopped. Sable’s words had struck a chord. The emptiness and silence, besides the prisoners, had been unsettling enough.

  “You’re right,” he answered suspiciously. “This place should be crawling with guards. The Warden wouldn’t just leave it to Butcher.”

  “Unless they’re waiting,” Sable added grimly. The idea that the Warden might be toying with them more–letting them carve through only Butcher–was enough to set his teeth on edge.

  The thought sharpened his focus, and he continued to press forward.

  As Mitch and Sable moved deeper towards the back, the silence fractured. Low, guttural moans and the sounds of heavy chains scraping filled the air. The path narrowed, and Mitch’s gaze fell on the rows of hulking figures that filled their individual cells. It was the side where the largest monsters were held.

  Some were masses of muscle and rage, their limbs bound so tightly in chains that they seemed bloated. Others had bodies fused with metal and stone, grotesque hybrids of organic and inorganic matter. Drool oozed from the mouths of the more mindless ones. Spiteful eyes glared from behind thick iron bars, filled with a mixture of rage and resentment.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “These creatures…” Galadrith’s stony voice echoed in Mitch’s mind, dripping with disdain. “Are mere ants beneath my heel. I am, and was stronger than all of them. My power eclipses theirs like a sun over a guttering candle.”

  “Uh-huh. Yes, Gal. You are very strong,” Mitch replied with a smirk at Galadrith’s droning.

  “Thank you,” Galadrith said, clearly taking the praise to heart, “This, I know. In this prison, I was the strongest. They held contests here once. The blood was ankle-deep.”

  “You didn’t really have…blood. More ichor than blood.” Mitch raised an eyebrow.

  Galadrith rallied. “Ah. It was their blood. Yes. Ankle-deep. You should be honored to carry me. In fact, when this is over, I’d be happy to add you to my memoirs and treatises.”

  “Yep, can’t wait,” Mitch humored.

  They reached a door at the end of the corridor. Old and rusted, but alive with purple energy that crackled across its surface. Darkness seeped through, a malevolence that tainted the air.

  The energy that covered the door was the same as the Abyssal Wall in the Pit.

  The chain around Mitch’s neck, with Mathilda’s key, tugged toward the door as if magnetized. It aligned. Pulled him closer, a silent summons urging him toward the dark energy beyond.

  Mitch felt it. Behind the door, just out of reach, souls waited. He felt them, through whatever strange connection he had with soul magic. They were behind the door. And they were crying.

  It was pulsing, throbbing. They felt bound together in a twisted knot. Mitch considered his options.

  Need to get through this fucking door. Not many options there.

  The Abyssal Wall in the Pit had been impossible to break down. They had tried.

  Sable shivered beside him. “There are…there’s souls behind this, Mitch. I can feel them too,” she said.

  For a moment, Mitch thought it weird that Sable could feel the souls as well. He nodded, gripping Galadrith.

  Hathgar is somewhere in there. And the door for this key.

  This protected entrance was his way in. And he would tear through it, no matter what.

  He swung at it with his soul sword. The blade struck with a loud clang, but didn’t even scratch the surface of crackling purple. Frustration burned through him as he swung again. And again.

  Each time met the same impenetrable resistance.

  “Sable, try your Fractures,” he told her.

  Firing exploding Fractures and slices from her hands onto the door proved to not work as well. Each collided with the purple barrier, but the door remained untouched.

  Mitch’s jaw tightened so hard he felt his teeth begin to give.

  He activated Soul Sacrifice. The now familiar rush of power flooded him as he burned through another soul. He hadn’t used any souls in his fight with Butcher, but the Warden was different.

  Settlement Amount: 353(-1) Souls, 359 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 498 Flesh.

  A growl tore from his throat, Galadrith’s edge glowing a grotesque red as he struck with every ounce of his fury. The door held.

  Crack, damn you!

  He burned another soul, and swung. Nothing. He burned another, and swung harder. Each consumed soul fired in his belly, but no new strength was gained. It was only enough to keep him swinging unsuccessfully.

  Finally, as he burned another soul, a new energy surged within him. Through the fog of fury, a notification appeared.

  Affliction Skill Gained

  Soul Sacrifice

  Level 2(+1)Consume a soul in a torrent of power for you and your Followers.

  + Consume souls in succession to stack power.

  The energy multiplied as he quickly burned more souls in his ferocious swinging.

  Settlement Amount: 346(-7) Souls, 359 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 498 Flesh.

  It was a wave of strength and rage. It built and built, layering over itself. Until his strength and the blade vibrated visibly. He didn’t care about the souls he burned. Their memories were extinguished with each Soul Sacrifice.

  They tried to kill me anyway.

  It wasn’t just strength; it was a fury that bordered on uncontrollable, an energy that screamed to be unleashed. His muscles ached under the weight of it.

  With each swing, and each soul, the energy compounded, turning into something twisted and primal. Shadows flickered along the edges of his vision as the blood pumped too hard in his head. The barrier would fall, or he would tear himself apart trying.

  With a final roar, Mitch swung again, pouring his rage into Galadrith. The blade blazed red, colliding with the Abyssal Wall. Another Soul Sacrifice. Another surge of power.

  Settlement Amount: 345(-1) Souls, 359 Beast Souls, 0 Credits, 498 Flesh.

  As the blade sliced through the air one last time, the crackling purple barrier gave a strained shudder before finally, with a resounding crack, it fractured.

  A violent shockwave ripped outward, sending a wave of energy that flooded the prison. Sable stumbled back, but caught herself. The shattered remains of the protection dissolved into a thick mist, and seeped into the stone walls like a stain.

  Mitch took the exploding energy head on, and felt it damage him. He quickly consumed flesh and sent a tendril towards Sable to ensure she was in her best state.

  Silence settled. Thick and unnatural. The prison seemed to inhale, waiting.

  Then, a slow, steady drip pierced the quiet. An ominous ticking from beyond the door. It counting down like the beat of a hidden, malignant heart

  Mitch’s triumph over the barrier was palpable, and he could feel the twisted Abyssal power pressing against him from energy that seeped through.

  Sable’s face tightened as a metallic scent clawed its way towards them. “There is something bad behind there. What’s behind this door?”

  “Answers,” Mitch replied. “And Hathgar.” The energy was still coursing through his veins, urging him to charge forward. The souls he held, Rex, Galadrith, they all hummed at the fringes of his mind, wanting battle.

  They stood at the threshold, and Mitch reached out to push the door open. The hinges creaked with a sound like broken bones grinding together. The darkness beyond yawned and beckoned them inside.

  With a final look at Sable to ensure she was ready, Mitch crossed the threshold and walked into the Farm.