The crimson abyss felt like an endless fall.
Elya and Lucian clung tightly to each other, their ears filled only with the thud of heartbeats and the low roar of flames.
Suddenly, the void beneath their feet solidified, and their plummeting bodies came to a halt before a blood-red hall.
The hall soared into the clouds, its doors forged from dark crimson bones, carved with countless figures writhing in agony.
At its center, the lingering glow of the blood moon filtered through the dome, staining their skin red.
The brand on Elya's chest burned, her breath quickening. "This is… the Gate of the Blood Abyss."
Lucian held her close, his forehead brushing her hair, and whispered, "We must enter. Only by shattering the chains here can we truly sever the blood moon."
As they pushed open the doors, illusions surged forth in the hall at once.
Countless whispers coiled around their ears, carrying the stench of desire and despair, as if to devour their sanity.
Suddenly, a vision flashed before Elya's eyes:
She stood alone on an ashen wasteland, Lucian's body lying in a pool of blood, the ashen flame oath extinguished, leaving only her cries and despair.
The version of herself in the illusion screamed, "It's you! Your weakness killed him!"
Elya's mind teetered on the edge of collapse, tears blurring her vision.
Lucian instantly pulled her into his arms, kissed her lips, and dragged her back to reality.
" I'm here," he murmured hoarsely. "Don't let it deceive you."
In the same moment, Lucian fell into his own illusion.
He saw Elya imprisoned by the power of the Rifted Moon, clad in sacred armor, cold and unfeeling, raising a sword to strike him.
In the vision, Elya's eyes were strange and frigid. "Lucian, you are nothing but a sacrifice to the ashen flames."
His fingers trembled, yet he deepened the kiss abruptly, the oathfire blazing wildly.
"Whether illusion or reality, I only trust the beat of your heart."
The blood abyss illusions shattered under their union. The ashen-flame phoenix rose from their intertwined forms, igniting the entire hall.
The blood-red carved walls cracked, and the agonized whispers turned to ash.
Yet from the depths of darkness beyond the doors, heavy footsteps echoed.
A towering figure draped in a blood-colored cloak emerged, wielding a massive blade etched with Rifted Moon patterns, its eyes burning with eerie bloodlight.
"Welcome to the Blood Abyss," it said, its voice low and mocking. "I am the guardian of this abyss. To proceed, you must prove the power of your oathfire with the most extreme sacrifice."
Elya and Lucian exchanged a glance, the ashen flame brands throbbing fiercely.
"I think we're ready," Elya said softly.
Lucian leaned close to her ear, his voice low but steady. "Then let the oathfire devour everything."
Their lips met again, blood flames and ashen flames intertwining.
The hall trembled, and the Gate of the Blood Abyss slammed shut behind them.
Ahead lay an unknown judgment.