Abyssal Spirits

As they descended, the light grew dimmer and dimmer. Dick was so terrified he did not dare move at all, while Benjamin could only rely on his water-element senses to make out the surroundings.

In the field of vision he sensed, the lower they went, the denser the dark elements around them became, and the entire abyss grew narrower and narrower.

"Take it easy. The suction is getting stronger and stronger," the system suddenly warned. "I can't analyze the source of this force, but it feels like the spatial structure nearby is becoming increasingly unstable."

...Spatial structure?

Benjamin stroked his chin. To be honest, he had no idea where the suction came from either, but if even the spatial structure here had changed, then that was something unheard of.

He could only slow down, resisting the force from below as he inched closer.

Suddenly, he spotted a beam of light in the darkness below.

Benjamin's eyes immediately lit up.

The light looked hazy and distant, but in such a pitch-black environment, even the faintest glimmer stood out brilliantly. Dick shuddered as well, his expression like that of someone who had just been fished out of hell.

"Th-there's light..."

Benjamin nodded and guided the ice sphere toward the light.

A light appearing in a bottomless abyss had to signify something extraordinary.

The closer they flew, the brighter the surroundings became. Yet when the abyss's grim and terrifying scenery emerged before their eyes once more, Benjamin could not help but feel a jolt of alarm.

Were those... cracks?

Tiny black fissures began appearing in midair. Like cracks in glass, they clung to no object, floating in the void as they slowly opened and closed, like the gills of fish.

"Spatial rifts? Interesting. Something that only exists in theory can actually exist in