Chapter 36 Lost In The Abyss
Levi tilted his black hood forward so it could cover more of his face as he navigated around the abyss–a market where all kinds of magical artifacts are being traded illegally. The abyss is also a notorious dwelling ground for rogues and dark magic users located on the outskirt of Vosnos.
After spending the last three days going from one trade spot to another, the Abyss was the last place Levi knew to go in order to get the answers he was looking for. He walked swiftly across the muddy pathways of the marketplace, careful to not reveal his identity.
He tightened his hold on Maya's emerald necklace in his right hand. He didn't know why he felt overprotective of it. He had try to convince himself that it was because of duty but that didn't even sound convincing to him. Getting her out of his mind has proven to be harder than finding what the emerald necklace truly means.
Levi forced the thought of Maya aside, locking it away where it could not interfere with the task at hand. Sentiment had no place in the Abyss, not here, not now. He slowed his steps and let his senses stretch outward, listening past the din of haggling voices and clinking metal, past the smell of rot and old magic that clung to the air like damp smoke. The emerald pendant rested cold and solid in his palm, its surface faintly warm, as though aware it was being scrutinized.
He stopped at the first stall that caught his eye, a crooked table stacked with runes carved into bone. The trader eyed him with open suspicion.
“I am looking for information,” Levi said quietly. “This stone. Do you know the magic used to create it?”
The man leaned closer, squinting at the emerald, then recoiled as if burned. “That is not something you carry openly, stranger. Dangerous thing. Powerful. I will give you coin for it.”
“I am not selling,” Levi replied flatly.
The trader shrugged. “Then you are wasting my time.”
The next few stalls yielded similar results. Some traders pretended ignorance, others were too eager, their eyes lighting up with greed the moment they saw the pendant. One woman offered him a pouch of blood crystals. Another whispered of collectors who would kill entire clans for such a relic. None of them knew what he needed to know, or if they did, they were too afraid to speak it aloud.
Hours passed. The light above the Abyss dimmed further, shadows stretching longer between the stalls. Levi felt it again, the sensation of being watched. Not the casual attention of thieves or cutpurses, but something deliberate, measured, patient. He did not turn. He continued walking, as though unaware.
It was an old man with clouded eyes and a bent spine who finally broke the deadlock. Levi had nearly passed him by when the man rasped, “You are asking the wrong people.”
Levi paused, turning just enough to acknowledge him. “Then tell me who the right ones are.”
The old man’s gaze flicked to the emerald in Levi’s hand, then quickly away. “That stone is not market magic. It was never meant to be traded. If you want answers, you need someone who studies what others fear.”
“Who?” Levi asked.
“Sabrina,” the man said. “She keeps her knowledge beneath stone and shadow. Ask for her, and be ready to pay. She does not speak for free.”
Levi nodded once and moved on, committing the directions to memory. He did not thank the man. Gratitude in the Abyss was often mistaken for weakness.
The building was easy to miss. Its walls were cracked and blackened, squeezed between two collapsed structures as though the city itself had tried to bury it. Levi knocked once, firmly.
A voice filtered through the door, distorted and sharp. “State your business.”
“I seek a woman named Sabrina.”
Silence followed, long enough that Levi considered leaving. Then, “Knowledge is not cheap.”
Levi reached into his pouch, withdrew a small stack of coins, and added more without being asked. “This should cover your time. And then some.”
The door creaked open just enough for him to slip through before slamming shut behind him.
Inside was not a building at all, but a narrow passageway that descended steeply underground. Torches burned with unnatural flames, casting warped shadows along the walls.
The air grew colder with each step, thick with old magic and something darker beneath it. Levi counted turns, doorways, exits. Habit. Survival.
After several corridors, the passage opened into a chamber filled with relics that made even his seasoned instincts recoil. Blades that whispered to themselves, jars filled with living smoke, mirrors that reflected faces not present. At the center sat a woman at a long table, her dark hair streaked with silver, her eyes sharp and knowing.
Levi did not bother with pleasantries. He held up the emerald pendant. “I do not have time for chit chat. Do you know what this is?”
Sabrina raised a brow, rising slowly from her seat. “Straight to business. How refreshing.” Her gaze lingered on the stone, something like recognition flickering across her face. “Where did you get it?”
“That is not your concern.”
She smiled faintly. “Then neither is my knowledge.”
Levi’s eyes hardened. “I am running out of patience.”
“And I am running out of people foolish enough to bring that into my domain,” she countered calmly. “Sit.”
He did, though every instinct urged him to remain standing. The feeling of being watched intensified, prickling along his spine.
“That stone,” Sabrina began, “is bound great magic unlike any other here. Not enchanted in the way common artifacts are. It was grown, not forged. Cultivated through sacrifice.”
Levi remained silent.
“It belongs to a secret organization,” she continued. “One that does not announce itself. They operate in the fractures of the realm, in places power has made brittle. The emerald acts as both a mark and a conduit. A symbol of allegiance, and a tether.”
“A tether to what?” Levi asked.
“To each other,” Sabrina replied. “And to the source of their magic.
The stone resonates with shadow wielding energy, but not the wild kind. This is controlled shadow, disciplined, refined. The kind that does not consume its bearer.”
Levi frowned slightly. “The Great Order.”
Sabrina nodded. “They believe themselves guardians of balance. Whether that is truth or delusion depends on who you ask. The pendant allows them to locate one another across great distances, communicate through resonance, and in rare cases, open paths through shadow itself.”
Levi’s grip tightened around the stone. Fernanda’s face flashed through his mind, followed by Sebastian’s fury.
“What would they want with the Queen?” he asked quietly.
Sabrina studied him for a long moment. “That, I cannot answer. But if you wish to use the stone, truly use it, you will need help.”
“What kind of help?”
“A shadow wielder,” she said plainly. “The stone must be activated through direct contact. Think of it as borrowing their signature. Without it, the pendant is dormant.”
Levi exhaled slowly. “And if I find one?”
“Then you might glimpse what they see. Follow what they follow. But only briefly. Shadow does not like to be stolen.”
Levi stood. “That is all I need.”
As he left the chamber, the sensation returned stronger than before. He stepped into the maze of corridors, altering his pace, doubling back, masking his presence until even his own shadow seemed to lose track of him.
Then he struck.
The cloaked figure barely had time to react before Levi had them pinned to the ground, blade at their throat. Shadow lashed out, but Levi was faster, stronger. The fight was brutal and brief.
Instead of killing him, Levi bound the shadow wielder and dragged him back to Sabrina’s chamber.
“Will he do?” Levi asked.
Sabrina stared in open shock. Then she smiled. “Yes. He will do just fine.”
The shadow wielder snarled as Levi pressed him to the floor. “Where is the lair of your order?”
Silence.
Levi’s voice dropped. “Good. Then we will both go there.”
Sabrina began the ritual, drawing sigils as Levi forced the emerald against the shadow wielder’s chest. The stone flared to life, shadows erupting outward, wrapping around them both as the world dissolved into darkness.