Heat pressed from every side, oppressive and alive. The abyss breathed like a lung, each exhale pushing out winds thick with ash. The further he descended, the stronger the pull of the key became. It was buried here, beneath this storm-forged chasm, waiting to be claimed.
A sound rose from below, low and endless, like the grinding of stone against stone. Then the pit opened wider, and Ren saw it.
The walls of the abyss pulsed with veins of molten light that curved inward to form a vast circular chamber. At its center gaped a mouth too large to belong to any beast of flesh. Jagged teeth of obsidian lined its rim, each longer than Ren was tall, and from its depths poured both fire and storm. The abyss itself had become a creature, a maw born from calamity.
