THE BLACKTHORN CODEX
Episode 54 — The Opening of the Abyss
Date: November 18, 2023 — Time: 6:32 AM
Then, behind him, the fracture widened further. Other voices rose, deep, chanting a forgotten language. Several figures were approaching.
Clarisse and Léandre understood that they were not just facing an adversary… but the beginning of an invasion.
The fracture pulsed like a living wound, widening with each beat. The air vibrated with guttural chants, and behind the first sorcerer, other shapes began to stand out from the violet glow. Their silhouettes were blurred, sometimes human, sometimes monstrous, as if the world was still hesitating to give them bodies.
Clarisse felt her stomach tighten. Her fire and ice had mingled into an unstable torrent that she struggled to contain. Léandre, trembling, had electric lines running down his arms, his skin burned by his own energy. But neither of them had any intention of backing down.
The first sorcerer, cracked and smiling, raised his arms like a master of ceremonies.
"See... my brothers are awakening. The Codex no longer has a sanctuary. You will be the first sacrifices of the Sea of Ashes."
A second sorcerer emerged from the fracture. His head was crowned with a mane of blue flames. With a sharp gesture, he struck the ground: a column of lava erupted, throwing Clarisse against a wall. Her skin burned despite the ice she tried to raise as protection.
Léandre, furious, responded with a clap of thunder. Electricity condensed around his fist before exploding in a pure beam that pierced the column of lava and struck the flaming torso. The sorcerer screamed, but his flames immediately rekindled, as if the pain fueled his power.
A third appeared. His body was translucent, crisscrossed with luminescent veins. He suddenly disappeared, then reappeared behind Léandre, who didn't have time to turn around. A shadowy claw slammed down on his back. The impact knocked him to the ground, his blood splattering the cobblestones.
"Léandre!" Clarisse shouted.
She lunged forward, both hands outstretched. Fire and ice merged again, but this time in the form of an unstable sphere. She threw it with all her might. The explosion covered the alleyway in burning shards, engulfing the three figures. The cobblestones shattered.
A tense silence. Then, slowly, the sorcerers emerged from the dust. Wounded, cracked, but still standing.
Benjamin Borax's voice resonated in their minds, closer than ever:
"Don't fight separately. Merge your forces. It's the only way to bridge the gap."
Clarisse looked at Léandre, who was struggling to get up. He nodded, his face covered in blood, but his eyes shone with a newfound rage. They clasped hands.
Their energies mingled immediately. Fire, ice, electricity... but also something deeper: the resonance of Borax himself. A white glow enveloped them.
The first sorcerer tried to stop them, projecting a crushing mental wave. But this time, it hit an invisible wall. Clarisse and Léandre advanced, their footsteps echoing like thunder.
They struck together. A burst of composite energy erupted, an explosion of icy fire and lightning mingled. The blast ripped through the alleyway, pulverizing the surrounding walls. The three sorcerers were thrown back, their bodies dislocated by the light.
But the fracture didn't close. On the contrary, it pulsed more strongly, as if this fight only fueled its opening. More figures approached again, and this time their chants echoed like an entire army.
Léandre gasped.
— "Clarisse... if we continue, Marseille will be engulfed."
Borax's voice rang out again, deep, almost solemn:
— "Then we'll have to dive into the fracture. You can't stay on the surface."
Clarisse felt her heart sink. She exchanged one last glance with Léandre. In their eyes, there was neither fear nor doubt: only the certainty that they had no other choice.
Hand in hand, they rushed toward the fracture, while behind them, the city trembled with the first echoes of the invasion.