Extra Borne: Transmigrated Into A System Apocalypse Soulsborne Novel-Chapter 58 - 56: The Temple of Sorrow

The empty space around me stretched infinitely, formless and without boundaries. It was as though I had stepped into the void between existence and oblivion, a liminal place where even time itself seemed hesitant to intrude. There was faint light here, but it wasn’t natural. It lacked warmth, casting no shadows, a pale and ghostly luminescence that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once. The air was heavy, not with any physical weight, but with an oppressive energy that clung to my skin like invisible chains.

Each breath was an effort, the act of drawing air a conscious battle against the suffocating pressure. I focused on steadying myself, forcing calm into every inhale and exhale. Panic would only make the void stronger; I had learned that lesson before.

At first, the silence was absolute, a void in itself. But then the whispers began.

They were faint at first, so subtle I thought they were my imagination playing tricks on me. But as I moved forward, the whispers grew louder, curling around the edges of my hearing like cold tendrils. They weren’t words... not fully. More like fragments of thought, twisted and incoherent, yet they carried a weight that pressed against my mind.

I stopped and closed my eyes feeling a slight unease,

I began extending my senses outward. A ripple in the void caught my attention, faint but distinct. My bow materialized in my hand, its weight a comforting presence. I felt the string under my fingers, taut and ready, as I cast my detection wide.

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The void screamed.

Kieeeek!

The sound was just like the invincible giant bat I had heard before, but louder.. sharper, more unsettling, and primal. It came from everywhere, echoing off the unseen walls of this empty space. My instincts screamed at me to move, and I spun just as the distortion came into focus.

It wasn’t visible, not in the way a creature should be. It was different from the invincible giant bat, this was like a ripple in the fabric of the void itself, a distortion that outlined massive four wings and a gaping maw. My senses painted its form in my mind, its dive sharp and instinctive, aimed directly at me.

The arrow formed on my bowstring, swirling with blue vortex energy, crackling against the oppressive silence. I released it with a steady hand, watching as the vortex of energy tore through the airless space.

For a moment, I thought it would strike true.

But the creature vanished, its form dissipating as though it had never been there. No impact, no sound, just an empty void where it had once existed.

I lowered the bow, my heart steady. There was no time for fear, no room for hesitation. This place thrived on doubt, and I had no intention of giving it what it wanted.

I pressed onward.

The air grew heavier with every step, the oppressive energy wrapping around me like an unwelcome embrace. My breathing slowed, each inhale a intentional act of overcoming. The void seemed to resist my presence, pushing against me, trying to erase me.

And then, through the haze, I saw it.

A temple rose in the distance, its outline blurred yet unmistakable. It was massive, a monolith carved from stone that seemed to drink in the void around it. Its surface was blackened, void-like, yet it shimmered faintly, as though galaxies swirled beneath its surface. It was both beautiful and terrible, a structure that defied reason and demanded reverence.

The doors creaked open as I approached, the sound echoing unnaturally in the stillness. They seemed to open of their own accord, as though expecting me, inviting me... or perhaps daring me... to enter.

I hesitated for a moment, the weight of the temple pressing against me. Then I stepped inside.

The air within was colder, heavier, and filled with an aura that seemed to seep into my very bones. There was a taste to it, faint but unmistakable... a metallic tang of decay and despair. It gnawed at the edges of my mind, pulling at emotions I had never think will come. Hate. Resentment. Regret.

I forced those thoughts away, cutting my emotions by filling my subconscious in mist to shield myself.

The interior was vast, the ceiling stretching impossibly high into the darkness above. Rusted seats lined the hall, scattered in disarray as though a congregation had fled in terror. They were ancient, void-rusted and crumbling, yet they carried a weight of forgotten grandeur.

Ahead of me, an altar stood, its surface slick with a black substance that reflected no light. It was ominous, a centerpiece that seemed to pulse faintly, alive in some unnatural way. Beyond it, a massive stone gate loomed, its surface etched with carvings that seemed to shift and writhe when I looked too closely.

I approached the gate slowly, my footsteps echoing faintly in the oppressive silence. The closer I came, the more the air seemed to press against me, the suffocating energy thickening. My gaze fell on the carvings, their jagged lines radiating an ancient power.

The words carved into the stone were unmistakable:

"Here lies the Waste of Eternity,

The forsaken mother, the harbinger of grief.

Betrayed by her own blood, cast down by her love.

Beware the sorrow that sleeps,

For her return shall herald the end.

To break this seal is to condemn all to her wrath."

The weight of the words sank into me, each line pressing against my chest like a physical force. My breathing slowed slightly, my fingers curling into fists as the warning carved itself into my mind.

And then the gate began to open.

The sound was slow and calm, a groan of ancient stone moving after eons of stillness. Mist poured from the widening gap, thick and cold, curling around me like a living thing. It moved with purpose, as though tasting the air after being trapped for eternity.

Through the mist, I saw it.

Something incomprehensible.

And then I heard it... a voice, deep and resonant, carrying the weight of ages.

"Waste of... Eternity..."

The words echoed through the temple, reverberating in my very soul.

I froze, the air around me colder than ever.