Chapter 719  Abyss Hopping               

"Tiki, quickly hop into the hole!" Elena urgently directed.

Tiki tried to follow her orders quickly but found that no matter how fast Tiki turned back, the milky way seemed like a fast, strong current that wouldn't let him reach his destination.

"Ah . . . that would be impossible. Once you miss your timing, it would be hard to turn back," Azazel commented with a blank face. Lorelai growled and channeled all her anger and frustration at Azazel in one black bolt of powerful magic. "Like I said . . . SAY THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

A powerful burst of magic shot forth, propelling Tiki and the others forward and hurling them into the hole.

After a chaotic burst of magic propelled them through the portal of the Abyss, Ren, Lorelai, Elena, Evie, and Azazel found themselves back in the familiar expanse of the Netherworld desert. The sudden return to the open air and the solid ground beneath their feet was met with collective sighs of relief. No one wanted to be trapped inside that endless void and, worse, risk plunging their journey to Voraxa's castle into uncertainty.

Lorelai wasted no time in expressing her frustration. "I swear I will kill you if you make that same blunder again," she threatened Azazel, her eyes flashing with annoyance, while Azazel only laughed and mouthed an apology, seemingly unfazed by her warning.

"But where are we?" Evie asked, surveying their surroundings.

"Looks like we haven't gotten that far," Elena observed, squinting at the landscape.

"It just looks like it, but we have already covered kilometers from our initial point," Azazel explained. "Let's continue the process of Abyss Hopping, and we will be in Voraxa's territory in no time."

"Is there a percentage in which we will be trapped inside there?" Ren asked. Azazel took a deep breath and looked over at nowhere. "Yeah. About ninety percent."

"That's high!" Elena complained. "No worries!" Azazel laughed. "As long as we hopped out of the Abyss on time, we won't be trapped in there and get lost."

"I don't like the sound of that," Elena muttered.

Ren sighed. "We don't have a choice if we want to get there within hours. Let's go." As Tiki prepared for another Abyss Hopping session, the group steeled themselves for the unpredictable journey ahead. The desert stretched out before them, the vastness of the Netherworld beckoning as they embarked once more on the path toward Voraxa's castle. The Abyss, with its mysterious currents and unpredictable twists, remained both their guide and their challenge in the quest to end the warlord's reign.

The journey through the Abyss was an odyssey fraught with uncertainty and peril. Ren, Lorelai, Elena, Evie, and Azazel had undergone numerous Abyss Hops, each transition more disorienting than the last. The milky ways had twisted and turned, threatening to swallow them in the uncharted depths of the Netherworld's fabric. The group had faced moments of near-loss, where the very essence of time seemed to blur, and the fear of being trapped within the Abyss lingered like a haunting specter.

Until finally, after a series of intense Abyss Hops, the group found themselves on the outskirts of Voraxa's domain. "I don't want to undergo that thing again," Elena said, panting and huffing.

"We almost got lost and trapped there numerous times." Lorelai caught her breath. "Is there another way to travel in this darn place?"

Azazel only placed his hands at the back of his head, lips puckered out as he commented on the idea, "Surface dwellers are such scaredy-cats. Being lost and trapped in the unknown is part of the journey. That's what makes life more exciting and fun."

Lorelai gave him a resounding whack on the head. "Don't lump our kind together here. If you demons want to be trapped in there for eternity, then be my guest. I want to stay out of it."

"But either way, we're here," Ren chimed in. "We made it."

"Is that it?" Evie pointed to an ominous castle in the distance.

The air crackled with an ominous energy, and a constant, distant thunder resonated through the atmosphere. It was as if the very skies above Voraxa's castle were in perpetual unrest, the sound of thunder echoing like a symphony of impending doom.

As they approached the looming silhouette of the castle, a palpable darkness descended. The structure was shrouded in an impenetrable black veil, seemingly absorbing any trace of light that dared to touch its surface. The castle stood as a bastion of shadows, a monument to Voraxa's dominion over the southern lands.

Rain seemed to cascade down in a never-ending shower despite the absence of clouds in the Netherworld sky. The droplets carried an eerie coldness, and the ground beneath their feet bore the dampness of an unyielding downpour. The sensation of constant rain accompanied their every step, an unsettling backdrop to the approaching confrontation with the warlord.

Voraxa's castle itself seemed to defy the laws of perception. Its architecture was an amalgamation of towering spires and foreboding structures; all wreathed in the perpetual darkness that clung to the fortress like an impenetrable cloak. Sinister gargoyles adorned the edges, their stone forms seemingly alive with malevolence.

The thunder continued to rumble, the echoes emphasizing the foreboding aura that enveloped the entire area. Ren and his companions exchanged glances.

The stage was set, and the one of the chapter of their quest awaited within the shadows of Voraxa's castle.

The group, nearing the castle gates, took a moment to assess their surroundings. The villagers had provided them with basic provisions and information, but the true nature of what lay within the castle remained a mystery. "What are waiting for?" Lorelai asked when Ren and the just stood at the gates. "There's no guards," Evie commented. "Or soldiers," Ren added. Azazel simply shrugged. "The Warlord doesn't need such things. They don't require soldiers to defend them. Soldiers are merely tools to be commanded when the Warlord is too lazy to undertake the task themselves."

"Makes things easier for us then," Ren said and stepped towards the gates. The castle gates, imposing and adorned with twisted motifs, creaked open as the group approached. The journey through the treacherous lands had brought them to this moment — the threshold of Voraxa's domain. 

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