Amon moved again.

Slowly, carefully, he began walking along the base of the tree, following the curve of the colossal trunk. Each step echoed faintly, swallowed almost immediately by the oppressive stillness of the place.

Up close, the bark looked even stranger. Veins of dark, as if remnants of something once alive still lingered within. He reached out once, brushing his fingers against the surface.

It was cold. Not just to the touch. Cold enough to seep into his bones.

Amon pulled his hand back and continued forward, eyes sharp, senses stretched thin. He walked between towering roots that formed arches above him, some so large they blocked out what little light remained. Shadows layered upon shadows, thick and heavy.

As he moved, the feeling in his chest intensified. After circling part of the base, something caught his attention.

Between two massive roots, half-hidden by overlapping bark and twisted growth, there was a gap.

A path to somewhere.

It was unnatural and felt like it was carved by someone too deliberate. The roots curved inward, forming a descending slope that led into darkness. At the center of it all was a massive opening carved straight into the trunk itself.

A hole. No… calling it whole was not right. It was an entrance. It was an entrance leading inside the tree.

The opening was enormous, easily wide enough for five elephants to enter at once. Its edges were jagged and uneven, as if something had torn its way inside long ago. Darkness spilled out from within. He could not see what lay inside. Everything was pitch black.

He stopped at the edge. His heart began to pound violently. His grip tightened on his sword.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Fear crept up his spine, like cold fingers wrapping around his nerves. Every instinct screamed at him to turn around, to leave, to run as far away from this place as possible.

It was not a place for vacation. It was not something you could explore for fun. Yet Amon remained there, staring at it. His instincts were telling him… whatever lay inside… it was not good.

But curiosity burned hotter. He felt drawn to go inside despite the nerve-wracking fear.

His breathing grew shallow as he climbed down from the roots, boots touching the ground at the base of the opening. He tightened his grip on his sword, its familiar weight grounding him.

"This is insane…" he whispered. A smile crept onto his face. He was smiling at his own decision. His body was not in good condition. For some reason, he could not stop himself from going in.

Yet his feet moved anyway.

Step by step, he walked forward, crossing the threshold and entering the darkness within the Celestial Tree.

The light behind him faded. His heart raced. Nervous, afraid… yet undeniably excited, as the darkness swallowed him whole.

Stomp! Stomp!

Amon walked inside. Everything was dark. He could not see a single thing. It was pure pitch black.

It felt like a cave. The light from the entrance behind him slowly faded as he walked deeper inside.

Now it was completely dark.

Though Amon could normally see better in darkness. Not clearly, but a little. Even here he could not see a thing.

He walked further inside.

'I should take out my lighter.' Thinking that, he pulled out the small lighter from his storage ring.

'This thing has been with me since I came here.' It really helped me a lot. Amon kissed the lighter.

Then, clicking it, a small flame formed at the top, brightening the surroundings. The darkness around Amon retreated as he could finally see.

But it wasn't much. It only illuminated a small area, revealing nothing but pitch-black soil and roots.

He looked forward and continued walking inside. His pace was slow and calm, not taking large steps.

His steps were measured and small. His heartbeat continued to quicken.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Just then, a stone covered with dark soil hit Amon's foot.

It shot forward and fell into something in front of him.

Amon froze. The small stone, coated in dark soil, rolled forward once… twice… then vanished over the edge.

Rubble

There was no sound of it hitting the bottom. Not a single echo. His breath caught in his throat.

Slowly, cautiously, Amon took a half step back, then lowered himself onto one knee. His movements were careful and deliberate, as if one wrong shift of weight might send him tumbling forward.

Holding the lighter out, he leaned closer and looked down. What lay before him was not a hole.

It was a vast, wide-spread abyss carved into the heart of the tree.

The ground simply ended.

Beyond the edge stretched an enormous chasm, so wide that the faint glow of his lighter could not even touch its sides properly.

The darkness inside was deeper than the darkness behind him. Thick, layered, endless. No walls were visible. No bottom. Just an unfathomable void swallowing all light.

It felt less like standing inside a tree… and more like standing at the edge of a mountain cliff that plunged straight into nothingness.

Amon's stomach twisted from the sight. "Fuck...If I had walked more steps...I had fell inside of it."

Cold sweat broke out across his back as a strange pressure pressed down on his chest, making it hard to breathe. His instincts screamed louder than ever.

This place didn't look like it was hollowed naturally. It felt like it had been excavated.

Something massive had either fallen here… or been placed here. He extended his hand slightly and dropped another small pebble.

It disappeared instantly. Still no sound.

Amon swallowed hard. "…What the hell is this place?" he whispered.

The flame of the lighter flickered violently, as if disturbed by an unseen current rising from the abyss. A chill brushed against his face, carrying a sensation that made his skin crawl something ancient, heavy, and wrong.

For a moment, he truly felt insignificant. Like an ant standing on the edge of true abyss that might swallowed you. Yet...there was a small feeling of familiarity.

If he took one careless step forward, there would be no coming back. No climbing out. No shadow to save him. Only endless falling into darkness that even his eyes could not comprehend.

Amon slowly leaned back, planting his foot firmly behind him. His heart hammered against his ribs.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Whatever lay below… it was not meant to be seen by mortals. But he felt odd feeling from it. But he was afraid of it.

And yet, despite the fear, despite the warning clawing at his bones, his gaze remained fixed on the abyss.

Because deep inside that darkness… inside that abyss… he felt something watching back. Something that was calling him.

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