718 Into the Abyss

How long will the travel take?" asked Lorelai.

"The Netherworld is large, so it would take at least two days or so," Azazel answered, riding Tiki's tail without a care while picking his nose.

"That's too long!" Lorelai exclaimed and whacked Azazel's head.

Azazel groaned and covered the lump on his head. "Why is it my fault? I don't control the distance here."

"Think of a way to get us to that castle within six hours, or we will lose the Abyss!" Lorelai said.

"We can't afford to travel that long," Elena seconded.

Evie added, "Are there Teleportation Crystals here that teleport you from one place to another?"

"Teleportation Crystals?" Azazel said and thought for a moment. "There are in the villages and towns. And there's one in Obsidianreach, but you have to actually come to that town first to activate and log it on your map."

"So there isn't a way?" Ren asked.

"Oh, there is a way," Azazel said with a grin.

Lorelai whacked his head again. "Then say that in the first place!"

Azazel groaned and rubbed the newly formed lump on his head. "Woman, you're so violent. No one would like you that way," he teased.

Lorelai's response came with another whack. "Stop playing around and tell us the way to a shortcut."

"You probably don't have a boyfriend, huh?" Azazel grinned. "Don't worry, I will take you as my bride if no one wants to marry you. Being violent isn't exactly a bad thing here in the Netherworld."

"You . . ." Lorelai gritted her teeth, veins popping on her face, her knuckles slowly rising.

Ren and the others could only shake their heads when Lorelai barraged Azazel with punches and kicks, but Azazel swiftly evaded and laughed out loud.

"Ahahaha! You won't be able to catch me if I put my mind to it. With my speed, you'll never—Ugh!"

Azazel didn't finish his words when a heavy punch rattled his head and even blew a tooth out of his mouth.

Lorelai appeared right beside him in an instant, and the rest was history.

"Don't kill him," Ren said with a bored tone. "We still need him to find that shortcut."

Lorelai grabbed Azazel's clothes while the latter was all beaten up, with black eyes and lumps all over his face. "Tell us the shortcut, or I will punch it right out of you."

Azazel gasped, and his face turned serious. "Fine. Fine. The shortcut is in the Abyss. See that wormhole that sometimes appears on it?"

Everyone nodded.

"I kind of wonder what it is," Evie muttered.

"That's the shortcut that allows you to travel kilometers within a blink. It only appears randomly, though, and sometimes it doesn't appear, so luck is on our side today," Azazel explained. "Though it might close at any moment."

"Say that the first time!" everyone shouted, and they hurried Tiki into the opened portal without a second thought.

Inside the Abyss through the mysterious hole, they found themselves engulfed in a realm of profound darkness. 

The transition was swift, the atmosphere changing from the golden hues of the desert to an all-encompassing void.

There was no tangible ground beneath their feet, no discernible walls around them. It was an expanse of emptiness, an otherworldly space where shadows danced in endless patterns. 

The darkness seemed to stretch infinitely in every direction, creating a disorienting sense of vastness.

Occasional sparkles of faint, ethereal dust illuminated the void, creating a mesmerizing display of shimmering lights. These particles glimmered like distant stars, weaving through the emptiness in intricate and unpredictable patterns. 

Despite the lack of physical elements, the air felt thick with an unspoken energy, as if the very essence of the Netherworld resonated within this mysterious space. 

The absence of landmarks or reference points left the travelers in a state of suspended uncertainty, where time and space seemed to lose their conventional meanings.

The distant echoes of their own movements reverberated mysteriously, creating an eerie symphony of sound in the absence of visible landmarks. 

The darkness seemed to absorb all noise, leaving only the gentle hum of the interwoven particles and the occasional whispers of unseen currents.

Tiki's scales glowed softly, reflecting the sporadic gleams of dust and adding a subtle radiance to the darkness. The group clung to Tiki's back, their eyes adjusting to the peculiar blend of shadows and delicate lights that surrounded them.

"Be careful; you could easily lose your sense of direction and time here. Stay on the path, and don't stray," Azazel warned the others.

"What are these milky-like ways?" Evie asked, staring at the sprawling dust.

"They're different paths that diverge in different directions. That's why if you stray on this path that we came, you'll appear in a different direction than intended."

"Then . . . is this the path leading to Voraxa's castle?" Elena asked.

Azazel shook his head. "Nope. This only leads far south. The key to reaching Voraxa is 'Abyss hopping.' Enter the Abyss, wait for a certain minute, then get out, and you will find yourself back in the desert. Just follow that south Abyss once more and then enter the hole when you see it again and repeat the cycle. We'll be there in no time."

"That . . . sounds so complicated," Lorelai admitted. "Can't you demons devise a more convenient way to travel?"

Azazel shrugged. "We like them complicated. Ahahaha!"

"So how do we get out?" Ren asked.

"Ah, that's right." Azazel pointed to a hole near them and said, "We'll just have to get off at that hole that appeared, and we're back in the desert."

However, they had just passed the hole that he had pointed.

"What happens if we miss it?" Ren asked while their eyes stayed glued to the hole they had just passed by.

Azazel stifled a laugh. "Ah, we might not get out of here if that happens and stray to a different location."

"You should have said that in the first place!" everyone screamed at Azazel.

Azazel only scratched his head and laughed. "Ahahaha, I'm sorry!"