Void Veins: The Forbidden Ascension

Chapter 28. Falling into a Nightmare

Thick darkness swallowed them instantly, as though the mountain itself had sealed shut behind them. Lin Ye, his father, and Shen Kui plummeted down a vertical stone shaft whose bottom could not be seen, its walls glistening damp and cold. Wind howled loudly in their ears, tearing at their clothes and hair, yet strangely there was no fear of crashing. Their bodies felt light, drifting as if suspended in invisible water. It was like falling through a dream — where the laws of physics no longer held, where time ceased to move in a straight line.

Lin Ye reached out, trying to grasp his father who drifted a short distance away, but soft yet inescapable currents kept pulling them apart. In the distance, he saw Shen Kui wave toward him, attempting to summon flight magic to slow their descent — yet the light from his palms was faint and trembling. His strength had been drained away by flight, battle, and relentless mental pressure. They kept falling, floating through silent darkness, waiting for something they could not name.

Minutes stretched like hours before they landed — not with a hard crash, but upon something warm and yielding. Not earth, not water, not snow. Something soft, indistinct, and tangible as a memory.

Lin Ye opened his eyes slowly. He was no longer in the cold stone cavern. He stood in the yard of a home he knew perfectly — his family's house, complete with the flower garden his mother had tended before everything changed. Sunlight spilled down gentle and warm; birds sang from the old tree; the air smelled of damp earth and jasmine. On the wooden swing he remembered from early childhood sat a five-year-old boy — hair tousled, smile bright and unburdened. Himself.

And beside the swing stood a beautiful woman in a cream-coloured dress, her hair flowing freely, her gaze soft and brimming with love. His mother.

"Lin Ye," she called. Her voice sounded so real, so close, as if she had spoken to him only yesterday. Warm as a heavy blanket in winter.

Lin Ye stood frozen. Tears slid down his cheeks before he noticed, falling to vanish among the green grass. This was an illusion. It had to be. A side effect of sinking too deep into the twisting layers of the Void.

"It is a trap," Mo Yuan warned — but his voice sounded very far away, faint and broken, as though coming from another world. The black jade was gone, and with it, their bond had faded to nearly nothing.

"Mother?" Lin Ye's voice came ragged.

She smiled more widely, extending her pale, delicate hand. "Come home, my son. I have waited so long. Your father waits inside too. All the hurt is finished. You need not fight anymore. No more running. No hating. No fear."

Lin Ye stepped forward. His legs felt light, as if a weight he had carried for years had been lifted from his shoulders. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to stay in this beautiful, peaceful place forever.

But as his hand nearly touched hers, he saw something beyond the garden trees — dark shadows standing still, watching him. The faces of the Academy students who had vanished — eyes hollow, mouths stretched wide in silent screams. They were trapped here too.

Lin Ye stopped. His hand fell slowly to his side. "None of this is real," he said quietly but firmly.

Her smile faded, replaced by deep sadness. "Why do you turn away happiness, Lin Ye? The outside world only hurts. Here it is safe. Here no one gets hurt."

"Because pain is proof I am still alive," Lin Ye answered, straightening his shoulders. "And I have promises to keep."

He turned from her, searching for a way out. The garden began to crack, its colours bleaching to pale grey, flowers withering instantly, the ground turning transparent as glass to reveal darkness yawning beneath.

From that darkness, black hands reached up, closing around his ankles and dragging him down. Lin Ye struggled, but this illusion drained his spirit faster than any physical battle.

Suddenly a strong, rough hand clamped tightly around his arm. He looked — his father. Not the gentle dream-shape, but the real man: pale, scarred, exhausted, yet his eyes sharp and clear.

"Wake up, Lin Ye! Do not give in!" his father cried, voice shaking with his last reserves. "This is the Soul Labyrinth! Surrender here, and your soul is trapped forever!"

With his remaining strength, his father hauled him upward, hurling him clear of the darkness. Lin Ye woke gasping, rolling onto cold, hard stone.

He lay in a chamber deeper and darker than any before. Shen Kui lay motionless nearby, breathing faintly. His father sat propped against the wall, face ashen but watching him with relief.

Before them stood an immense iron door, sealed tight, carved with the same shadow-dragon they had faced above.

And waiting there was someone he knew — Viper. He had fallen here too. And he was not alone. Behind him stood someone unexpected.

Julian smiled craftily, eyes glowing bright violet in the dim light. "Welcome to hell, Brother. You're late."