At The Mouth Of The Abyss
Ben stopped at the top of the stairs. Nothing about what had just happened made sense. He leaned against the banister to catch his breath.
The empty house felt spooky as he walked down the stairs. At night, there were always weird sounds that his parents called “settling,” but the recent events made him wonder. All those bumps and bangs. Were they ghosts? Weird monsters in the attic?
Regardless, there was an apparent change in the air. Was it him, or was it something else?
The air was stale and the light coming from the fixtures was dulled, like something was feeding off its power. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but everything was different. Like seeing your reflection reversed for the first time. So many questions plagued his mind as he stepped down into the basement. It was best to put them away for now and focus.
When Ben stepped into the secret room below the stairs, he saw Franklin’s ethereal form standing in front of a box. His gaze was fixed on a painting that had been stored in one of the crates. Ben walked behind him and saw that it was an oil portrait of a beautiful woman sitting in an elegant gown. She wore no smile or frown, just an unreadable Mona Lisa stare. Her hair was golden brown and her complexion was fair from the thick make up she wore.
“My beautiful wife,” the ghost said. “I can’t believe this is still here, but then again, I can’t believe this room has been sealed off since I…” His voice trailed off.
“She is very beautiful,” Ben said, not sure what else to say.
“I built this house and had this painting done for her thirtieth birthday, so that it would immortalize her beauty forever. Like many women, that was her main concern as she got older. As you can tell, she didn’t want for much, as I provided plenty,” he said, pointing out the wealth he felt the house represented. "I loved her with all of my heart, but in the end I failed her. If she hadn’t died, I’d never have turned to the book. Now look at me, trapped between life and…
Then, almost to himself, he said, “For a moment, I actually thought I could use the book to bring her back...like you did to me. But I already feel my essence dissolving. I will cease once again when you take the book with you. Who knows what black oblivion awaits.” Franklin said.
“Let’s not dwell on that now,” Ben said, trying to keep both of their minds off the wretched truth they surely faced. “If what you say is true, then we have no choice.”
“Yes, you are right,” the ghost said, still glaring at the painting. The ghost did his best to say goodbye to the past. Reluctant to move, Ben gave Franklin a moment before beckoning him over to the table.
The heavy key clattered against the wood as Ben dropped it from his hand.. Still starry-eyed with nostalgia, the ghost snapped out of it as the sound resonated through the room.
“The key…” Franklin said.
“So you knew?”
“Yes. The book shows the door. The key opens it. The Phoenix’s cave was merely the precipice of your journey. Funny, but you could see your destination in the distance. The plateau, where the necromancers live. You must take the book there.”
Ben’s eyes drifted towards the floor as he remembered the wyvern and its captors. That plateau might as well have been on another planet where he stood on that perch.
“Once we open the doorway, you won’t have long. You will need to leap into the passage to get to the other side.” As he spoke, Franklin started flipping through the pages until he found the right one.
“I don’t understand,” Ben said. “Why are we opening this door, if my goal is to close it?”
“Maybe door isn’t the right word,” Franklin said, turning towards the boy. “The book can be difficult to translate at times. Um… it’s a rip or a tear between the two realms with one spilling over into the other. This door before you is your passage to this other world, where you will find someone who can teach you about the book.”
“Why can’t you teach me?” Ben asked.
“Oh, my poor boy. I know so little. I understand only a fraction, and every time I learn something new, it becomes apparent how little I really know.”
Ben ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a low sigh. “Well, damn,” he said.
“I concur,” Franklin said, picking up the book.
“Look here,” he said, presenting a hand drawn diagram in the book.
“The separation of the two worlds left a great abyss in its wake. Our mundane world, and the ineffable on.You will have to cross this abyss to get there. Once there, you will need to find someone who knows the book. Someone who can teach you about the spells inside of it.”
“But I…” Ben said. “I’m afraid.”
“It’s okay, son. I’m afraid too,” Franklin said, turning away from the book, revealing the sympathy on his face. “But you need to know that we should be afraid, Ben. You should sit down, child.”
“I’m not a child.”
“Then listen like a man,” Franklin said, more gently than before. “You are tied to this book. I don’t know how, but your life has become bound to it. It's a parasite and when you used it, it crawled its way in. You can’t walk away from it.”
Ben sat motionless, struggling to grasp the weight of it all. A parasite? Turning back definitely wasn’t an option,but moving forward felt impossible. Panic set in. The weight was too much. A tear escaped from his eye, but he wiped it from his face before Franklin could see it.
Franklin gave the boy a few minutes to stew before walking over. In a calm voice he asked, “Are you ready?”
Ben nodded and stood up, despite the turning feeling in his stomach. He felt sick, a feeling that only worsened when the carpet that covered the floor was pulled away. The floor was covered in an intricate occult symbol that must have taken an obsessed mind to complete. In the middle was a bare circle with a keyhole drawn in chalk in the middle.
“I drew this before I truly understood what I was doing,” Franklin said. “I thought I was doing a good thing; who wouldn’t want to see their wife again. I’m sorry I dragged you into this. If I could change it-. I hope you can forgive me one day.”
“Let's just do this, already,” Ben said, pulling the key out.
He pressed the key into the chalk-drawn lock. It slid in with unnatural ease. He turned it.
The circle in the middle dissolved into shadow. No light, no floor, no ceiling, and no other side. Just an infinite abyss, as Franklin had told him to expect. His eyes couldn’t understand what they were looking at. The fear that once gripped him was gone, because there, before him, was nothing to be afraid of. Something in his mind understood on a subconscious level.
Franklin looked over Ben’s shoulder into the abyss.
“I need to ask something of you, and I need to know that you are a man of your word when I ask this.”
“When you get to the plateau, free my wife. Her remains were taken.”
“Okay, I will.” Ben said, although the response seemed too simplistic
“Is that a promise?” Franklin asked.
“Yes, I promise! I will do everything I can to bring her to rest for you.”
“Thank you.” Franklin said. The vacuum seemed to suck the sound of his voice into the void, along with the meal that made up his form. “Are we ready?”
“Do we have a choice?” Ben asked, louder than necessary
“No, we don’t. Look behind you, you’ve already taken the leap. You just don’t know it yet.” Franklin said.
Around them, a twisted shadow crawled across the walls of the room, like diabolic tendrils. Everything it touched was obscured by darkness as it devoured every bit of light. It consumed everything it covered, leaving an opening into a black eternity.
“Can’t you come with me?” Ben asked, fear in his hesitation.
“I’m already fading, Ben. Godspeed.”
Franklin’s form was torn apart as Ben jumped into the abyss.
Terra Incognita — reading order