The platform beneath their feet was no longer stable ground but a trembling slab of steel and bone, groaning as though it carried the weight of an entire collapsing world. Crimson light pulsed from cracks in the walls, like veins running through diseased flesh. What had been an underground chamber moments ago was now unrecognizable—an expanding void, endless and hungry.

The abyss had woken fully.

From the rift at its heart, something massive began to rise. First came a hand—or what resembled one—five jagged appendages stitched together from broken machinery and sinew. It slammed against the platform, sending a shockwave that nearly knocked Min-joon off the edge. Keller caught him by the collar, dragging him back with a grunt.

"Stay sharp!" Keller barked, but his voice betrayed strain. His eyes fixed on the monstrosity clawing its way free.

The rest of its body followed. Rib-like struts made of twisted rebar burst outward, snapping into place around a skeletal frame. Cables slithered like veins, fusing into pulsing knots of flesh. Eyes—dozens of them, mismatched, some human, some mechanical—opened along its torso, rolling wildly, all focusing on Lin.

It was not just a creature. It was every failed experiment, every discarded body Jin had thrown into the abyss, every scrap of machinery he had fed into it—all amalgamated into one writhing colossus.

Min-joon fell to his knees, his face pale. "That… that can't be real…"

Lin didn't answer. His breathing was ragged, sweat streaking down his face. The residual crimson glow in his veins pulsed erratically. His body hadn't recovered from breaking the chains, but he stood tall, eyes locked on the abyssal beast.

The monster opened its maw—a jagged rift lined with teeth that weren't teeth but shattered blades and rusted steel—and from deep within, a voice echoed.

"LIN…"

The sound was distorted, yet unmistakable. Jin's voice. But it was layered, carried by hundreds of throats, like a choir of the damned.

Keller's jaw tightened. "It's using his voice now? Sick bastard."

Lin clenched his fists. The abyss was no longer a test—it was Jin himself, pushing through whatever conduit this living nightmare provided.

The beast moved.

It lunged, a mountain of steel and sinew crashing toward the platform. Lin reacted instinctively, raising his hand. Crimson tendrils snapped outward from his arm, wrapping around nearby chains embedded in the walls. With a guttural roar, he yanked them free, swinging them like colossal whips.

CRASH!

The chains slammed into the monster's side, tearing flesh and metal apart in chunks. Black ichor sprayed, sizzling where it landed, but instead of weakening, the creature absorbed the damage. The broken pieces slithered back into its form, growing denser, stronger.

Lin's eyes widened. "It's feeding on me."

Keller fired his rifle, unloading a spray of bullets into its cluster of eyes. A few burst in wet explosions, but the others turned, focusing on him with burning hatred. The monster's second arm swung down like a falling tower.

"Move!" Lin shouted.

Keller tackled Min-joon aside just as the arm smashed into the platform, shattering part of it into rubble. The fragments fell into the infinite dark below, vanishing without a sound.

Min-joon coughed, clutching Keller's sleeve. His voice shook. "We—we can't fight this. We have to run—"

"There's nowhere to run," Lin cut him off sharply. His crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dim light. "If this thing leaves the abyss, the whole city will burn. No more running."

For a moment, silence followed, broken only by the beast's guttural breathing. Keller met Lin's gaze, reading the raw resolve there. Finally, he gave a short nod. "Then we hold the line."

The monster roared, the sound like a thousand sirens colliding. It lashed out again, its claws raking across the platform. Lin darted forward, chains lashing from his arms like serpents. He hooked them around the beast's forearm, pulled, and with a roar, redirected its swing away from Keller and Min-joon.

The counterweight almost ripped his shoulders out of their sockets, but Lin dug in his heels. He wasn't just fighting with strength—he was fighting with fury, defiance burning hotter than the abyss itself.

Keller opened fire again, targeting joints where cables met flesh. Min-joon, trembling, forced himself to grab a broken steel rod from the ground and hurl it like a spear. It barely grazed the beast, but his scream carried determination that hadn't been there before.

For a brief moment, they were holding their ground.

But the abyss wasn't done.

From the monster's chest cavity, the cables writhed like snakes and shot outward—dozens of them. They lashed toward Lin, Keller, and Min-joon. Lin managed to intercept several with his chains, twisting and snapping them, but more slipped past.

One wrapped around Keller's leg, yanking him toward the abyss's core. He cursed, digging his knife into the ground to anchor himself. Another coiled around Min-joon's waist, dragging him screaming toward the edge.

"LIN!" Keller bellowed.

Without hesitation, Lin surged forward. Crimson tendrils erupted from his back, impaling the cables dragging his allies. He pulled with all his strength, ripping them apart, black ichor splattering across his arms. The exertion sent a spike of pain through his chest, but he didn't let go.

Min-joon scrambled back to safety, collapsing in Keller's arms. His face was pale, but his eyes locked on Lin with something new—trust.

Lin panted heavily, his body trembling, but he didn't falter.

The beast leaned forward, its countless eyes narrowing, its maw opening wider. From its throat, Jin's voice came again, colder this time.

"You cannot kill what you are destined to become."

Lin froze for just a heartbeat. He knew what the abyss was doing—it was trying to break him from the inside. To remind him that he was built from the same experiments that had birthed this abomination.

But then he remembered Keller's hand dragging Min-joon back, Min-joon's trembling scream of defiance, the promise he had made to himself in the chains.

"I'm not your weapon," Lin spat through gritted teeth. His chains coiled tighter around his arms. "And I'll prove it."

The monster lunged again, jaws wide, aiming to devour him whole.

Instead of retreating, Lin did the unthinkable. He ran toward it.

"LIN!" Keller roared.

Lin didn't stop. He leapt, crimson chains flaring behind him like wings. He dove straight into the abyss's open maw.

The jaws slammed shut.

For a terrible moment, silence consumed the chamber. Keller and Min-joon stared in horror, their screams caught in their throats. The colossal monster loomed above them, its body trembling as if struggling to contain something inside.

And then—

BOOM.

Crimson light exploded from the cracks in its body.

Cliffhanger for Chapter 191: Lin has willingly thrown himself into the abyss's core, vanishing inside the monster. Keller and Min-joon are left behind, uncertain if he's dead, consumed, or about to unleash something even worse.

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