The bottom of the Abyss had no sky.
There were no stars.
Nor wind.
Nor any natural concept that could be associated with the world of the living.
Above them, thousands of kilometers of darkness rose like an infinite throat swallowing reality itself. The colossal walls of the Abyss pulsed slowly in shades of black and red, like petrified flesh breathing in cycles too ancient to be understood. Strange crystalline formations grew among the rocks, radiating a faint purple light that made shadows move in the wrong directions.
Down there, even time seemed weary.
Silent.
Sick.
Two horses advanced slowly across the cracked ground of the Abyss's lowest level, their hooves crushing small bony plates scattered across the dark terrain. The creatures were not ordinary animals. Their bodies were composed partly of living matter and partly of black smoke, like physical manifestations of destructive concepts forcibly molded into bestial form.
