The gaping maw of the Abyss reached out to Ephram as he stood silently above it in the barren field. As he looked back towards the treeline in which he'd come from, he saw the faces of his friends staring back at him. He knew how against the idea they were, but nevertheless, they knew it was what he wanted. What he needed.

The love he felt for Silvia was unmatched, and to get his wife back he would traverse through every nightmare he could dream up. If there was even a sliver of hope to be had, he knew it resided within this dark expanding void below.

"Am I really about to do this..." He muttered under his breath as he turned back towards the enormous bottomless pit before him.

As he mustered up the courage to take yet another step forward, he peered down into the blackness staring back at him. It was true what they say about staring into the Abyss, for if you look too long you can almost feel your mind beginning to recede. To survive within the reality of nothingness, Ephram knew his mental state must be an impenetrable fortress of steel. He could feel the energy being sapped from his mind, as if the darkness was feeding upon his very soul.

Taking another step forward, he looked down at the clothes he wore. Before coming back to the field and taking that final leap into the unknown, Restavel had taken it upon herself to sew his black shirt up, the hole Pestarrem had created earlier had all but vanished thanks to her amazing stitch work. She'd also taken the liberty of washing his clothing for him as he caught up on some much-needed rest back in the guest quarters. It was the first time he'd slept since coming to Hell, and it was excruciatingly hard to get himself back awake in light of his current situation. Even the new sheets Restavel had exchanged for the bloodied ones upon the bed were calling out to him now to return to them and forget about the terror in front of him.

As he grew nearer to the hole he tried to let his mind wander, easing himself into the prospect of potentially never returning to Hell, or Earth for that matter. If his abilities truly didn't work within the Abyss then he was about to essentially make the dumbest mistake of his life, but somewhere deep down he knew he still had to take that risk. It was all to see his wife again, and that fact replayed itself over and over within his mind as he took his final step toward the edge of the Abyss.

Ephram raised his hand to his left breast pocket, feeling the sleek golden chain of his pocket watch as he stared down into the dark end of all that is. The soft ticking of the watch consoled his heavy burden, as if it were his wife calling out to him, telling him everything will be alright. It was now a simple matter of trust as he mustered up the willpower to take this potentially final leap of faith.

As he looked back once more to his friends, he felt nothing but gratitude and admiration for them all. The strongest and most kind people he'd ever come to know had come to see him off, believing in him and his ability till the very end. There was no way he could fail them, there was just too much riding on this moment. With a single step forward, Ephram felt the weight leave his body as he began hurtling straight down into the warm embrace of the nothingness below. The fall itself wasn't the scary part, but the thought of never returning held his mind firmly within its grasp.

As he held tightly to his hat whilst clutching it to his chest, he looked up to where he'd just been. The only light source he could see was beginning to fade away like a dying star, the entrance to the void within Estella Forest was shrinking with every second that passed. He knew the chances of coming back were slim, but even if there was a mere 1% chance to save Silvia, he'd take it. Consequences be damned, he will find her no matter the cost.

Ephram watched as the light faded away entirely, the only thing to surround him now was the dark expanse of nothingness, stretching in every conceivable direction. It was only a matter of time now before he hit the bottom of the Abyss, and when he did, his journey could finally continue. The overwhelming darkness around him was no match for the light he carried within. Even if he had to burn away every last aspect of himself as the Abyss devoured his body, mind, and soul, he would find Silvia. Absolutely nothing and no one could stop him from achieving his goal, and Ephram knew that deep down, he had become an unstoppable force. The Abyss itself was an immovable object, something that has been and always will be. Faced with the prospect of change, however, the unstoppable force will always emerge victorious.

...

Pure mental degradation. The mind is a faulty machine full of flaws and weaknesses, those weaknesses to be exploited by its very wielder. Those who find themselves unfortunate enough to call themselves sentient are subject to every horror in the vast expanse of nothingness. The rotting of the mind is the only escape from the torment surrounding existence itself, closing in on all that is and will ever be for the rest of eternity. The only way out is to destroy oneself, leaving not a trace of consciousness behind. If the Abyss finds even a scrap of hope residing within even a single mind, that hope is eaten alive without a second thought. None who enter the darkness shall ever be whole again, forced to annihilate whatever spirit they harbor in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Sacrificing their sanity for the sake of survival, all who reside here are doomed to suffer.

"It was my fault..." It says, but no one is listening.

"You took him from me..." It says, but its woes fall upon no one.

"Please... wake up from this nightmare..." It says, yet its soft cries are met with silence.

"I just want to go home..." It says, but its voice reaches no soul.

The voices of the damned echo throughout the vast expanse of darkness, their cries falling upon the black absence of life. Angels, demons, and humans alike all cower here, their lives reduced to nothing more than the shuffling of their feet and sobs of damnation. Hope is lost to those who were cast down into the Abyss, those faulty notions of peace and prosperity driven from their minds from the very souls who held onto those ideals.

The mind torments the mind, as the body decays the body. Rot is nothing but rot, while light is nothing more than light. Beauty is only beautiful in the eye of the beholder, and with the darkness enveloping the souls of every living being within the Abyss, there are no beholders here. Beauty is lost to the eyes, as is hope to the mind. The only thing left to do now is escape, deep within the psyche of the soul. Insanity is freedom, while sanity is slavery. The Abyss holds no judgment upon who resides within, delivering the same fate to all who cross its path.

Ephram. The name he was given. It registered in his mind, but the belonging of such a name was lost to him. He remembered his life as a human, and the time he spent as a demon, but here in the Abyss those notions were nothing more than a pleasant dream. His time away from the reality of the Abyss, the only moment of clarity he was bestowed had been taken away once again. His ambitions and goals were mere distractions to the gaping maw of darkness, the swallower of all that is.

Silvia. The name of his beloved wife. Her name had come to him in the form of a memory. The memory of the photograph, her warm smile touching his very heart as if to give it new life. Her stunning silver hair, the smile she bestowed upon no one but him, and the way she looked into his eyes. All the things he loved about her were nothing more than cruel notions placed within his mind for the Abyss to feed upon. The more joy one feels in life, the more sorrow comes with death. To embrace living a full and happy life is to accept these joyous times as temporary distractions, only for the cruel reality of the world to spit in your face like a schoolyard bully.

The slow tick of the pocket watch was the only thing he could focus on. Sight was no longer an option within the expanse of darkness, for the Abyss allowed no one to see its true form. A thick dark fog covered all, the only thing capable of being seen were the glimpses of other creatures damned to spend eternity within the Abyss.

With every tick of the watch, Ephram took a single step forward. The only thing to do now was to keep moving, to find Silvia and bring her back to the living world with him. Yet, every time he thought of saving his lost wife, another unwanted thought wormed its way into his head. The unwanted thought of giving up on hope and succumbing to the void.

The disease of hope is what crushes all creatures of life. The ability to hold onto the falsehood of hope is what ultimately destroys life. The world truly is just meaningless event after meaningless event, for the only hope one should have is that one day hope would be destroyed. The plague of desperation towards a singular unachievable goal is all the torture necessary for the Abyss to hold onto the greatest of souls. The will to survive is the only thing one needs to damn themselves for all of eternity. Those who give up their hope and succumb to the darkness are swallowed whole, leaving not a trace of life behind as they become one with the stretching expanse of nothingness.

The Abyss is the swallower of existence, the eater of desires, and the harbinger of cruel reality. It tells nothing but silent truth, in an attempt to show the world what truly lies beyond imagination. No great heroes, no dastardly villains, no all powerful beings lie beyond the void. The only thing residing within nothing, is nothing.

"And from that nothing...something is born..." He says, but his voice is carried nowhere.

Tick. The pocket watch responds.

As if carrying forward the conversation, the ticking of the watch reminds him of his original goal. The hope for a better world, one free from the dark horrors of this cruel reality. The march of time may be a cruel one, but a forward march is better than standing still. The only thing to stand in the way of the Abyss is the ever forward march that time subjects all to participate in. If one has breath within their lungs, time has not given up on them yet. Ephram's watch consoled him with the lesser of evils, the march towards an inevitable death for all. To achieve his goals he must traverse through the marching of time, residing in the ranks of its soldiers like an obedient dog, until it was time to strike.

Tick. The watch asked.

To find Silvia, he must not stop moving. With every tick of the watch he placed another foot in front of the other. Every second that passed by was another second Silvia was lost within this nightmare, her smile fading with every passing moment. Ephram could not allow reality to have its way with his love once again, he simply could not bear it. He knew that he had defied reality once before by becoming a demon, something no man had ever done, but wasn't sure if he was strong enough to defy the ruler of the world once more.

Tick. The watch encouraged him.

He knew what he had to do now. He knew from the very beginning. To destroy the madness of reality, he would succumb to a greater madness. If he had to sacrifice his very soul to see his dreams turned to reality, it would be done. A better world for all, a better life for Silvia, and an existence that knows no suffering. Ephram knew that the ideals he held within himself were akin to his own inflated ego, but nevertheless, he would allow his ego to destroy this pathetic excuse for a world. Upon the ashes of cruelty, hope would live once more. Hope for the future would reside within the hearts of all, and usher in a new era of beautiful peace. It was a world Silvia could finally be happy within, his dearest friends could flourish, and all who shared his feelings could finally build civilization to what it was truly meant to be.

No more iron fists will rule the lands, no more corrupt politicians will suck the generosity out of their own people, and no more hatred will fill the hearts of many. There will be room for only love and prosperity, and the unmoving will to become better will snuff out the flames of degeneracy.

"Through the ashes of the past... a brighter future will be born!" He yelled, his voice ringing throughout the void. His voice, and his voice alone, had broken through the walls of reality once more.

Tick. The watch agreed.

Ephram refused to surrender to this weakness surrounding him. The Abyss was nothing more than a dog who couldn't stop eating, dooming itself to a life of gluttonous solitude. Remembering suddenly what Dr. Kroft had told him after his wife's accident, he began to laugh. His shouting laughter echoed throughout the void like an out of place siren, wailing in every direction to warn the lost souls of a coming storm.

Without hope, life is nothing but meaningless events. The meaning of the doctor's words had been lost to Ephram for quite some time, but he finally understood what the doctor was trying to say back then. The only way to defeat the Abyss was to overfeed it, filling it with enough hope to satisfy the dark beast for all eternity. The hope to create a better world for Silvia and the others was enough to bend reality to his own will, ignoring reality itself as he searched for his wife. As he continued marching forward, he ceased his laughter as he scanned the horizon of darkness.

Several dark silhouettes lined the horizon, shuffling their tired feet forward just as Ephram was. Their soft cries called out to him like a crying baby calls for its mother. Every creature within the Abyss had heard his howling laughter, filling their minds with the once forgotten notion of hope. As Ephram looked around him, he realized what he had done. It was no longer just him against the world, it was everyone. The residents of the Abyss all congregated behind him like an army before its commander, awaiting their orders like obedient soldiers against reality.

Just a single spark of hope was enough to ignite the flames of rebellion, the souls within the Abyss all had been set ablaze by the fire Ephram carried within. The torch of his ambition lit every angel, human, and demon alike on fire with the inferno of hope.

"My name... is Ephram!" He roared, holding out his triumphant fists towards the army gathered behind him. As he turned from them and began marching once more, the slow ticking of the pocket watch marched with them.

With every echoing stomp of their feet, the tick of the watch held the army firmly together. The true leader of this army was not Ephram, and he knew that it would never be him. Time itself had begun waging war on the Abyss, the lesser of evils had finally grown in power to defeat its predecessor. The time for nothingness was over, it was finally time for something to prevail. With the passage of time, reality itself could not hold onto hope. The hope the Abyss had to devour existence was beginning to run from its grasp, slipping away just as it had taken away the hope of others. The overfed dog had begun to slow down, allowing the cruel march of time to overtake the darkness of the void as a shimmering light revealed itself upon the horizon.

As Ephram walked towards the light with the army of time behind him, he realized what the source was. Coming into view with the one who held his heart, he collapsed to his knees in victory. Standing there amidst the darkness was a woman with long silver hair, wearing a blinding white scarf and a long white gown which laid unmoving upon her body with the stillness of the air. As she turned to face him, her kind blue eyes reached deep within his soul, cradling his hope with love for the future.