Sai stepped through the massive door leading to the next level of the fortress. The floor was covered in thick fog, and every step echoed heavily in the void that stretched downward, as if the earth itself had swallowed the light.
"Welcome to the Edge of the Abyss," the girl spoke, gliding along a dark arch. Her red eyes played in the light of the dim torches, and her cigarette left a thin trail of smoke with every movement. "Here, it's almost impossible to tell where the path ends and where it begins."
Sai followed her in silence. He had stopped being surprised by her appearances in the most unexpected places. His body was ready to react instantly to any threat, but here, the threat was the uncertainty itself, the labyrinth that changed with every step.
"You know," she began quietly, almost in a whisper, "I don't even remember how I ended up here. This world… it belongs to no one. Not to humans, not to monsters. I only remember opening my eyes one day, and everything around me became… this."
Sai paused for a moment, listening. Her voice carried no threat, but every word was filled with a strange weight of experience.
"I've seen others try to understand it," she continued, "but most just give up. And, to be honest, sometimes I want to give up myself. But something keeps me here. Curiosity? Boredom? Perhaps it's immortality…" she smirked, lighting a new cigarette, "…or habit."
Sai watched as her eyes slid over the walls, registering every crack, every stone. She moved lightly, almost floating above the floor, and the fog around them played with forms, creating the illusion that the walls were moving.
"There are no rules here," she said, stopping and turning to him. "Sometimes it feels like you're walking in circles, but in reality… you're walking along a border. The border between who you were and who you can become."
Sai nodded silently. He no longer tried to argue, no longer tried to discuss meaning or injustice—here, there were laws that couldn't be understood with logic, and he had grown accustomed to acting.
"Sometimes," she added, "I find people who stumbled here by accident. They think it's a game… But it's not a game. There are no winners here. There is only movement. And every step… brings you closer to your own edge."
They walked along the corridor until the walls began to narrow, forming a narrow passage leading down into impenetrable darkness.
"This is where the Edge of the Abyss leads," she said, gesturing with her hand. "I don't know what awaits below. I've never gone all the way down. But you… you are different. Let's see what happens to you."
Sai took a step. His revolvers were ready, his body primed for movement, but fear, panic, or fatigue could no longer touch him. All that remained was concentration and cold logic.
"Go on," the girl said, sliding forward. "Go. And remember: here, it doesn't matter who is stronger. What matters is who lives to take the next step."
Sai took his first step into the darkness. A slight cold tightened around him, as if the void itself was trying to consume his body. Shadows moved, but he wasn't afraid. He simply walked.
"Every place, every turn, every shadow…" the girl said quietly behind his back, "…is your story. And the further you go, the more it will depend only on you."
Sai stepped deeper. In this labyrinth, there was no end or beginning, but he felt one thing: his path was only just beginning.
"Let's move on," she finally said, her cigarette burned down to ash. "Ahead lies the most interesting part."
The darkness swallowed them both...