He would convulse, a scream tearing from his throat, a sound that echoed through the chamber with a heart-wrenching finality. Yet, each time, he would fight to regain his breath, the spark of defiance refusing to be extinguished.
This was the portal, not a grand archway or shimmering gateway, but a place of excruciating pain and relentless torment. This man, his identity lost to the ages, served as the unwilling anchor, his suffering the fuel that kept the portal open, a bridge between the demon realm of Asura and… something else.
What lay on the other side of this agonizing portal?
A flicker of defiance sparked in the tortured figure's eyes, momentarily cutting through the haze of pain that clouded his vision. His lips, cracked and bloodied, moved in a silent plea. Then, with a raspy whisper that echoed through the cavernous chamber, he spoke.
"I'll wait," he rasped, his voice raw and broken. "No matter how long it takes, you'll come for me, my friend. Orpheus."
