His Private Hell - Chapter 116: Chapter 116
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Smoke still curled from the ruins of the Choir chamber as Eella stepped forward, each breath tasting like ash and revelation. Behind her, the collapsed body of Lazarus had been reduced to scorched remnants—organic code that no longer pulsed, no longer threatened. But peace did not follow.
Darcie had disappeared again.
And Garrison… Garrison had not yet woken up.
Eella carried his body—barely breathing, his pulse faint, his skin cold with residual Choir corruption—through the skeletal corridors of the old facility. Her arms ached, her shoulder throbbed, but she would not let him go.
Astrid limped beside her, stunned into silence. The chaos had peeled back layers of her until nothing remained but a quiet, broken girl who had once believed in Choir salvation.
“We need to find an exit,” Eella muttered.
“I know the way,” Astrid said hoarsely. “But…”
“But what?”
Astrid’s lip trembled. “The backup Choir is still running. The Second Choir. Lazarus made sure of it.”
Eella froze. “Where?”
“Beneath the old sanctuary. He transferred its protocols before you struck.”
Eella’s blood turned to ice.
So it wasn’t over.
Not even close.
She set Garrison gently on a patch of dry metal floor. He moaned faintly—barely conscious. The edge of life.
Astrid stared at him. “He’s… tethered.”
“Tethered to what?”
“Me.”
Eella’s eyes snapped to her.
Astrid pulled up her sleeve—Choir veins still pulsed, albeit faintly. “He absorbed part of my code. That’s why he’s alive.”
“You tethered him on purpose?”
Astrid shook her head. “I didn’t know it would happen. The Choir did. Lazarus planned it.”
The thought made Eella want to drive her blade through something—someone.
“Untether him,” she growled.
“I can’t.”
“You will.”
“I’ll try.”
Before Eella could respond, an earsplitting hum rose from beneath the floor. Metal groaned. The walls flickered with code.
The Second Choir was waking up.
Astrid fell to her knees. “It’s starting…”
“What is?”
A door ahead hissed open—blinding light spilled from within.
And then, a voice. Cold. Mechanical. Familiar.
“Welcome to Ascension Protocol. Choir 2.0 initializing.”
The entire floor trembled.
Eella pulled Garrison close again as a new wave of heat surged through the halls. Not fire—energy. Living code.
Astrid screamed as her body began to convulse. Choir tendrils rippled across her skin. Her eyes turned pure white.
“No,” Eella hissed, backing away.
“I… can’t… stop it…”
Astrid’s body rose—levitating, eyes wide, face blank. She spoke in a voice that was not her own.
“The original Choir was your warning. This is your reckoning.”
Darcie’s voice crackled from an unseen speaker. “Eella. Don’t run. Fight her.”
Eella blinked. “Where are you?”
“I went ahead. The Second Choir is already rooted in the spine of the building. It’s trying to access every remaining tether—including Astrid.”
“Astrid is already taken.”
“Then cut her loose.”
Eella didn’t wait. She grabbed the blade again and charged. Choir tendrils swarmed, slicing her skin, but she moved fast, slashing upward.
Astrid screamed. Blood sprayed.
Eella didn’t hesitate—she severed the tether link behind her neck.
Astrid collapsed. Her body twitched. Then… silence.
Darcie appeared seconds later, covered in code burn, her eyes fierce.
“Nice work,” she said.
Eella panted. “She was still in there.”
“Not anymore,” Darcie muttered.
“But she helped us.”
“She also built this. Don’t confuse repentance with salvation.”
They locked eyes—and for a moment, it was like they’d returned to the beginning. Garrison half-dead. The Choir mutating in the dark.
And only Eella, standing in the middle, blood on her hands and vengeance in her veins.
Darcie pointed to a hallway ahead.
“We burn this whole goddamn place to the ground.”
Eella nodded. “Together.”
They moved as one—two broken warriors chasing a final reckoning.
Through corridors pulsing with code. Past corpses of Choir zealots. Through glass doors and laboratories humming with ancient secrets.
The Second Choir pulsed in the deep—a massive orb of pure code, suspended above a pit of writhing steel. It had no face. No voice. Only a will.
“You are redundant,” it said. “You are obsolete.”
Eella stepped closer, blade raised. “You’re just another ghost trying to play god.”
“God is code.”
“Then I’m the devil.”
She drove the blade into the core.
For a second, the universe broke.
Everything went white.
⸻
When her vision returned, she was outside.
Garrison was beside her—breathing.
Darcie stood at the edge of the woods, covered in ash. Her eyes hollow.
Astrid was gone.
The Choir compound had collapsed into itself. A crater of silence.
Eella sat up, her lungs burning, her body trembling.
“Is it over?” she asked.
Darcie didn’t answer. Just turned and walked into the woods.
Garrison stirred, his eyes fluttering open. He looked at her, dazed.
“You came back,” he whispered.
“Always.”
He smiled weakly. “Then let’s go home.”
But even as she helped him up, Eella knew—
There was no home left.
Only the war ahead.
Darcie had disappeared again.
And Garrison… Garrison had not yet woken up.
Eella carried his body—barely breathing, his pulse faint, his skin cold with residual Choir corruption—through the skeletal corridors of the old facility. Her arms ached, her shoulder throbbed, but she would not let him go.
Astrid limped beside her, stunned into silence. The chaos had peeled back layers of her until nothing remained but a quiet, broken girl who had once believed in Choir salvation.
“We need to find an exit,” Eella muttered.
“I know the way,” Astrid said hoarsely. “But…”
“But what?”
Astrid’s lip trembled. “The backup Choir is still running. The Second Choir. Lazarus made sure of it.”
Eella froze. “Where?”
“Beneath the old sanctuary. He transferred its protocols before you struck.”
Eella’s blood turned to ice.
So it wasn’t over.
Not even close.
She set Garrison gently on a patch of dry metal floor. He moaned faintly—barely conscious. The edge of life.
Astrid stared at him. “He’s… tethered.”
“Tethered to what?”
“Me.”
Eella’s eyes snapped to her.
Astrid pulled up her sleeve—Choir veins still pulsed, albeit faintly. “He absorbed part of my code. That’s why he’s alive.”
“You tethered him on purpose?”
Astrid shook her head. “I didn’t know it would happen. The Choir did. Lazarus planned it.”
The thought made Eella want to drive her blade through something—someone.
“Untether him,” she growled.
“I can’t.”
“You will.”
“I’ll try.”
Before Eella could respond, an earsplitting hum rose from beneath the floor. Metal groaned. The walls flickered with code.
The Second Choir was waking up.
Astrid fell to her knees. “It’s starting…”
“What is?”
A door ahead hissed open—blinding light spilled from within.
And then, a voice. Cold. Mechanical. Familiar.
“Welcome to Ascension Protocol. Choir 2.0 initializing.”
The entire floor trembled.
Eella pulled Garrison close again as a new wave of heat surged through the halls. Not fire—energy. Living code.
Astrid screamed as her body began to convulse. Choir tendrils rippled across her skin. Her eyes turned pure white.
“No,” Eella hissed, backing away.
“I… can’t… stop it…”
Astrid’s body rose—levitating, eyes wide, face blank. She spoke in a voice that was not her own.
“The original Choir was your warning. This is your reckoning.”
Darcie’s voice crackled from an unseen speaker. “Eella. Don’t run. Fight her.”
Eella blinked. “Where are you?”
“I went ahead. The Second Choir is already rooted in the spine of the building. It’s trying to access every remaining tether—including Astrid.”
“Astrid is already taken.”
“Then cut her loose.”
Eella didn’t wait. She grabbed the blade again and charged. Choir tendrils swarmed, slicing her skin, but she moved fast, slashing upward.
Astrid screamed. Blood sprayed.
Eella didn’t hesitate—she severed the tether link behind her neck.
Astrid collapsed. Her body twitched. Then… silence.
Darcie appeared seconds later, covered in code burn, her eyes fierce.
“Nice work,” she said.
Eella panted. “She was still in there.”
“Not anymore,” Darcie muttered.
“But she helped us.”
“She also built this. Don’t confuse repentance with salvation.”
They locked eyes—and for a moment, it was like they’d returned to the beginning. Garrison half-dead. The Choir mutating in the dark.
And only Eella, standing in the middle, blood on her hands and vengeance in her veins.
Darcie pointed to a hallway ahead.
“We burn this whole goddamn place to the ground.”
Eella nodded. “Together.”
They moved as one—two broken warriors chasing a final reckoning.
Through corridors pulsing with code. Past corpses of Choir zealots. Through glass doors and laboratories humming with ancient secrets.
The Second Choir pulsed in the deep—a massive orb of pure code, suspended above a pit of writhing steel. It had no face. No voice. Only a will.
“You are redundant,” it said. “You are obsolete.”
Eella stepped closer, blade raised. “You’re just another ghost trying to play god.”
“God is code.”
“Then I’m the devil.”
She drove the blade into the core.
For a second, the universe broke.
Everything went white.
⸻
When her vision returned, she was outside.
Garrison was beside her—breathing.
Darcie stood at the edge of the woods, covered in ash. Her eyes hollow.
Astrid was gone.
The Choir compound had collapsed into itself. A crater of silence.
Eella sat up, her lungs burning, her body trembling.
“Is it over?” she asked.
Darcie didn’t answer. Just turned and walked into the woods.
Garrison stirred, his eyes fluttering open. He looked at her, dazed.
“You came back,” he whispered.
“Always.”
He smiled weakly. “Then let’s go home.”
But even as she helped him up, Eella knew—
There was no home left.
Only the war ahead.
End of His Private Hell Chapter 116. Continue reading Chapter 117 or return to His Private Hell book page.