Earth Metaverse 10 years,October 11,2031 AD.
The temple quaked.
Not just from the impact, but from something deeper.
Something ancient and malevolent stirring awake.
Shawn barely had time to think before the Rift's energy erupted outward.
Golden and black forces collided like titanic waves, warping the air and distorting the fabric of space itself.
The Master of the Abyss Conclave stood unfazed. His dark cloak billowed as if alive, and his eyes glowed with a cold, silver light that seemed to pierce through Shawn's very soul.
With a single, deliberate motion, the Master raised his hand.
The darkness obeyed.
It coiled around him like a living entity, then lashed out—a serpentine tendril aimed straight for Shawn.
Shawn leaped aside, barely avoiding the strike. The black tendril slammed into the stone wall behind him, reducing it to rubble. Dust and debris rained down, choking the air.
Lucy's voice cut through the chaos. "Don't let him control the field!"
The driver, still gripping his weapon, fired a burst of energy at the Master. The blast hit its mark, but the Master didn't even flinch. He didn't so much as glance in the driver's direction.
Instead, his gaze locked onto Shawn. "Do you even know what you hold?" he asked, his voice dripping with disdain.
Shawn tightened his grip on the Spirit Keys, their warmth pulsing against his palms. "I know enough," he shot back, though doubt gnawed at the edges of his confidence.
The Master chuckled, a low, ominous sound. "No. You don't."
With a flourish, he raised both hands—and the temple's reality fractured.
The air tore apart.
Beyond the rift wasn't mere darkness. It was emptiness. A void devoid of time, light, or life.
The Abyss.
The Master was summoning it.
The Rift's energy surged again, reacting to the pull.
The temple groaned under the strain, its ancient walls shuddering as if in pain.
Lucy muttered a curse under her breath. "He's trying to shatter the balance."
Shawn didn't need an explanation. He could feel it—the fragile veil between their world and the nothingness beyond straining to its limit.
If that veil broke…
Everything would collapse.
Lucy grabbed Shawn's wrist, her grip firm. "You need to close it. Now."
Shawn's pulse raced. "How?"
She pointed to the Spirit Keys. "Use them to rewrite the Rift's language. Seal the gap."
Shawn hesitated.
The last time he had tapped into the Keys' power, he had barely controlled it. Now, in the heat of battle, with so much at stake?
But there was no time for doubt.
The Rift widened, its edges fraying like torn fabric.
The black-suited men charged, weapons gleaming in the dim light.
Lucy moved first. With a flick of her hand, the temple's symbols flared to life. Blue energy arced through the air, striking down the first wave of attackers.
The driver wasn't far behind, firing precise bursts at anything that came too close.
Shawn forced himself to focus.
He held the Spirit Keys together, feeling them hum in unison. A surge of power coursed through his veins, sharp and electric. His vision blurred, his mind stretching beyond time and space—
And then, he saw it.
The Rift wasn't just a tear in reality.
It was a sentence. A fragmented piece of an ancient language.
The same symbols that adorned the temple's walls…
The same markings that danced when Lucy spoke…
The same script hidden within the Spirit Keys.
Shawn's breath caught.
The Rift wasn't breaking.
It was unfinished.
The Master of the Abyss hadn't opened it. He was trying to complete it.
A door left ajar for centuries—now being forced wide open.
Shawn understood.
If the Abyss fully crossed over, there would be no stopping it.
But he could rewrite the ending.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed.
The Spirit Keys' energy pulsed, the ancient words igniting around him. He spoke—not with his voice, but with his will.
A single command.
"Close."
The temple responded.
The symbols blazed brighter, their light searing through the darkness. The Rift trembled, its edges curling inward as if recoiling from the command.
The golden light surged forward, clashing against the void.
For the first time, the Master of the Abyss showed emotion.
Surprise.
Then—anger.
He lashed out with both hands, pouring every ounce of his power into the Rift, trying to force it open again.
The temple screamed under the strain, its walls cracking and groaning.
Shawn pushed harder, his muscles burning with effort.
Lucy joined him, her hands glowing with blue energy, her voice steady as she chanted words of power.
The Rift shrank, its edges knitting together.
The Master roared, a sound that shook the very foundations of the temple.
A final clash—gold against black—
Then—
Silence.
The Rift snapped shut.
---
The temple groaned, its ancient symbols dimming.
The walls trembled but held.
Shawn staggered, his breath ragged, his body trembling from the effort. The Spirit Keys still glowed faintly in his hands, their warmth a stark contrast to the cold dread settling in his chest.
The driver lowered his weapon, his face pale. "Please tell me that's over."
Lucy didn't answer immediately. Her eyes were fixed on the sealed Rift, her expression unreadable.
Shawn turned—the Master was gone.
No trace.
The black-suited men? Vanished.
The only evidence of their battle was the deep cracks marring the temple's stone.
Shawn exhaled shakily, his hands still trembling. The Spirit Keys felt heavier now, as if their power had left a weight on his soul.
Lucy's voice broke the silence. "You did it."
Shawn looked at her, his voice hoarse. "What was that?"
She met his gaze, her eyes filled with a mixture of pride and unease. "The first step."
His stomach sank. "The first step… to what?"
Lucy's expression darkened. "To war."
Shawn's pulse spiked. "What do you mean?"
She gestured to the sealed Rift, her voice low and grave. "You didn't just close a door, Shawn. You declared yourself. You wielded the Spirit Keys in a way no one else can. They know what you are now."
Shawn's mouth went dry. "They?"
"The Abyss Conclave," Lucy said, her tone grim. "And others. This wasn't just a battle. It was a message. And they won't stop—not until they have the Central Palace Spirit Key."
She paused, her gaze piercing. "And you."
A cold realization settled over Shawn.
This wasn't the end.
It was just the beginning.