The earth trembled beneath Kael's feet as the rift widened. It wasn't just a crack in the ground it was a tear in the very fabric of reality. Energy pulsed from its depths, dark tendrils lashing out like a living, breathing force.
The figure before him remained unshaken, watching with those glowing, ancient eyes, as if witnessing something inevitable.
"The Abyss has accepted you, Kael." The voice hummed through the air, reverberating inside his skull. "But acceptance is not control. Not yet."
Kael clenched his fists. He could still feel the weight of the Abyss coiling inside him. It was no longer just a power he wielded—it was something alive, something waiting.
Waiting for him to decide.
Lyra moved closer, her gaze darting between Kael and the abyssal rift. "Kael," she whispered, her voice urgent. "Whatever you're thinking, be careful. This… this doesn't feel right."
She was right. Something was wrong.
The rift pulsed again, and this time, a sound escaped its depths a deep, guttural growl, like something ancient awakening.
Kael's body tensed.
The entity turned its glowing gaze toward the darkness, a flicker of amusement crossing its shifting form. "You hear it, don't you?" it mused. "The thing that slumbers beneath."
Kael's pulse quickened. The Abyss had always whispered to him, but this was different. This was no mere voice in the dark. This was a presence—something watching him from the other side.
Something that wanted out.
The figure's form rippled, its voice now laced with curiosity. "You stand at the threshold of power beyond comprehension. You could take it all, Kael. Become more than any mortal, more than any god. Or…" It tilted its head slightly. "You could resist. Try to play the hero. But tell me…"
It stepped forward, the air around it twisting and distorting.
"Do you really think you can hold back the Abyss forever?"
Kael met its gaze, his mind racing. He had always believed that power was meant to be controlled, wielded with purpose. But this… this was something else entirely.
The rift pulsed again, and suddenly a clawed hand shot out.
The very air around them shattered as the limb burst forth from the darkness. It was massive, covered in jagged, abyssal scales that shimmered like living shadow. The fingers stretched, curling with unnatural fluidity, reaching toward Kael.
Lyra gasped, stumbling back. "Kael, don't—"
But he didn't move. He stood his ground, staring into the abyss itself.
The entity watched with quiet fascination.
"This is the moment," it whispered. "Where you decide what you truly are."
The hand trembled, waiting. Not attacking. Not forcing its will upon him.
It was… offering.
Kael's heartbeat thundered in his ears. If he took this power if he accepted it there would be no turning back. The Abyss would no longer be just something inside him.
It would be him.
Every instinct screamed at him to let go, to turn away. But another voice, deeper, more primal, whispered something else.
You were never meant to be ordinary. You were meant to rule.
His fingers twitched.
Lyra reached out desperately. "Kael, please!"
The hesitation lasted a breath.
And then—Kael moved.
He lifted his hand and touched the abyss.
A flash of darkness erupted from the rift, engulfing him entirely.
The last thing he heard before everything went black was Lyra's terrified scream—
And the sound of laughter from the entity.