Power surged through Kael's veins, raw and uncontained. The moment he had embraced the Abyss, he had expected to feel consumed—to lose himself in the vast darkness. But instead, he felt whole.
The rift before him pulsed, the jagged edges of reality trembling under his newfound presence. Lyra stood nearby, hesitant yet unwavering, her gaze locked onto him. He could see the mixture of awe and fear in her eyes.
"Kael…" her voice was soft, uncertain. "What… are you now?"
Kael flexed his fingers, feeling the abyssal energy ripple through his limbs. His form was no longer just flesh and blood shadow coiled beneath his skin, an extension of the void itself. But he was still him. Still Kael.
"I don't know," he admitted, his voice calmer than he expected. "But I do know one thing."
He turned his gaze toward the rift, where the darkness had begun to shift. Something else was coming through.
The entity that had spoken to him earlier remained silent, watching with unreadable curiosity.
And then—the world trembled.
From within the depths of the rift, a figure began to emerge. At first, it was nothing but a silhouette, but as it stepped into the fractured world, Kael felt its presence before he even saw it.
A tall, elegant monstrosity, humanoid in form but impossibly ancient. Its body was composed of swirling, obsidian-like tendrils, shifting and curling with every movement. Eyes too many to count opened across its form, glowing with a pale, ethereal light.
Lyra took an involuntary step back. "What in the name of the gods is that?"
The entity's voice was not a voice at all—it was a sensation, a whisper against Kael's soul.
"You have opened the Abyss, but you are still unworthy to command it."
Kael met its countless eyes, his stance firm. "Then try and stop me."
The air shattered as the creature lunged.
Kael moved faster than thought, his body reacting on pure instinct. The Abyss within him surged, shadows twisting around his arms as he blocked the strike. The force sent shockwaves through the broken landscape, cracks forming beneath them.
The creature snarled, its tendrils flaring outward, striking like whips. Kael dodged, the shadows of the Abyss responding to his will, deflecting the attacks before they could land.
Then he struck back.
His fist connected with the creature's core, and where flesh met shadow, reality warped. The entity reeled, a deep, inhuman growl vibrating through the air.
Kael didn't hesitate. He pressed forward, wielding the Abyss as a weapon, his attacks tearing through the creature's form.
But the being laughed a soundless, chilling reverberation that sent a shiver down Lyra's spine.
"You think you have control? You are merely a fragment of what lies beyond."
Darkness coalesced behind the entity, twisting into a second form a mirror of Kael himself.
Lyra gasped. "Kael, it's—"
His own reflection lunged.
Kael barely had time to react before his doppelgänger's fist slammed into him, sending him hurtling backward. He hit the ground hard, dust and energy scattering around him.
His mirror image stood above him, eyes glowing with abyssal fire.
"You embraced the Abyss," it said in Kael's own voice, "but did you ever think it wouldn't embrace you back?"
Kael gritted his teeth, pushing himself up. He had fought countless enemies, faced impossible odds.
But this?
He was fighting himself.
And he had never been more afraid.