A chill spread across the battlefield as the rift pulsed, its jagged edges crackling with black and crimson light. The air itself seemed to shrink, sucked toward the abyssal wound, as if the world was holding its breath.Then a monstrous hand emerged.
It was twisted, its surface shifting between shadow and flesh, elongated fingers tipped with jagged claws. The ground beneath it screamed as it dug into the earth, warping reality around it.
Kael's muscles tensed. Every instinct in him screamed danger.
A second hand followed, then an arm, then a hulking mass of a body that seemed to be made of pure, seething corruption.
And then, it opened its eyes.
A thousand crimson orbs, scattered across its formless face, each one burning with an unnatural hunger.
Lyra took a step back. "That's… not something we can just cut down, is it?"
Valen lifted his blade, golden energy humming to life. "No. But it is something we must face, nonetheless."
Kael exhaled slowly, feeling the balance of his power settling inside him. He wasn't just facing a monster.
He was facing the source of all the corruption in the Abyss.
The entity moved, its presence alone shaking the battlefield. Its gaze locked onto Kael, and for the first time, a voice rippled through his mind.
"You… are not supposed to exist."
The words weren't spoken. They were felt, like a thousand whispers clawing at his skull.
Kael's fists clenched, his power surging in response. "Yeah?" he growled. "Well, I'm here anyway."
The entity roared, its voice shattering the sky.
And then It attacked.