---
Pain. That was the first thing Kael Draven felt. Not the dull, distant kind, but a sharp, consuming agony that burned through every nerve like molten steel.
His eyes fluttered open, but the world around him was a blur. His wrists and ankles ached, bound by thick iron shackles that dug into his flesh. The cold air of the chamber bit at his exposed skin, yet a searing heat from below threatened to devour him.
Where… am I?
The last thing he remembered was standing in the grand hall of the Ivory Palace. A prince. A warrior. The rightful heir to the throne of Eldoria.
And now… he was bound, kneeling before the one person he had once called blood.
"Kael Draven, traitor to the crown," a voice rang out, laced with a venomous satisfaction. His vision cleared, and he found himself staring into the icy gaze of his elder brother, Prince Aldric.
Kael's heart pounded. "Aldric?" His voice was hoarse, disbelief thick in his tone. "What is this?"
Aldric smirked, stepping forward in his pristine ceremonial robes, the golden embroidery glinting in the torchlight. "An execution," he said simply, his voice carrying the weight of a death sentence.
Kael struggled against the chains. "You're making a mistake! Whatever lies you've been told—"
A brutal fist slammed into his gut, forcing the air from his lungs. He doubled over, choking on his breath, as the iron grip of a royal guard kept him in place.
"There are no lies, little brother." Aldric's smirk deepened. "You were always a threat. Too strong, too loved by the people, too… inconvenient."
Kael's jaw clenched. He had always known that Aldric envied him, but to frame him? To sentence him?
The hall was filled with noblemen, generals, and robed priests standing in solemn silence. But no one spoke for him. No one moved to stop this madness. They had already chosen their side.
He was alone.
Aldric turned to the High Priest, who stood before an altar of black stone. Strange symbols glowed across its surface, pulsating with an eerie crimson light.
"This is not a mere execution, Kael," Aldric said. "You will serve a higher purpose. The Abyss hungers, and tonight, it will feast on a prince's soul."
Kael's breath turned to ice. The Abyss. The very name sent shivers through every kingdom. A realm of eternal torment, where only the most damned souls were cast.
Panic surged through him, but his voice remained steady. "You would sacrifice your own brother to the Abyss?"
Aldric leaned in, his golden eyes gleaming with triumph. "For the throne?" He chuckled. "I would sacrifice an entire kingdom."
The High Priest began to chant, his voice a low, guttural murmur that echoed off the chamber walls. The air thickened with dark energy, and the altar's glow intensified.
Kael fought harder against the chains, but hands forced him down onto the cold stone. The sigils beneath him burned against his skin, a feeling beyond mere heat—a soul-deep agony that clawed at his very essence.
"No," he growled, thrashing against his captors. "I will not be your sacrifice!"
Aldric merely smiled. "Goodbye, dear brother."
With a final word from the priest, the altar exploded in crimson light, and Kael's world was consumed by darkness.
---
Falling into the Abyss
He was weightless. Drifting. Falling through a void where time had no meaning.
Abyssal whispers slithered through the darkness, voices neither human nor divine. They called to him, beckoning, tempting.
Flesh to shadows. Bones to dust. A prince no longer. A soul… unchained.
Kael's mind screamed against the pull, but his body felt stretched, torn between existence and oblivion.
Then, in the endless black, a flicker of light appeared. A single, glowing sigil—one he recognized instinctively but had never seen before.
OBLIVION SYSTEM INITIALIZING…
His breath hitched. A System? Here?
Lines of crimson text scrawled across the darkness, burning themselves into his mind.
ERROR: HOST SOUL DAMAGED.
REBUILDING… 3%... 12%... 27%...
Kael gritted his teeth as raw power surged through him. His shredded consciousness knit itself back together, reforging something new.
97%... 100%.
HOST RECOVERY COMPLETE. SYSTEM INTEGRATION BEGINS.
A blinding flash erupted, and the whispers of the Abyss turned into screams.
Kael's eyes snapped open.
---
The Abyss Awakens
The first thing he saw was blood. Pools of it, glistening black under the light of burning blue torches.
He lay on cracked stone, surrounded by towering ruins of some forgotten civilization. The air was thick with the scent of decay, and the distant howls of something not human echoed through the gloom.
Pain no longer plagued him. Instead, something else burned within his veins.
Welcome, Abyssborn.
The words were not spoken, but carved into his very soul. The System was alive—an entity of its own, whispering its truths directly into his mind.
A translucent screen appeared before him.
---
[Oblivion System]
Name: Kael Draven
Race: Abyssborn (Soulbound)
Class: ???
Title: Forsaken Prince
Status: Awakening
Skills Unlocked:
Abyssal Regeneration (Passive): Wounds heal at unnatural speeds, feeding off the suffering of enemies.
Soul Consumption (Active): Devour the essence of the fallen to grow stronger.
---
Kael stared at the screen, his pulse steady. His mind should have been overwhelmed with questions, but clarity settled over him instead.
Aldric had tried to cast him into oblivion.
But instead, Kael had been reborn.
He rose to his feet, his body humming with an unfamiliar hunger. The Abyss had not consumed him. It had chosen him.
And Kael Draven would not waste this second chance.
The throne would be his. The world would kneel.
And the brother who betrayed him?
He would beg for death.