Chapter 16 – Whispers From Below
"The higher you climb, the more the abyss wants to drag you back."
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The dust of the shattered throne still danced in the air, glittering like dead stars.
Kaien stood over its ruins, breath calm, aura simmering. Riven's hand trembled slightly as she touched his shoulder. "You alright?"
He didn't respond.
Because something was wrong.
Not in the sky. Not in the ruins.
Beneath.
A crack had formed under the throne's remains. It wasn't a fracture—it was a mouth, slowly opening. And from it came a whisper.
A voice not meant for the living.
> "He is here…"
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A Voice No God Claimed
Kaien knelt, brushing away dust to see what lay below.
Symbols. Ancient, older than even the celestial language. They pulsed when he came close—responding to him.
Riven looked uneasy. "That's not divine script."
"It's not mortal either," Kaien said.
The whispers grew louder. Not with words, but feelings.
Despair. Hunger. Recognition.
> "We remember… the blood that bled backward… the eyes that refused the crown…"
Suddenly, Kaien felt something inside his chest resonate. Fellchain began to glow—not its usual fire-red hue, but a deep, void-black.
Riven backed away. "Kaien… something's waking up."
He nodded.
"I know."
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Descent into the Unknown
The crack widened into a spiraling staircase of obsidian, leading deep below the earth—beneath the gods' domain, past the old rules.
Kaien didn't hesitate.
Riven called after him. "This could be a trap!"
He glanced back, smiling faintly. "Then I'll bring it down with me."
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The Forgotten Prison
It wasn't just a chamber.
It was a prison, forged in nightmares, sealed by gods too terrified to kill what lay inside.
Chains floated midair, bound not to walls—but to memories.
Visions flickered in the air: the first god-slayer, falling to madness; an empire burning in reverse; a boy screaming as reality peeled away.
Kaien walked past them.
They weren't warnings.
They were records.
And at the center… something breathed.
A coffin made of godbone, black as regret.
The whispers coalesced.
> "He comes… the one who broke the wheel…"
Kaien reached out—and the coffin split open with a hiss.
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The Nameless One
Inside wasn't a corpse.
It was a man.
No chains. No seals.
Just a pair of dim silver eyes—and a smile so sharp it could slit time.
He sat up slowly, cracking his neck. "Well. Took you long enough."
Kaien blinked. "…Who are you?"
The man stood, barefoot on the coffin edge. "I was the last Heavenbreaker."
Riven gasped from behind Kaien.
"But you died centuries ago," she said.
The man winked. "They wrote that I died. Big difference."
His gaze fell on Kaien.
"You've got her blade. Her eyes. And his rage."
Kaien's aura spiked. "You know what I am?"
The man nodded.
"I know what you're becoming."
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An Ancient Pact
The former Heavenbreaker extended his hand.
"You want to slay the gods?"
Kaien hesitated. "That's the plan."
"Then you'll need more than rage."
"What's the cost?"
The man's eyes gleamed.
"Everything you're afraid to lose."
Kaien looked down at his hand—calloused, scarred, stained.
He reached out—
And shook it.
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Something Deeper Awakens
The moment their hands touched, the prison shifted.
Fellchain lit up, not in flame—but in echoes.
Screams. Songs. Laughter. Memories.
The former Heavenbreaker laughed. "You just woke something older than gods."
Kaien felt it too.
Not power.
History.
The wrath of those who died begging for vengeance.
And it now flowed through him.
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End of Chapter 16
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