The words echoed through Kyūsei's mind long after the voice itself vanished, lingering within his consciousness like ripples spreading endlessly across dark water.
Return to the throne.
Not spoken with command.
Not with rage.
Not even with expectation.
But with something far more unsettling.
Loneliness.
The moment that realization settled inside him, Kyūsei felt a cold shiver crawl down his spine, because suddenly the abyss no longer felt like an endless force of destruction pressing against reality from beyond the fractured heavens.
It felt abandoned.
And somehow that frightened him more.
Above Valthorin, the black crown suspended within the abyssal darkness continued rising slowly through the widening breach, ancient chains hanging from its broken edges while pale symbols burned faintly across its surface like scars left behind by civilizations long erased from existence.
The atmosphere trembled violently.
The moment even part of the crown crossed into reality, the sky darkened further as enormous currents of abyssal energy spread across the heavens like black veins infecting the world itself.
Below, the ruined city groaned under unbearable pressure.
Buildings collapsed.
Stone cracked apart.
Mana throughout the valley became unstable to the point where visible streams of energy erupted randomly from the ground like storms tearing through reality itself.
And still—
The crown continued descending.
The second eye beyond the breach watched silently.
Patiently.
As though waiting for something.
Waiting for him.
Kyūsei staggered backward another step, his breathing uneven while fragments of impossible memories continued surfacing inside his mind against his will.
Dark oceans beneath dead skies.
A throne standing alone in endless shadow.
A figure sitting there silently while countless worlds burned beyond enormous gates.
And always—
That unbearable loneliness.
Kazuto immediately noticed the change in his expression.
"What are you seeing?" he asked sharply.
Kyūsei hesitated.
Because he wasn't entirely sure anymore.
Memories?
Visions?
Or something worse?
"…I think…" His voice trembled slightly. "…I think the abyss knows me."
Silence spread briefly across the summit.
Rufus looked emotionally exhausted.
"I would like to reject this plot development."
No one disagreed.
The abyssal creature standing beneath the fracture slowly lifted one hand toward the descending crown, its countless eyes glowing brighter now while the dark energy surrounding its body became increasingly unstable.
Reverent.
Almost desperate.
Kyūsei realized the horrifying truth immediately.
The creature wasn't trying to summon the abyss anymore.
It was trying to restore something.
And somehow—
That something involved him.
The whispers returned softly.
The throne awaits its heir.
Kyūsei's stomach twisted violently.
"No," he muttered instantly.
The black markings across his skin pulsed painfully.
You cannot deny your origin forever.
"I said no."
This time the words came louder.
Angrier.
The darkness surrounding him surged violently outward in response, but unlike before, Kyūsei did not lose himself within it completely.
He held onto something now.
Voices.
Faces.
Memories.
Kazuto teaching him swordsmanship in the dungeon.
Lena rolling her eyes while correcting his mana control.
Rufus panicking during missions.
Mira silently sharing food beside campfires.
Small moments.
Human moments.
Temporary things.
But real.
The abyss wanted eternity.
Kyūsei suddenly realized eternity sounded unbearably empty.
Kazuto stepped beside him again despite his obvious exhaustion, resting the massive pressure of his sword against one shoulder while staring upward at the descending crown.
"…man," he muttered tiredly. "Your life really escalated fast."
Kyūsei stared at him blankly for half a second.
Then somehow laughed.
Actually laughed.
The sound came out broken and exhausted, but it was real.
The abyss hated that.
The whispers sharpened immediately.
He distracts you from your purpose.
Kazuto immediately pointed his sword toward the heavens.
"Correct."
The second eye narrowed slightly.
Kazuto grinned despite the blood dripping from his chin.
"Turns out friendship is pretty effective against cosmic nightmares."
"You are taking this situation way too casually."
"If I stop joking, I'll start screaming."
"That's fair."
Even Lena looked mildly concerned about how quickly this conversation had devolved during the apocalypse.
Then suddenly—
The crown moved.
Not downward.
Toward Kyūsei.
Every shadow across the summit twisted violently as the enormous chained crown shifted through the fractured heavens with unnatural speed, causing reality itself to distort around its path while abyssal energy erupted outward like black lightning across the sky.
Kyūsei froze instantly.
The whispers became deafening.
Return.
Awaken.
Take your place.
Pain exploded through his body.
The black markings across his skin spread rapidly upward toward his face while darkness erupted around him in violent spiraling currents, powerful enough to force everyone nearby backward several steps.
Kazuto immediately planted his sword into the ground to resist the pressure.
"Kyūsei!"
Kyūsei could barely hear him.
The crown was calling him.
No—
Something beyond the crown.
Something sitting alone in endless darkness beyond reality itself.
And for one horrifying instant—
Kyūsei wanted to answer.
Because beneath all the fear and chaos and abyssal whispers…
He could feel that loneliness.
It hurt.
Not like a monster's hunger.
Not like hatred.
Like grief.
Ancient unbearable grief stretching across eternity.
Tears suddenly burned in Kyūsei's eyes without warning.
"…why does it feel so sad…?"
The moment he whispered those words, the second eye widened sharply.
The abyss reacted instantly.
The shadows surrounding the summit surged harder.
The crown descended faster.
And somewhere beyond the fractured heavens—
Something stood up from the throne.
Kazuto's expression changed immediately.
Danger.
Real danger.
He grabbed Kyūsei by the arm again.
"Don't listen to it."
Kyūsei's vision blurred violently.
"I—I don't think it wants to destroy everything…"
"Kyūsei."
His voice became firmer.
"Lonely things can still become monsters."
The words cut through the abyssal whispers like a blade.
Kyūsei froze.
Because suddenly—
He understood.
The thing beyond the breach wasn't terrifying merely because of its power.
It was terrifying because its loneliness had lasted so long that it no longer understood the difference between connection and possession.
The crown wanted him not as a person.
But as something to fill the emptiness.
And for the first time—
The abyss felt desperate.