The cursed book in ren kaido's hands wouldn't stop shaking.
He sat near the broken dock, feeling the cold wet wood under him. The Grimoire was flipping it's pages fast, even through there was no wind. Strange words flashed on the pages– small, bloody sentences – that appeared quickly .
"Speak your sin."
"Accept the Abyss."
"Sink, or be sunk."
Ren closed his eyes for a second. His heart was heavy.
"I have a sin,"he said. His voice was low. "Revenge."
The moment he said it, the sea made a deep sound– like something huge and old had moved under the water.
Behind him, he heard footsteps.
Slow. Barefoot. Wet.
He frozen.
He knew what it was. The Abyssborn.
They didn't attack right away. They played games first. They wanted you to lose your mind.
The footsteps stopped right behind him
And then a voice spoke.
A voice Ren knew too well.
"Ren... help me."
He turned. His breath caught in his throat.
It's was his brother.
Kaito.
the brother who had died in the fire three years ago.
But kaido looked wrong. His skin was turned and black. His eyes were Hollow. His mouth moved, but no real breath came out.
"You left me," kaito said, his voice broken. "you let me burn."
Ren stepped back. "you're not real." he whispered.
Kaito's dead face twisted into a horrible smile.
The Grimoire flashed a new line on its page:
"To move forward, drown your past."
The fake kaito stepped closer.
"If you want to live..."he said, voice deeper and darker,"if you want the true power...prove it."
Ren's hands shook. Part of him – deep inside –wanted to believe.
Wanted to think maybe it was kaito.
But he knew the truth.
This was a trick. A cruel lie.
With a strong breath, Ren slammed the Grimoire shut.
"You're not my brother,"he said.
The sea roared.
Black water rose from the cracks of the dock like dark snakes.they wrapped around fake kaito and dragged him into the depths.
He screamed.
"Brother! help me–!"
But Ren didn't move.not even once.
There was no place for mercy anymore.only survival.
Ren turned away from the dock.And saw someone standing nearby.
It wasn't human anymore.
The thing wore old clothes, the kind the ancient Grimoirian order used to wear. Red and gold, but torn and covered in water. Coral chains were tied to its wrists, and it's eyes glowed with a sick green light.
When it spoke, it wasn't its own voice.
"you have been chosen, Ren kaido," it said.
"but to claim your true Grimoire... You must answer the Abyss."
The figure raised its chained hand.
Suddenly, water chains shot out towards ren like snakes.
Ren reacted fast.
He opened his Grimoire.
"Curse Activated: Hollow Flame."
Black fire burst from his hand, burning the water chains into nothing.
But the figure didn't flinch.
It walked slowly forward, dragging it's chains, and dropped something at Ren's feet.
A Key.
old Rusted.
The handle shaped like a screaming mouth.
The creature said:
" Beyond the Drowned gate, your true sin waits.
Will you have the courage to open it?"
Before Ren could answer, the figure crumbled into sand, disappeared the night wind.
The world went silent.
Only the soft sound of the sea remained.
Ren looked down at the key.
His heart beat loudly in his chest.
Another door?
Another test?
Or maybe... a trap?
He couldn't trust anything now.
Not even himself.
But deep down, a small voice – the part of him that still remembered kaito's laughter, his mother 's songs– whispered:
"what if it's real ?"
Ren clenched his jaw and picked up the key.
Above him, hidden eyes began to open– one after another.
Watching...
Waiting....
The Abyss was awake.
And now, it was watching Ren kaido.