The storm begins to whisper Adexander's name...
---
Gravehold – Nightfall, One Day Later
The skies had not stopped bleeding.
Where once there were stars, now thin fractures glowed dimly across the heavens—jagged lines leaking crimson light into the world like a dying wound. Even the winds carried a sound now: a low hum that pulsed in rhythm with something distant. Something… awakened.
> [System Notice: Residual Rift Energy Detected.]
> [Bloodforge Core—Awakening Status: 24% Synchronization.]
Adexander stood alone at the highest peak of Gravehold's outer rampart, overlooking the world that was beginning to shudder beneath its own history. His sword—still buried in the remains of the Crimson Heart—had not returned with him.
He now carried something new.
Strapped across his back was a half-forged greatblade, its edges still pulsing with raw crimson energy. The weapon was jagged, unfinished—like a concept etched from pain and memory. The Bloodborne Fangblade. Not yet complete. Not yet bound.
> [Weapon: Bloodborne Fangblade – Incomplete Prototype]
> [Effect: Passive – Devours residual energy from defeated enemies. Active – ??? (Locked)]
> [Forged from Echoes of the Past. Bound to the Will of the Crimson King.]
---
Campfire – Just Outside Gravehold
The team had gathered again. For once, the tension was still, the air filled not with fear—but unease.
Kaien leaned back against a broken log, idly flipping a coin.
> "So… the sky's cracked, the air's cursed, and the heart of an ancient weapon just decided to fuse with our not-so-cheerful leader. Anything I'm missing?"
Velessia's eyes traced the sky. "Something crossed over. We may have stopped the trial, but something answered it. Something from his past."
Raik, still wrapping his burnt arm, grunted. "How can the system track things like this? It's like it's evolving with him."
> "No," Adexander said suddenly. "It's remembering."
They all turned to him.
> "The system isn't guiding me," he continued. "It's catching up to me."
A pause.
Then the wind howled louder—no, something screamed within it. The shadows beyond the campfire shimmered, and black mist began to leak between the trees.
> [System Notice: Unidentified Hostile – Breaching Reality Boundary.]
> [Warning: Incursion Detected.]
From the woods stepped three shapes. Robed in obsidian cloth, with burning runes carved into their flesh and eyes void of pupils. They did not speak.
They only pointed—to Adexander.
Kaien stood. "Friends of yours?"
Adexander stepped forward.
> "No," he said. "But they knew the King I used to be."
He drew the Bloodborne Fangblade. Though incomplete, the weapon hummed to life as if eager to kill.
> "And they came to see if I've grown weak."
The blade lit up—burning red in the growing dark.
> "Let's disappoint them."
---
The three figures stepped forward in perfect synchrony, their motions unnatural, as though they existed not as beings of flesh, but as ripples in the fabric of reality. Their presence alone twisted the air around them, warping the night into something... wrong. The mist around them thickened, and the temperature dropped, carrying with it the stench of decay.
Kaien clenched his fists, ready to move, but Adexander held up his hand.
> "Stay back. This is my fight."
Raik gritted his teeth. "You sure about that?"
> "Yes." Adexander's voice was cold, cutting through the tension like a blade.
Velessia nodded, her silver wings folding slightly as she observed, waiting for a sign. Kaien didn't need a second invitation. He flicked the coin in his hand, letting it drop to the ground, a silent signal to hold back but to be ready if needed.
The first figure moved—a fluid motion, too quick for the human eye to follow. In an instant, it was upon Adexander, a black tendril of mist lashing out toward his throat. But the Bloodborne Fangblade was already in motion, carving through the air with a vicious slash.
The tendril met the blade—but it didn't stop. The weapon seemed to absorb the strike, the crimson energy swirling and reacting as if feeding on the contact.
> [System Notice: Bloodborne Fangblade – Absorbing Energy. Attack Locked.]
The figure recoiled, but it was too late. Adexander surged forward, his blade cleaving through the air with brutal force, the jagged edges catching the crimson light of the fractured sky. A flash of blinding energy erupted as the blade met its target—the figure's arm fell to the ground in a twisted heap.
The second figure, sensing the danger, lunged with a screech, its hands cracking open as black claws extended. But Adexander was faster. He swung the Bloodborne Fangblade in a wide arc, and the blade hummed with power, slashing through the figure's chest in a single stroke.
But the figure didn't fall.
Instead, its body began to disintegrate into shadows, its form collapsing inward as though swallowed by the darkness itself.
> [System Notice: Secondary Hostile Energy Detected.]
Before Adexander could react, the final figure appeared behind him. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural light, its fingers reaching out with deadly intent. But just as it closed in on him, a burst of silver light illuminated the area.
Velessia.
Her wings spread wide, her energy flaring as she summoned a barrier of pure light, intercepting the figure's attack just as its claws tore through the air. The figure stumbled back, its form flickering like a candle caught in a breeze.
"Not this time," Velessia murmured.
With a fluid motion, she surged forward, her wings slicing through the air like a blade. The figure attempted to phase out of reality once again, but this time, it wasn't fast enough. Velessia's sword—pure silver—cut through the figure's neck, severing its head clean off.
The mist around them began to dissipate, and the remaining figure—its arm now severed and its body fading away—finally crumbled into shadows, leaving nothing behind but a faint echo of their presence.
Adexander stood, breathing heavily, his gaze locked on the empty space where the figures once stood.
> "They weren't just enemies," he muttered. "They were memories."
Velessia's wings folded in, and she lowered her sword, her expression unreadable.
Kaien stepped forward, dusting his hands off. "Well, that was fun, but I think we've got bigger problems."
Raik, still nursing his injuries, gave a grim nod. "Agreed. What do we do now?"
Adexander's gaze lifted to the sky, the bleeding cracks in the heavens growing ever wider, as if calling to him.
> "We move forward," he said, his voice colder than the wind around them. "And we prepare for what comes next."
> [System Notice: Path to the Abyss Opened.]
The next trial awaited. The true darkness was coming.