Kael walked deeper into the Abyss, guided by instinct—and something else.
The ground had changed. The obsidian stone gave way to twisted bone-like structures, arching like ribs from the floor to the void above. The air grew colder, heavier. It wasn't just silence here—it was absence. Of time. Of sound. Of hope.
And yet, Kael felt something... calling.
---
> [System Alert:]
"You have crossed into a Warded Zone: The Hollow Sanctum."
"Psychic interference detected. Mental stability compromised."
The moment the message faded, the voices began.
> "Kael..."
"You were chosen... not born."
"The light betrayed you. But we remember."
Kael stumbled, clutching his skull. The whispers weren't like the others—they weren't from the Abyssal creatures. These were older. Hungrier.
> "Who are you?" he growled aloud.
No answer—only memories.
But not his.
He saw visions—cataclysms, skies torn open, gods impaled on spires of black stone, entire worlds devoured by the void. At the center of it all: a gate, the same gate he saw in that dreamlike moment before awakening here.
It wasn't just a prison.
It was a throne.
---
Kael fell to one knee as another pulse shook the sanctum. The bone structures trembled. Something enormous moved in the distance—half-hidden in mist, half-forgotten by time.
> [Abyssal Entity Detected: Nyxar, The Forgotten Flame]
"Engagement not advised."
Kael stared at the mist as the shape drew closer—massive, humanoid, cloaked in shadow and ember, with a face like molten glass and a voice that cracked the air.
> "Soul Reaver... you wear the skin of a man, but the hunger of a god burns beneath."
"Kneel... and I will show you what you truly are."
Kael stood.
Defiant.
"I don't kneel to ghosts."
---
Nyxar's laughter shook the sanctum. Shards of bone fell from the sky. Shadows coiled around Kael's feet, trying to pull him down.
> [System Intervention:]
"Protective Seal: TEMPORARILY DISENGAGED"
[Trial Initiated: Gaze of the Forgotten Flame]
"Survive for 60 seconds without surrendering your will."
Kael clenched his fists.
The shadows attacked—not with blades, but with memories. His own voice, screaming in guilt. The faces of his comrades. His mother's final words. His failures, regrets, self-loathing.
> "You are nothing."
"You were never enough."
"You belong here."
He screamed—and the scream became a roar.
His shadow lashed out in all directions, pulsing with raw force. The voices faltered. The mist recoiled.
And then—silence.
> [Trial Complete]
[Mental Resistance Increased]
[Nyxar's Favor: +1]
"You are not ready," the entity whispered. "But you will be... mine."
---
Kael collapsed, sweating, breathing ragged. But alive.
And stronger.
> "I don't need your favor," he muttered. "I'll make my own throne."
The Abyss answered him with silence...
and approval.
---