The old Citadel was no longer a place of power.
It was a graveyard—a city of cracked stone, collapsed towers, and whispers of lost kings.
But Kael had not returned to mourn.
He had returned to rebuild.
---
The survivors gathered slowly, uncertain, their clothes torn, eyes hollow from months of running from Riftbeasts. They looked at Kael—not as a man, but as a myth.
Some knelt.
Some ran.
Others just stared.
Lyria addressed them first, her voice cutting through the cold wind:
> "You may fear the Abyss—but this man commands it.
And he has returned… not to rule with chains—
But to give us a future."
A murmur spread like fire through the crowd.
---
Kael raised his hand.
> [Abyss Protocol: Reconstruction]
Activate the Riftstone.
A piece of glowing black crystal embedded in his gauntlet pulsed. The broken ground shifted.
Stone moved.
Walls rose.
Runes glowed faintly in the earth as the bones of the Citadel began to form again.
> [Citadel Core Rebooting… 27%]
Taren stared, stunned. "You're rebuilding the capital… with the Abyss itself?"
Kael nodded. "Not with it. Through it. We'll shape it, or it will shape us."
---
But rebuilding had a cost.
Energy. Essence. Sacrifice.
> Rift-creatures began to arrive—low-level shadows, not hostile, drawn by Kael's call.
The crowd panicked.
One young soldier drew his blade.
Kael stepped between them.
> "No more fear. They obey me now."
He turned to the creature—an eyeless beast with six limbs and a whispering voice.
> "Build. Protect. Serve."
And it bowed.
---
> [New Faction Unlocked: The Riftbound]
Survivors + Riftspawn = Hybrid Civilization
Morale: Volatile
Loyalty: TBD
[Citadel Status: 41% Reconstructed]
---
That night, under the twin moons, the first Council of the Rift was held.
Kael stood at the center, cloaked in shadowlight.
Lyria and Taren at his side.
Around him: warriors, mages, survivors… and even three intelligent Riftbeasts who had taken humanoid form.
One spoke—a creature of silver mist and many eyes.
> "Keeper... will you be tyrant, savior… or god?"
Kael replied simply:
> "Neither."
> "I will be the shield between the worlds."
---
But not all welcomed his rise.
Far to the east, in the shattered lands of the Archons, a pulse of blinding divine energy erupted.
A figure stood atop a ruined temple, his armor gold and white, his sword forged from pure starlight.
> "The Abyss rises again," he hissed.
"Then so shall Judgment."
---
> [Alert: Archon Paladin Detected]
Entity Class: S-Rank
Alignment: Holy Order
Mission: Eradicate the Keeper
Time to Arrival: 7 Days
Kael stared into the night sky.
He could feel it—power approaching. War reborn.
But he was ready.
> "Let them come."
---