Arhaan's scream tore through the cavern — raw, violent, and almost inhuman.
The crimson energy seared through his veins like liquid fire, burning away everything fragile, everything mortal.
But beneath the agony, there was something else — clarity.
When he opened his eyes again, the world no longer looked the same.
He could see the flow of life around him: light, shadow, energy, truth. Every breath the mountain took pulsed in harmony with his heartbeat.
Azrakar's voice thundered softly through the red mist.
> "Now you feel it — the abyss does not destroy. It liberates."
Arhaan rose slowly to his feet, panting, his body trembling but unbroken.
His chains floated lightly around him, no longer dragging, but alive — coiling and uncoiling like serpents made of light and blood.
"Liberation?" Arhaan said between ragged breaths. "Feels more like being torn apart."
> "Because you still resist," Azrakar replied. "Heaven taught you to fear yourself. I am teaching you to trust your power."
Arhaan clenched his fists, the chains tightening around his arms. "And what if I lose control?"
> "Then you will learn what it means to be control."
A flicker of a smirk crossed Arhaan's face.
For the first time in years, he wasn't afraid.
He stepped forward, and the cavern responded — energy rippled through the air as if bowing to him.
Azrakar raised a shadowed hand, summoning a wave of abyssal fire that formed into hundreds of blades, circling Arhaan.
> "Your training begins now. Show me how a soul defies the sky."
The blades lunged.
Arhaan moved — fast, faster than ever before. His chains snapped outward, deflecting strikes, shattering energy, moving like extensions of his will. Each motion left streaks of gold-red light in the darkness.
The final blade shattered in his grip, dissolving into sparks.
Azrakar's deep voice echoed with something like approval.
> "You are learning, mortal. But remember — to ascend, you must bleed for every breath you take."
Arhaan's breathing slowed, his aura dimming to a steady glow. "Then I'll bleed until the heavens kneel."
The cavern shook. Somewhere above, far above, the skies trembled — as if Heaven itself had heard that vow.