The silence that followed the battle with the Abyssal Warden was thick, suffocating. Shree Yan stood motionless, his body aching from the strain of the conflict, yet his heart felt nothing. His crimson eyes flickered with cold fire as he gazed into the chasm that had once been filled with the Warden's dark power. It had all been torn apart in an instant, but as the last echoes of the battle faded, Shree Yan felt no victory. There was only the haunting silence of the consequences yet to come.
Aranya's voice broke through the stillness. "You've defeated the Warden, but the darkness within you grows stronger with each choice you make." She stepped closer, her gaze sharp, as though studying every movement of his. "The road ahead will be even harder."
Shree Yan's lips twitched, but no words escaped his mouth. His thoughts, once consumed by revenge and ambition, now drifted toward something else—something that gnawed at the edges of his mind. The Warden's final words echoed in his ears. The true cost of your actions has yet to be paid.
"I've paid enough," he said, his voice cold and empty. "There is no more price to be paid."
Aranya shook her head, her expression hardening. "You have no idea what you're walking into, Shree Yan. The powers you've gained come at a cost far greater than you realize. Every life you've destroyed, every person you've betrayed, will come back to haunt you. It is the nature of this world."
Shree Yan looked at her with a smirk. "The world is a lie, Aranya. A twisted illusion meant to keep us shackled. I have already freed myself."
Aranya's eyes flashed with something akin to pity. "Freedom? Is that what you call this? Look at yourself, Shree Yan. You've isolated yourself from the very thing that makes you human. You're nothing more than a demon now—a shadow of what you once were."
Shree Yan's gaze darkened. "I don't need humanity to be powerful. I need nothing but my will."
The ground trembled again, this time not from the eruption of the Warden, but from something deeper. A cold gust of wind swept through the air, carrying with it the scent of decay. Shree Yan's eyes narrowed as the shadows began to twist around them, forming into