In Darkness, We Rise
"Blood upon stone, fate upon blade,
A name is lost, a shadow is made.
Forsaken by light, embraced by the night,
Thus is the path of the ones who fight."
—The Ritual of the Abyss
---
Tara's breathing was steady, her heartbeat slow. She no longer felt like herself.
Something had changed the moment she accepted the darkness. The fire in her soul was not hers alone anymore—it belonged to something far greater, far older.
She could still feel the lingering presence of the Abyss, whispering in the spaces between her thoughts. It did not control her. It did not command her.
But it watched.
Shree Yan studied her, his red eyes unreadable.
"What do you feel?" he asked.
Tara clenched her fist. Darkness coiled around her fingers, responding to her will like a living thing.
"I feel… awake," she whispered.
Shree Yan's expression did not change, but she could sense his approval.
"The weak struggle against the Abyss," he said. "The strong accept it."
Tara looked at him, the weight of her transformation settling onto her shoulders.
She had stepped beyond the threshold of humanity.
There was no fear.
No regret.
Only purpose.
Shree Yan turned away, his white hair catching the faint glow of the torches lining the underground hall.
"Come," he said. "It is time to take your oath."
Tara followed him through the dark corridors of the ruined temple, her steps silent. She was no longer a mere rebel. She was something else. Something more.
At the heart of the temple lay a circular chamber, ancient symbols carved into the stone walls. At its center stood a single black altar, old as the night itself.
Shree Yan stepped forward, placing his hand upon the altar. The markings on the stone pulsed with a deep crimson light, as if drinking in his presence.
Tara felt the weight of the moment.
This was no ordinary ritual.
This was a rebirth.
Shree Yan turned to face her. "Kneel."
She obeyed without hesitation.
His voice was quiet, yet it filled the chamber like the whisper of fate itself.
"Do you swear to cast aside your past, your name, and your soul?"
Tara closed her eyes. She thought of her old self—the girl who had fought for a broken kingdom, who had dreamed of freedom.
That girl was gone.
"I swear."
"Do you swear to follow the path of power, no matter where it leads?"
She had already stepped beyond morality. There was no turning back.
"I swear."
"Do you swear loyalty to me, until the stars wither and time itself is no more?"
Tara looked up at him, her eyes burning with a new fire.
"I swear."
The moment the words left her lips, the altar pulsed violently. Shadows spilled from its surface, swirling around her like living ink.
She did not flinch.
She did not fear.
She embraced it.
The darkness seeped into her skin, carving its mark upon her soul.
And in that instant—
Tara ceased to exist.
In her place, a new being was born.
Shree Yan gazed down at her, a smirk playing at his lips.
"Rise, Ranya of the Abyss."
Tara—no, Ranya—stood, feeling the power humming beneath her skin.
She was no longer a rebel.
No longer a leader.
She was a weapon.
And she belonged to him.