Chapter 3 – The Awakening Beyond the Abyss

Eliam stepped through the portal, and in an instant, the abyss vanished. The suffocating darkness, the eerie silence, the twisted battlefield all of it was gone.

What replaced it was something entirely different.

A surge of cold air hit him as he emerged into a vast, open sky. The world around him was bathed in twilight, an endless expanse of rolling clouds stretching below like a sea of mist. Towering mountains loomed in the distance, their jagged peaks glowing faintly with an ethereal light. And above him, suspended in the sky like a silent watcher, was a colossal moon, its surface cracked and pulsing with strange, golden veins of energy.

Eliam barely had time to adjust before he felt it.

Power.

An overwhelming force pressing against his very soul.

It was not an attack, nor was it hostile, but it was ancient. It was as if the very laws of this place were weighing down upon him, testing his worth to stand in this unknown land.

His muscles tensed, and he instinctively activated Abyssal Dominion, summoning the energy of the void around him. The oppressive force eased slightly, though it did not vanish entirely.

Where am I?

He turned, scanning his surroundings. He stood atop a floating platform of obsidian, its surface inscribed with countless glowing runes. The platform was connected to several others by narrow, suspended bridges, forming a massive network of floating structures in the sky.

In the distance, beyond the bridges, a grand temple stood. Its massive doors were adorned with carvings depicting celestial beings, locked in eternal battle with shadowy figures that bore an eerie resemblance to himself.

A strange sensation stirred in his chest.

He wasn't alone.

Slowly, Eliam turned and his breath caught in his throat.

Standing several meters away, at the edge of the platform, was a woman.

She was tall, her body wrapped in flowing silver robes that shimmered as if woven from stardust. Her hair cascaded like liquid light, shifting between deep blue and silver as it moved. But it was her eyes that struck him the most piercing, radiant orbs of golden fire, staring directly into his soul.

She had been waiting for him.

Her expression was unreadable, though there was a flicker of curiosity in her gaze. She raised a delicate hand, and the moment she spoke, her voice resonated through the very air itself.

"You have defied the abyss and emerged unbroken."

Eliam remained silent, his instincts on high alert. There was something about her something even more powerful than the cloaked figure he had faced before.

"You are not of this realm," she continued, tilting her head slightly. "Yet you now carry its mark."

Eliam narrowed his eyes. "And what does that mean?"

A faint smile touched her lips. "It means the gods will not ignore you any longer."

At that moment, the platform beneath them trembled. A low hum filled the air, growing in intensity. The runes on the ground pulsed violently, their glow fluctuating as if reacting to some unseen force.

The woman's gaze flickered to the temple in the distance. "You must move quickly. The Trial has already begun."

Eliam tensed. "Trial?"

She turned her back to him, walking toward the nearest bridge. "Follow me, Abysswalker. If you wish to survive, there is much you must learn."

Eliam hesitated for only a second before striding after her.

As they crossed the bridge, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them.

BOOM!

The sky itself split open.

A blinding rift of golden lightning tore through the heavens, sending shockwaves rippling across the floating platforms. The very air vibrated with an unfathomable force, and from the gaping rift, something descended.

Eliam's blood ran cold.

A massive, armored being emerged from the light, its form towering over everything. Its body was covered in radiant, celestial metal, etched with divine inscriptions. A massive spear burned in its grasp, wreathed in golden fire.

A god's executioner.

It had come for him.

The woman barely spared it a glance before whispering, "They are faster than I expected."

Eliam clenched his fists. His instincts screamed at him to move, to fight but his rational mind knew better. This wasn't an enemy he could take on in his current state.

The executioner lifted its spear, its voice booming like the heavens themselves.

"Abysswalker Eliam. You stand in defiance of the divine order. Submit now, or be erased."

Eliam's heart pounded.

The woman beside him exhaled softly. "You cannot fight it. Not yet."

She turned to him, golden eyes blazing. "But if you truly seek to stand against the gods, then prove it. Survive the Trial."

The moment the words left her lips, she vanished.

And then….

The executioner attacked.

A blinding beam of celestial fire erupted from its spear, screaming toward Eliam with devastating force.

He didn't think. He moved.

Voidstep activated.

He reappeared on a distant platform just as the attack obliterated the bridge behind him. The sheer force of the explosion sent shockwaves across the entire realm.

He barely had time to recover before the executioner was already upon him, closing the distance at inhuman speed. It raised its spear again, aiming to end his existence in a single strike.

Eliam gritted his teeth.

He had to push further.

He reached deep into his being, deeper than before, and something answered.

Abyssal Dominion surged.

For the first time, he truly commanded the void.

Dark tendrils erupted around him, twisting through the air, forming barriers of pure abyssal energy. When the executioner's spear struck, it met resistance not complete, but enough to weaken its force.

Eliam seized the opening.

With a roar, he lunged forward, summoning every ounce of his strength. Abyssal energy coalesced around his fist, forming a sphere of compressed void essence.

And then…

He struck.

The impact sent shockwaves across the platform. The executioner staggered, its celestial armor cracking slightly where the punch had landed.

Eliam's eyes widened. It felt that.

He didn't stop. He couldn't stop.

Summoning every bit of his power, he launched a relentless assault. Blows infused with abyssal might rained down on the executioner, forcing it back, its golden light flickering under the onslaught.

Then, for the first time—

The executioner spoke not as a god's enforcer, but as a warrior who had been wounded.

"Impossible…"

Eliam exhaled heavily, his fists still burning with power.

He had done it.

He had made a god bleed.

And in that moment, he knew….