Chapter 74: The Abyss Unleashed
Li Feng's grip on his sword tightened as he struggled to remain upright. The very air was unstable, warping in waves of distorted reality. The battlefield itself had become a place where time bent and shadows stretched unnaturally long.
Mei Lian, her breath ragged, turned sharply to Yan Shun. "This is what you chose? You hesitated, and now look at what he's become!"
Yan Shun clenched his fists, his face a mask of guilt and anger. He had stepped aside when Shen Longwei's forces attacked, letting the warlord press forward unchecked. But now, seeing the monstrous transformation before him, he knew he had made a grave mistake. He had let his doubts rule him, and now it was too late to undo what had already begun.
Shen Longwei's laughter echoed across the battlefield, a deep, distorted sound that sent chills down Li Feng's spine. "You still don't understand," the warlord sneered. "This was never about conquest. The Abyss—its power—is older than your feeble minds can comprehend. And now, it is mine."
A gust of energy erupted from him, sending shockwaves outward. Li Feng raised his sword just in time to block the blast, but Mei Lian and Yan Shun were thrown back, crashing against the jagged remains of a ruined pillar. Zheng Wei, barely conscious, let out a weak cough, unable to move as the battlefield cracked apart around them.
Then the ground quaked violently.
A deep, guttural sound rumbled beneath them, something far older than any of them, something buried within the Abyss itself. The stone beneath Shen Longwei's feet began to glow, sigils of an ancient, forgotten language etching themselves into the rock. The alignment was not just feeding him power—it was waking something else.
Li Feng forced himself to his feet, his entire body screaming in protest. "We have to stop this," he panted. "If we don't—"
A massive tear split through the sky above them.
Dark tendrils of energy slithered through the crack, stretching toward the battlefield. Shadows congealed, whispering in forgotten tongues, and the air grew impossibly cold. Shen Longwei's monstrous form lifted his face toward the sky, his glowing eyes filled with triumph. "Yes," he whispered, a twisted smile curving his lips. "Come forth."
Mei Lian scrambled up, her expression a mix of horror and determination. "Yan Shun," she hissed, turning back to him. "Decide now. Either fight beside us or be consumed by the very thing you hesitated for."
Yan Shun's eyes flickered between her and Shen Longwei, torn between his past and the present, between the brother he had lost and the truth before him. He had believed, for even a moment, that there was a path where he and Yan Zhi could fight together again. But the reality was far crueler.
Shen Longwei wasn't just using the alignment to gain power—he was unleashing something ancient, something that could destroy everything.
Yan Shun's hesitation broke.
With a growl of frustration and resolve, he gripped his blade and stepped forward. "I won't make the same mistake again."
Mei Lian nodded sharply, then turned back to Li Feng. "We have to strike now—before it's too late."
But it already was.
The sky above them ripped apart fully, and from the abyss beyond, something began to descend.
A presence. An ancient force. Something no mortal should ever have laid eyes upon.
Shen Longwei spread his arms wide, basking in the energy of the celestial alignment, his form glowing with unholy radiance. "You have already lost," he declared. "The Abyss is opening, and you are nothing but remnants of a forgotten past."
Li Feng gritted his teeth, forcing himself to push through his exhaustion. The battle was far from over.
And the real fight had just begun.
The sky splits open completely, and something ancient and forgotten begins emerging from the Abyss.