Chapter 75: The Awakening
Mei Lian gritted her teeth, gripping her sword tighter as she helped Zheng Wei to his feet. "This isn't just a battle anymore. The very balance of the world is unraveling."
Yan Shun stood at the edge of the collapsing ground, his gaze locked on Shen Longwei. The warlord's body radiated an unnatural aura, tendrils of black and gold energy weaving around him. His eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and the smirk curling on his lips sent a chill down Li Feng's spine.
"You see it now, don't you?" Shen Longwei's voice rang across the battlefield, carrying an edge of triumph. "This was never about conquest or power. This was about awakening the Forgotten One."
As if in answer to his words, the very air seemed to ripple. From the depths of the Abyss, an unearthly wail rose—a chorus of voices bound together, neither living nor dead. The mist at the center of the battlefield parted, revealing a shifting, formless entity. It was a mass of writhing energy, its surface a reflection of those who had perished in the Abyss.
Li Feng's breath hitched. Faces flickered within the entity's form—warriors from long-forgotten battles, souls that had never found peace. Their mouths moved in silent agony, their eyes void of anything but endless torment.
"What... is that?" Yan Shun muttered, stepping back.
Mei Lian's face paled as realization dawned. "It's not just an entity. It's the culmination of every warrior who ever fell here. It's their anger, their despair... their power."
Shen Longwei threw back his head and laughed. "And now it belongs to me."
The entity stirred, its mass elongating, stretching toward Shen Longwei. Where others saw horror, he saw opportunity. His arms opened wide as the dark energy encircled him, threads of shadow seeping into his skin. His muscles tensed, veins pulsing with newfound power. His form began to shift, the warlord's body taking on an ethereal glow.
Li Feng took a step forward, hands clenched. "You don't even know what you're unleashing. This thing isn't meant to be controlled."
Shen Longwei met his gaze, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Who said anything about control? I am meant to become one with it. And once I do, not even the heavens will stand in my way."
The very ground beneath them heaved, throwing everyone off balance. The celestial alignment reached its peak, the sky above them splitting apart like shattered glass. Light and darkness collided, creating a vortex of raw energy.
Mei Lian struggled against the wind whipping through the battlefield. "We have to stop this! If he merges with that thing, we won't stand a chance."
Zheng Wei, barely holding himself up, let out a ragged breath. "It's... too late... The ritual has begun."
Li Feng's mind raced. If Shen Longwei completed his transformation, there would be no defeating him. No stopping him. This had never been about a war between sects. This was about survival itself.
A single thought echoed in his mind. Yuexiang's warning.
"This was never about who wins. It was about who survives."
The monstrous entity turned its many faces toward them, a single voice emerging from the mass. A name spoken in a language older than time itself.
A name that made the ground tremble beneath their feet.
Shen Longwei, now standing at the threshold of becoming something beyond human, utters the entity's name—and the Abyss roars to life, welcoming its new master.