Chapter 9 – Descent into the Forgotten Depths

Kael stood at the edge of the dark entrance, the forgotten ruin yawning before him like a mouth ready to swallow him whole. The faint glow from his lantern cast eerie shadows against the walls, but it was nothing compared to the suffocating silence that hung over the place. For a moment, he hesitated.

This was where the rumors led—a place abandoned by time, where the bravest souls sought riches and knowledge, only to vanish into the void. But Kael wasn't here for treasures. He was here for power, the kind that would help him crush the Divine Order, and he was willing to face whatever hell lay inside to get it.

With a deep breath, Kael stepped into the darkness.

The air inside the ruin was thick with rot and dust, every step echoing off the ancient stone walls. As he moved deeper, the faint sounds of dripping water and the scurrying of unseen creatures were the only things that kept him company. He pulled the hood of his cloak tighter around his face and gripped the hilt of his sword. It felt like a thousand eyes were watching him from the shadows, but whenever he glanced over his shoulder, nothing was there.

Kael wasn't sure how long he walked. The darkness seemed endless, and the deeper he went, the heavier the air became. His breath quickened as a strange feeling gnawed at the back of his mind. Something wasn't right.

His eyes caught the flicker of movement ahead—was it a person? He moved cautiously, drawing his sword. But when he stepped into the next room, he froze.

The space was massive, far larger than any chamber he had imagined. There were corpses littered across the floor—skeletons in faded armor, rusted and decayed, some still holding weapons. These were the remains of those who came before him, their ambition and greed leading them to a bitter end. But as Kael stepped deeper into the room, his attention was drawn to the statues lining the walls.

They were humanoid, but something about them was off. The proportions were wrong, their faces twisted in grotesque expressions of pain and fury. They were statues, yet... they felt alive.

Suddenly, the air shifted. Kael's hand gripped his sword tighter as a low, guttural growl echoed from the depths of the room. The statues began to move.

Kael's heart skipped a beat. Forsaken.

They were the cursed guardians of places like this, cursed to protect the ruins for eternity. Their bodies were human once, but time and magic had twisted them into something else. Something worse.

The closest one lunged at him with terrifying speed, a massive sword raised high. Kael barely had time to react, blocking the strike with his sword. The force of the blow pushed him back, but he held his ground. His heart raced. These were no ordinary opponents.

The Forsaken grinned, their dead eyes gleaming as they attacked in unison. Kael dodged, but the one behind him was faster. He barely avoided the sword's edge, but it grazed his side, tearing through his cloak and cutting his skin. He gritted his teeth, feeling the pain but ignoring it. These things had to be stopped.

Kael swung his sword with all his strength, aiming for the heart of one of the Forsaken. The blade connected, but the creature's body twisted and reformed, the wound healing before his eyes.

Cursing under his breath, Kael stepped back. He had to find a way to destroy them for good. His mind raced, looking for weaknesses. Then it clicked—there had to be a core, something central that kept these things alive.

He noticed a faint glow beneath the Forsaken's armor, a faint pulse of dark energy. Without hesitation, Kael drove his sword into the chest of the nearest one. It screeched in agony as the armor cracked, revealing a black, pulsing core embedded in its chest. The creature's body spasmed before collapsing into dust.

Kael didn't have time to celebrate. The other Forsaken were closing in. With a deep breath, he focused all his energy and leapt into the fray. Each strike was calculated, each movement a dance of life and death. His sword slashed through the air, finding its mark again and again. He crushed another core, and another. The Forsaken fell one by one, their bodies crumbling into nothingness.

Kael stood panting, surrounded by the remains of his enemies. Sweat soaked his brow, and blood dripped from his side, but he had survived. His chest heaved as he wiped the blood from his face, his mind racing with adrenaline. This place was more dangerous than he thought. But the reward was greater than anything he could have imagined.

Kael took a moment to catch his breath before turning his attention back to the ruins. He spotted a strange, glowing script on the wall in front of him, an ancient language he couldn't read. But one word was clear to him—Abyss. The same word his system had whispered to him in the past.

Kael approached the wall, studying the glowing letters, his heart pounding with anticipation. What did this mean? Was there a connection between the Abyss and the ruins? He had to know more.

Before he could investigate further, the ground beneath him shook, a low rumbling sound echoing through the ruin. Kael spun around, sword at the ready. He wasn't alone anymore.

Something deeper in the ruin stirred. Something far worse than the Forsaken.

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