Chapter 27: Lords of the Abyss

Chapter 27: Lords of the Abyss

The silence after the battle was thick, pressing down on Ruoyan like a lingering shadow. She exhaled slowly, steadying her grip on her sword as she studied the massive black temple before her.

The structure was ancient, its towering walls carved with runes pulsating in eerie red light. The air crackled with a power both oppressive and intoxicating, as if the very fabric of this place resisted her presence.

Beside her, Jing Zeyan observed the temple with a strange reverence. His golden eyes reflected the abyssal glow, and for the first time since their encounter, he looked… different.

Not just amused. Not just a trickster.

Something deeper stirred beneath his composed facade.

"You've been here before," Ruoyan said, her voice measured.

Jing Zeyan tilted his head, smiling, but it lacked his usual playfulness. "Perhaps."

The doors of the temple groaned, shifting without a single touch. Abyssal mist spilled from the entrance, curling like phantom fingers reaching for them.

Ruoyan hesitated. This was a place of power, of rulers long forgotten. She wasn't foolish enough to step inside without caution.

Jing Zeyan, however, walked forward as if returning home.

Ruoyan's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you really?" she asked.

He paused at the threshold, half-turning to glance at her. His gaze held something unreadable—something older than the persona he wore.

Instead of answering, he extended his hand toward her. "Come, Phoenix. It's time you met the true rulers of the abyss."

The air shifted.

From within the temple, darkness stirred.

And then, they awakened.

The Abyssal Lords Emerge

The first presence manifested in a whisper, its voice weaving through the air like threads of silk and venom.

"Intriguing. A mortal dares enter our domain?"

A shape slithered into existence—a towering serpentine figure, its body shifting between shadow and reality. Eyes like burning coals pierced through the abyssal mist, fixing onto Ruoyan with unsettling curiosity.

The Serpent Lord of Nightmares.

Ruoyan felt her heart clench. This was no ordinary spirit beast. It was an entity older than empires, a being who fed on fear and dreams.

The second presence descended like a storm.

Wings of shattered void unfurled, blocking out all light. A monstrous being with six arms, a face concealed by an obsidian mask, and a body wrapped in chains. With every movement, the air trembled under its sheer weight of existence.

The Warlord of Chains.

A force of destruction—one who had led the abyssal armies in wars long erased from history.

And then, the third presence.

It was not loud, not overwhelming. Yet, its mere existence sent a chill racing down Ruoyan's spine.

It stood at the temple's highest step. A humanoid figure, draped in flowing abyssal robes, their face hidden beneath a dark veil. No aura. No sound. No presence.

Yet Ruoyan knew.

This one was the most dangerous of them all.

The Abyssal Lord of Silence.

Ruoyan tightened her grip on her sword, but Jing Zeyan stepped forward, unbothered.

"It's been a while," he said, his voice carrying a familiarity Ruoyan hadn't expected.

The Serpent Lord's eyes narrowed. "Zeyan. You return as a guide?"

Ruoyan's breath caught.

Not as an intruder. Not as an outsider.

As a guide.

Realization settled into her bones.

"You're… not just an abyssal cultivator," she murmured, eyes locked onto Jing Zeyan. "You're one of them."

He turned to her, smiling in that same careless way, but this time, his golden eyes burned with abyssal fire.

"I never said I wasn't."

Jing Zeyan's True Identity

Ruoyan's pulse roared in her ears. The pieces were falling into place, each revelation snapping together like an intricate trap she had unknowingly stepped into.

Jing Zeyan wasn't just some wandering abyssal rogue. He wasn't just a mysterious ally with questionable motives.

He was Abyssal.

A Lord? A Prince? She didn't know yet, but one thing was clear—his connection to this realm ran deeper than he let on.

The Warlord of Chains let out a deep, rumbling growl. "This one does not belong here."

Jing Zeyan simply laughed. "That's what makes it fun."

The Serpent Lord's tongue flicked, eyes glowing. "She carries something ancient within her. Something that even the abyss cannot consume."

Ruoyan stiffened.

They could feel it.

Her flames. Her connection to something older than this abyss.

The Abyssal Lord of Silence finally moved.

One step.

And Ruoyan felt her entire existence tremble.

It wasn't an attack. It wasn't aggression.

It was acknowledgment.

The silence between them spoke louder than any words.

Ruoyan forced herself to stand tall. If they thought she would bow, they were mistaken.

"I came for what was stolen," she said, her voice unwavering. "I won't leave without it."

The Lords exchanged glances.

Then, the Serpent Lord hissed a low, amused sound. "Then come, Phoenix. Step deeper into the abyss. Let us see if you burn… or if you become one of us."

The temple doors opened wider, revealing the true heart of the abyss.

Ruoyan stepped forward.

Jing Zeyan followed, his golden eyes gleaming.

And the Lords watched.

The Abyssal Lords (Serpent Lord of Nightmares, Warlord of Chains, and the Abyssal Lord of Silence).

Jing Zeyan's true nature—he is more than an abyssal cultivator; he has a direct connection to the abyss.

Lords of the Abyss and the Stolen Artifacts

The darkness inside the temple was not merely the absence of light—it was something alive, shifting, whispering, watching. Ruoyan stepped cautiously forward, her fire spiritual energy coiling beneath her skin, ready to ignite at the slightest danger.

Beside her, Jing Zeyan's presence had changed. No longer just a playful rogue, his aura blended seamlessly with the abyssal shadows, as if he belonged here.

Ahead, the Abyssal Lords awaited.

Their gazes burned into her, as if weighing her soul, measuring whether she was worthy to stand before them.

But Ruoyan was not here for their approval.

She had come to retrieve what was stolen.

The Stolen Artifacts

The Serpent Lord of Nightmares spoke first, its voice a slithering echo in her mind.

"You seek what was taken. But do you even know what you claim?"

The Warlord of Chains rumbled, stepping closer, his massive form looming over her. "These artifacts do not belong to mortals. They are relics of the abyss, born from chaos itself."

Ruoyan held her ground. "They were stolen from the balance of this world. Whether they belong to the abyss or not doesn't matter. If left unchecked, their power will bring destruction."

The Abyssal Lord of Silence finally moved. A single step. A wave of powerless void surged forward, suffocating, like existence itself was being erased in its wake.

Jing Zeyan, unshaken, spoke smoothly. "Enough theatrics. Let's not pretend we don't know why she's really here."

His golden eyes flickered toward Ruoyan. "The Abyssal Lords don't care about the artifacts being stolen. They care about who took them."

Ruoyan's breath stilled.

"Who took them?" she asked carefully.

The Serpent Lord's tongue flicked, its massive eyes narrowing. "A traitor. One who defied the abyss."

The Warlord of Chains clenched his six fists, the sound of metal grinding against metal echoing through the temple. "One who stole power beyond their right."

Ruoyan's heartbeat quickened.

A traitor… stole abyssal artifacts?

Her mind raced. Who could wield such power? Who dared to steal from the very abyss itself?

Then came the answer.

Not Lin Feiyan. But someone far worse.

The Three Forbidden Relics

The Serpent Lord raised its clawed hand. Shadows gathered, forming into a black obsidian box covered in writhing abyssal runes.

"The Dreamfire Mirror."

Ruoyan's eyes widened.

She had read of it in forbidden texts—a mirror that did not reflect reality, but the deepest, most hidden desires and fears of whoever looked into it. It was a weapon of manipulation, able to trap souls in illusions of their own making, forever lost.

The Warlord of Chains stepped forward next, summoning a floating orb of chained darkness, pulsing like a heartbeat.

"The Abyssal Heart."

It was not an object, but a fragment of a living abyssal entity. Those who touched it could bend abyssal creatures to their will—but at the cost of their own soul being devoured piece by piece.

Finally, the Abyssal Lord of Silence raised a hand. Unlike the others, it did not summon an artifact into view. Instead, a ripple spread through the space itself.

The air fractured—and for a brief moment, Ruoyan caught a glimpse of something impossible.

A sword.

It was weightless, formless, yet overwhelming. A weapon not made of metal, but of absence—of silence.

And then it was gone.

The Lords did not speak its name, but Ruoyan knew.

The Voidfang Blade.

A sword that could cut not just bodies, but fate itself.

She swallowed hard.

These were not just artifacts. They were calamities waiting to happen.

If they were loose in the world… no wonder the balance of realms was in danger.

Ruoyan lifted her chin. "Tell me where they are."

The Traitor's Identity Revealed

The Serpent Lord let out a soft hiss, as if amused by her audacity.

"And if we did? Do you truly believe you can take them back?"

The Warlord of Chains grunted. "The traitor has already left the abyss. They seek to use the relics to change the fate of the mortal world."

Ruoyan clenched her fists. "Who is this traitor?"

The Abyssal Lord of Silence finally spoke.

"The one you call Star Lord."

Ruoyan's breath caught.

The Star Lord.

The one who had first summoned her to this mission. The one who had sent her into the abyss.

Her supposed ally.

Jing Zeyan chuckled lowly. "Now this is getting interesting."

Ruoyan's heart pounded.

The fight wasn't just about the abyss anymore.

It was about stopping the Star Lord before he destroyed the balance of the universe.

And to do that, she would need to wield the abyssal power he had stolen.

A Pact with the Abyss

Ruoyan exhaled slowly.

"I need the power to stop him," she said, eyes burning with determination. "If these artifacts were born from the abyss, then give me a weapon that can counter them."

The Abyssal Lords exchanged glances.

Then, the Serpent Lord grinned, its fangs gleaming.

"Very well, Phoenix. But know this—power granted by the abyss always comes at a price."

The Warlord of Chains lifted his hand, and something manifested before Ruoyan.

A bracelet.

It looked unassuming, made of blackened silver, carved with unreadable runes. But the moment Ruoyan reached for it, a searing pain shot through her palm.

Her blood dripped onto the bracelet.

It absorbed it.

And suddenly, she felt it.

A connection. A link to the abyss.

The bracelet tightened around her wrist.

A mark burned onto her skin.

The Abyssal Contract.

Jing Zeyan whistled. "Now you're playing in dangerous territory."

Ruoyan ignored him.

She felt the power surging through her veins. It wasn't just fire anymore. It was something darker, heavier.

She had made her choice.

Now, she would use this power to hunt down the Star Lord, retrieve the stolen artifacts, and restore balance to the world.

The Abyssal Lords watched her in amusement.

The Serpent Lord whispered, "Let's see if you survive the hunt… or if the abyss consumes you first."

To be Continued.....

The three stolen abyssal artifacts are revealed:

Dreamfire Mirror (traps souls in illusions).

Abyssal Heart (controls abyssal creatures at the cost of one's soul).

Voidfang Blade (a sword that severs fate itself).

The traitor is revealed to be the Star Lord.

Ruoyan makes a pact with the Abyssal Lords, receiving a bracelet that binds her to abyssal power.

Her new mission: Hunt the Star Lord, reclaim the artifacts, and prevent catastrophe.