Chapter 16: The Abyss Stirs
The silence after the battle was deafening.
Kael stood motionless, his body tense, his mind racing. His hand instinctively reached for the wound at his side—the place where the dagger had torn through his flesh.
It wasn't deep, but it burned.
Not from pain.
From something else.
The energy that blade carried still lingered, thrumming beneath his skin like a second pulse. He could feel it trying to spread—as if something had been left inside him.
His fingers clenched. He wouldn't allow it.
With a slow breath, he reached inward—into the abyss that now resided within him.
And the abyss answered.
A faint ripple pulsed through his veins, dark and cold. The energy from the throne coiled around the wound, swallowing whatever foreign force had tried to take root.
The burning sensation faded instantly.
Kael exhaled.
"You're learning fast."
His head snapped up.
The voice wasn't the same as the shadowy figure's from before.
No, this voice came from somewhere deeper.
It resonated through the air like a whisper carried on a storm, slipping through the cracks of reality.
Kael's silver eyes narrowed. "Who's there?"
Nothing.
The silence stretched, but it wasn't empty. It was watching.
Then—
A low hum vibrated beneath his feet.
The throne.
It was no longer dormant.
Kael turned slowly, his gaze falling upon the imposing structure of darkness before him.
For the first time, something was different.
The throne pulsed. Not with raw power, but with intention.
It was calling him.
Kael hesitated.
He had already taken his place before. Already felt the power sink into his bones.
And yet, this felt new.
"You are not yet whole."
The voice returned, deeper this time. It echoed through the abyss, each word sinking into Kael's mind.
"You do not yet remember."
A flicker of something—an image, a feeling—surfaced at the edge of his thoughts. A memory just out of reach.
Kael's jaw tightened. "Then show me."
A pause.
Then—the abyss obeyed.
Darkness rushed forward like a tidal wave, swallowing everything in its path. The world around him twisted, the throne fading from sight.
And suddenly—
He was somewhere else.
---
The air smelled of blood.
Kael stood in a place he didn't recognize, yet something about it felt familiar.
The stone beneath his feet was cracked, soaked in something dark. The sky above was fractured, as if reality itself had been torn apart.
And in the distance—
A city burned.
Flames licked at the horizon, stretching high into the sky. Shadows moved through the inferno, figures locked in battle.
And at the center of it all—
A figure stood atop a crumbling tower, clad in black armor, wielding a blade wreathed in darkness.
Kael's breath hitched.
The figure turned.
And his world stopped.
Because beneath the helmet, behind those glowing golden eyes—
Was himself.
---
Kael staggered back as the vision shattered. The abyss snapped back into place, returning him to the throne's chamber.
His breathing was heavy, his heart pounding.
That vision—what was that?
The golden-eyed warrior. The burning city. The chaos.
Had it been a memory?
Or was it something worse?
A prophecy?
Kael's fingers curled into fists.
The abyss was showing him something. But what?
Was he destined to become that?
A tyrant wreathed in darkness? A force of destruction?
No.
He refused.
"You do not have a choice."
The voice returned, cold and absolute.
Kael's lips pressed into a thin line. "Watch me."
The abyss rumbled.
And for the first time—it laughed.