The Shadow of the Forgotten King

The cavern trembled as the Forgotten King's form solidified, towering over Shin and his team. His body was a swirling mass of darkness, an abyss given form. His eyes, like burning embers, cut through the oppressive blackness, locking onto Shin with an almost amused glint.

"You wield the abyss… yet you are not consumed by it." The King's voice was a mixture of whispers and roars, layered upon itself in an unnatural cacophony. "Fascinating."

Shin's heart pounded in his chest, but he kept his stance firm, gripping his sword tightly. The sheer presence of the Forgotten King threatened to pull him under, to drown him in the depths of the void. But he refused to yield.

Kaida, Hiroshi, and Arashi stood behind him, each struggling against the crushing weight of the abyssal aura surrounding them.

"What… is this pressure?" Arashi gritted his teeth, trying to steady his breath.

"This thing isn't just a remnant," Kaida whispered. "It's something else entirely. Something ancient."

The Forgotten King's laughter reverberated through the cavern. "I was the first to embrace the void, to wield its power as my own. And now, I am what remains. A shadow of what once was… yet still far beyond any mortal who dares to step into my domain."

Shin's Abyss Eye pulsed, his vision shifting as he peered into the depths of the Forgotten King's form. What he saw made his stomach drop—there was no true core to strike, no weak point to exploit. The entity before them was bound to the void itself. If they fought him like any other opponent, they would be swallowed whole.

"We can't fight him directly," Shin muttered under his breath. "Not like this."

Hiroshi scoffed, twirling a kunai between his fingers. "Then what's the plan? Because standing here and listening to his monologue isn't gonna do us any favors."

Shin analyzed the space around them. The cavern was an extension of the void, meaning the Forgotten King could manipulate it at will. But there had to be a limit, something anchoring him to this plane.

"We need to find the source of his existence," Shin said. "A tether. Something that's keeping him bound to this place."

Before the others could respond, the Forgotten King moved.

The darkness surged forward like a living tidal wave, tendrils of void energy stretching toward them with terrifying speed. Shin reacted instantly, raising his sword and slicing through the advancing abyss. The energy split, but it did not dissipate—it reformed, seeking new angles of attack.

"Scatter!" Kaida shouted.

The team broke apart, narrowly avoiding the tendrils as they struck the ground, shattering the stone like glass. Hiroshi leaped onto a nearby rock formation, launching a barrage of explosive kunai toward the Forgotten King's form. The explosions detonated in rapid succession, momentarily engulfing the entity in fire and debris.

But as the smoke cleared, the Forgotten King stood unmoved. His form twisted, reforming as if the attacks had never touched him.

"Futile," he intoned, raising a clawed hand.

The void beneath them convulsed, and suddenly, the cavern itself began to shift. The walls expanded outward, revealing an endless abyss stretching into infinity. The ground beneath them cracked, and one by one, massive abyssal warriors began to emerge—faceless, armored wraiths wielding weapons forged from pure darkness.

Kaida clenched her fists. "Oh great, an army. Just what we needed."

Shin exhaled, his mind racing. The Forgotten King was testing them, forcing them to fight on his terms. If they didn't break the cycle soon, they would be overwhelmed.

"We need to split up," Shin said. "Kaida, Hiroshi, Arashi—keep the wraiths busy. I'll find the tether."

Hiroshi raised an eyebrow. "You sure you can handle that thing alone?"

Shin smirked. "I don't plan to fight him. I plan to end him."

Without waiting for a response, he activated his Abyss Step, vanishing into the shadows. The Forgotten King's eyes followed his movement, but he made no attempt to stop him.

"Run, little abyss walker," the entity mused. "See if you can escape what is inevitable."

Kaida, Hiroshi, and Arashi sprang into action. Kaida met the first wave of wraiths head-on, her twin blades flashing as she carved through their ranks. Each time her swords made contact, the wraiths dissolved into mist—only to reform seconds later.

"Tch. This is going nowhere," she muttered.

Hiroshi vaulted over a cluster of wraiths, setting explosive tags along the cavern floor. The moment they activated, he detonated them, sending a chain reaction of destruction through the battlefield. But even as the wraiths were blown apart, they regenerated just as quickly.

"Yeah, this is a problem," he admitted.

Arashi closed his eyes, extending his chakra senses. He reached deep, trying to perceive something beyond the immediate chaos. And then—he found it. A presence, buried within the void.

"Shin's right," Arashi called out. "These things are just projections. The real battle is happening somewhere else."

Kaida tightened her grip on her blades. "Then we buy him time."

Meanwhile, Shin moved through the shifting landscape, his Abyss Eye scanning every crevice of the cavern. The deeper he ventured, the more he felt the void calling to him.

Then, he saw it.

A shrine.

It was ancient, cracked and worn, yet pulsating with an ominous energy. At its center lay a massive, swirling mass of abyssal energy—a core, pulsating like a heart. Chains of void energy anchored the Forgotten King's form to it.

"The tether," Shin realized.

He approached cautiously, the weight of the abyss growing heavier with each step. The closer he got, the more he felt it—whispers slithering into his mind, clawing at the edges of his consciousness.

"Submit," the voices urged. "Become one with the void."

Shin gritted his teeth, forcing the whispers aside. He raised his sword, channeling every ounce of void energy he had into its blade.

"This ends now," he growled.

With a single, precise strike, he plunged the sword into the core.

The reaction was immediate. The cavern shook violently as the core pulsed, cracks spreading through its form. The chains binding the Forgotten King snapped one by one.

A deafening roar filled the abyss.

Back on the battlefield, the Forgotten King staggered, his form flickering. The wraiths surrounding Kaida, Hiroshi, and Arashi let out inhuman shrieks before dissolving into nothingness.

Shin twisted his blade, forcing more energy into the core. The cracks deepened, and then—

A final, shattering explosion.

The abyss recoiled. The cavern walls began to collapse, the void itself pulling inward. The Forgotten King let out one last, furious howl before his form unraveled, vanishing into the darkness.

Shin stumbled back, breathing heavily. The shrine was gone. The core was destroyed. And with it, the Forgotten King had been erased from existence.

The cavern continued to collapse.

"Shin! Move!" Kaida's voice rang out.

Shin turned, sprinting toward the others as the abyssal realm crumbled around them. The moment he reached them, Arashi formed a hand sign.

"Hold on!" he shouted, releasing a teleportation seal.

Light enveloped them.

Then, silence.

The next thing Shin knew, he was back on solid ground, staring up at a sky filled with stars. The oppressive weight of the void was gone.

They had made it out.

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