Chapter 55: Unlocking the Gate’s Secrets
The battlefield was quiet.
Not because the war was over, but because everyone knew **this was just the beginning.**
The Hidden Order had retreated, their forces pulling back into the darkness. Their **leader, Inquisitor Valeria, had left without a final strike**—but Sai knew better than to think she had given up.
She had seen **something** in him.
And that made her **even more dangerous.**
Sai stood before the **Abyssal Gate**, the massive black stone still humming with power. The battle had only disturbed it **briefly**—but it was still waiting. **Still watching.**
He placed his hand on its cold surface.
And the Abyss **stirred.**
---
### **The Gate Speaks**
The moment Sai touched the stone, his system **reacted violently.**
**[Abyssal Gate Connection Detected.]**
**[Accessing Hidden Archives…]**
Sai gritted his teeth as a wave of information **slammed into his mind.**
For a moment, he was **somewhere else.**
Not in the ruins.
Not in the battlefield.
But in a place that felt **beyond time itself.**
---
### **The Memory of a Kingdom**
**A throne room.**
Massive, towering pillars of abyssal stone. **Flames burning with black fire.**
And at the center—**a throne carved from the Abyss itself.**
A figure sat upon it.
Not the Betrayer.
Not a king Sai recognized.
But someone else.
A voice, deep and commanding, echoed through the space.
**"You stand before the First Gate. Do you seek to reclaim what was lost?"**
Sai swallowed hard. **This wasn't just a memory.**
This was **a trial.**
And he was being **judged.**
---
**The Three Questions**
The voice continued.
**"The Abyss does not serve. It devours. To wield it, you must first answer."**
The throne room **shook.**
Three abyssal figures **stepped forward**, their forms shifting like smoke.
Each of them **spoke a question.**
The first voice, cold and ancient: **"What do you seek?"**
The second voice, whispering and layered: **"What will you sacrifice?"**
The third voice, deep and final: **"What will you become?"**
Sai **stared.**
This wasn't just a test.
This was **the truth of the Abyss itself.**
And now, he had to **answer.**
---
### **The First Answer: What Do You Seek?**
Sai clenched his fists. **What did he seek?**
Revenge? No. He had never been the kind of person to chase vengeance.
Power? Maybe. But not for himself.
Freedom?
The answer hit him **instantly.**
**"Control."**
The first abyssal figure **stilled.**
Sai exhaled, voice steady.
"I don't want to be ruled by the Abyss. I don't want to be a king, a monster, or a pawn. I want to be the one in control of my own fate."
The first figure **nodded.**
And then—**it faded.**
---
### **The Second Answer: What Will You Sacrifice?**
The second figure stepped closer, abyssal mist curling around it.
**"To take control, you must lose something. What will you sacrifice?"**
Sai's breath **hitched.**
The answer wasn't **immediate** this time.
He had already given up so much.
His normal life. His place among other hunters. His chance at walking away.
What was left?
His humanity?
No.
That was the one thing he refused to **give up.**
Sai took a breath. **Then he understood.**
**"My past."**
The second figure **froze.**
Sai **held its gaze.**
"I can't keep looking back. I can't be the weak hunter scraping by anymore. I have to let go of who I was and accept what I'm becoming."
A beat of silence.
Then, the second figure **vanished.**
---
### **The Final Answer: What Will You Become?**
The third figure **loomed over him.**
**"If you do this, you will not walk away unchanged. What will you become?"**
Sai **closed his eyes.**
The visions of the past battles flickered in his mind.
The war. The abyssal power surging through his veins.
The Betrayer's whispers.
The fear in Valeria's eyes when she **realized he was different.**
Sai opened his eyes.
And **for the first time, he didn't fear the answer.**
**"Something new."**
The third figure **watched him.**
Then—**it bowed.**
And **the trial ended.**
---
### **The Gate Unlocks**
Sai's vision **snapped back to reality.**
He staggered slightly, his breath coming in short bursts.
Lena grabbed his arm. "Sai? What the hell just happened?"
Sai exhaled. **The Gate had tested him.**
And he had **passed.**
The massive stone door **shifted.**
A deep, ancient **rumble** echoed through the ruins as the runes along its surface began to **glow with new power.**
Ezren **stared.** "You unlocked it."
Sai nodded. "Not fully. But it's opening."
Kael placed a hand on his sword. "Then what happens now?"
Sai looked at the **slowly parting Abyssal Gate.**
Something **waited on the other side.**
Something **no one had seen in centuries.**
And Sai was about to **step through.**
---
### **The First Step Into the Abyss**
Sai took a slow breath.
Then—he **walked forward.**
The moment his foot crossed the threshold, his system **flashed violently.**
**[Warning: Entering Abyssal Depths.]**
**[Irreversible Event Triggered.]**
**[Proceed?]**
Sai **smirked.**
"Yeah."
And he stepped into the **unknown.**
---