Chapter 59: The Abyss Beckons

Sai stood amid the ruins of the throne, his breath still uneven from the trial. The dead king had vanished, leaving behind only the shattered remains of his seat. The Abyss had tested him again, and he had survived. **But survival wasn't victory.**

His system flickered.

**[Trial Complete.]**

**[Path to the Abyssal Crown Unlocked.]**

Sai's fingers curled into fists. **The Abyssal Crown.**

Another title. Another symbol of power. Another step toward something he wasn't sure he wanted to become.

He exhaled sharply, pushing the thought aside. He had made it this far. He couldn't stop now.

The mist around him began to shift again, swirling with purpose. A path **formed in the distance**, leading deeper into the Abyss. The Second Gate had been passed, but the **journey wasn't over.**

Sai took a slow step forward, the sound of his boots echoing against the broken stone. The air here was heavier than before, thick with an ancient energy that settled into his bones. Every step felt like walking through water—**as if the Abyss itself was watching his every move.**

Then, he saw it.

A new **structure**, standing alone in the void.

It wasn't a temple. Not a throne room. Not a battlefield.

It was a **mirror.**

A massive, monolithic slab of black glass, its surface rippling like liquid. It pulsed with a faint glow, abyssal energy shifting through it like veins of molten gold.

Sai stopped a few feet away, his heartbeat steady. **Another trial? Another test?**

His system gave no warning this time.

No prompts. No objectives.

Just silence.

Sai exhaled. "Alright. Let's see what you want to show me."

He stepped forward—and the mirror **reacted.**

The surface **rippled violently**, and suddenly, Sai's reflection was **not his own.**

---

### **A Future Unseen**

The reflection standing before him was **older.**

The same face. The same sharp eyes. The same stance.

But the aura was **different.**

This version of himself radiated abyssal energy—**so much that the very air around him trembled.** His hair was streaked with threads of silver, his eyes no longer just dark, but **bottomless voids.** His cloak was lined with abyssal fire, flickering like a storm barely held in check.

And in his hand?

A **crown.**

Sai's chest tightened. **This wasn't the past. This was the future.**

His reflection tilted its head, watching him with quiet curiosity. Then, it spoke.

**"You already know how this ends."**

Sai tensed. "I don't believe in fate."

The reflection smirked. **"Neither did I."**

The mirror's surface **shuddered**, and the reflection took a slow step forward.

Sai's muscles coiled, instincts screaming at him to move. But he held his ground.

The reflection **stopped inches away**, its abyssal fire crackling softly.

Then—**it lifted the crown.**

**"Will you take it?"**

Sai stared at the object in its hand. The Abyssal Crown. A symbol of absolute power. Of the one who would **rule the Abyss.**

If he took it, he knew what it meant.

He would become something **else.**

Something more.

Something **less.**

Sai exhaled. "What happens if I refuse?"

The reflection's smirk faded.

**"Then you will break."**

---

### **A Choice Not Yet Made**

Sai's jaw clenched. "There has to be another way."

The reflection shook its head. **"The Abyss does not bargain. It does not give freely. It only takes. You will make this choice, whether you want to or not."**

Sai's fingers twitched. He wanted to argue. To fight. To deny that his fate was already written.

But deep down—**he knew.**

Ever since he had opened the first Lost Gate, ever since he had started down this path, the Abyss had been guiding him somewhere.

This was the end of the road.

But he still had time.

Sai stepped back, refusing to reach for the crown.

"I'm not ready."

The reflection's expression remained unreadable.

**"You never will be."**

Then—the mirror **shattered.**

---

### **The Third Gate**

Sai gasped as he was pulled back to reality.

The mirror was gone. The path ahead had changed again, leading to something even greater.

A vast **staircase** stretched into the void, leading to a towering **gate of pure abyssal fire.** This was different from the first two. This one wasn't waiting to be **unlocked.**

It was waiting to be **claimed.**

Sai's system **reacted instantly.**

**[Final Abyssal Trial: The Throne of Shadow Awaits.]**

The last test.

The final trial before the truth of the Abyss was his to command.

Sai let out a slow breath, flexing his fingers.

He still had time.

He still had a choice.

For now.

And so—he climbed.