Chapter 58: Descent Into the Abyss
The mist parted, revealing a **pathway of black stone**, stretching endlessly into the void. The air was heavier here, dense with abyssal energy that pulsed beneath Sai's skin like a second heartbeat. He had passed the first trial, but there was no relief. Only the promise of what lay ahead.
Sai exhaled, rolling his shoulder where the copy had cut him. The wound was still fresh, aching despite his body's unnatural ability to heal. **The Abyss had tested him once. It would do so again.**
He glanced over his shoulder, but the entrance to the gate was gone. There was no turning back. **Only forward.**
So he walked.
Each step echoed unnaturally, the sound swallowed by the vast emptiness around him. The mist swirled at the edges of his vision, shapes flickering within it—**whispers of things unseen, things forgotten.**
**You are not alone.**
Sai's fingers tensed around his daggers. He wasn't sure if the voice had come from the Abyss itself or from his own thoughts. It didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was **getting to the Second Gate.**
Then, the path **ended.**
Or rather, it **changed.**
Before him stood an **archway**, carved from abyssal stone, its surface engraved with runes he couldn't read but somehow understood. It was a threshold—not just a door, but a **passage deeper into something greater.**
His system flared to life.
**[You have reached the Second Gate.]**
**[Trial Two: The Abyss Remembers.]**
Sai inhaled sharply. **Another trial.**
He stepped forward, and the world **shifted.**
---
### **Abyssal Memory**
The first thing he noticed was **the sky.**
It wasn't the endless void of the Abyss. It was **blue.** The air was warm, the scent of rain clinging to the earth. Sai blinked in confusion. He was no longer on the abyssal path.
He was in a **city.**
Not a ruined one. Not an abandoned battlefield. But a **living, breathing city**, its streets filled with people. Market stalls lined the roads, voices rang in the air, and the buildings stood tall and whole.
Sai's stomach twisted. **This wasn't real.**
It was a **memory.**
But not his.
The whispers returned, clearer now.
**"The Abyss was not always the Abyss."**
Sai turned slowly, scanning the city. The architecture was **strange, unfamiliar.** The people walking past him didn't acknowledge his presence, as if he were a ghost moving through time.
He took a slow step forward, his boots clicking against the stone road. The people were **hunters. Warriors. Scholars.** They spoke in a language he shouldn't have understood, but somehow, the words reached him.
They weren't **afraid.**
They weren't **fighting.**
This had been a **kingdom.**
A civilization that had **existed before the Abyss became what it was.**
Sai's chest tightened.
Then—he saw **him.**
At the far end of the street, standing on a raised platform, addressing a gathered crowd, was **a man.**
Sai's breath **caught.**
Because the man **looked like him.**
Not an exact replica. **Older. Sharper. Clad in black armor lined with gold.** His presence was commanding, his voice firm but calm.
**The Betrayer.**
Sai took a step forward, drawn toward the figure, but the memory **shattered.**
The city was gone.
The people were gone.
Only the **throne remained.**
---
### **The Throne Without a King**
Sai stood before a massive **black throne**, carved from abyssal stone, its surface pulsing faintly with power.
He wasn't alone.
A figure sat upon it—**but it wasn't the Betrayer.**
It was a **corpse.**
The body was clad in dark robes, its skeletal hands resting on the arms of the throne. A **crown of jagged obsidian** rested on its head, cracked down the center. The remains of a king **long forgotten.**
Sai's stomach churned. **Who was this?**
His system responded.
**[The First Abyssal King.]**
**[The One Who Chose.]**
Sai's breath came slow and steady. **The Abyss wasn't always a force of destruction.** It had once had a **ruler. A leader.** Someone who had made a **choice.**
A whisper echoed through the empty throne room.
**"And now you must choose as well."**
The corpse's empty eyes **shifted toward him.**
And then—it **moved.**
---
### **The Dead King Rises**
The skeletal figure **stood**, abyssal energy flickering in its hollow eye sockets. Its movement was slow, deliberate, as if waking from an eternal slumber. Sai's muscles tensed, daggers in hand, but he didn't attack—**not yet.**
The dead king studied him.
Then, its voice, dry and ancient, rasped through the silence.
**"You walk the same path."**
Sai swallowed hard. "What path?"
The dead king tilted its head. **"You already know."**
The throne behind it **shuddered**, cracks forming along its surface. The mist around them thickened, pressing in like an ocean tide. Sai's instincts screamed at him—**this was part of the trial.**
He exhaled slowly. "Let me guess. I have to fight you?"
The dead king didn't move.
**"No. You have to survive me."**
Then—the world **erupted.**
---
### **The Trial of the Abyssal King**
Abyssal energy **poured** from the dead king, engulfing the throne room in pure darkness. Sai barely had time to move before the first **wave of force slammed into him,** sending him skidding across the floor.
He twisted, landing in a crouch. His daggers **glowed with abyssal light,** reacting to the sheer power radiating from the king.
Then—it **attacked.**
The dead king **didn't move like a corpse.** It moved like **a predator.** Faster than anything Sai had ever faced. **No wasted motion. No hesitation.**
Sai barely dodged the first strike, feeling the wind of it cut through the air where his head had been. He countered with Abyssal Step, flickering behind the king, his dagger **aimed for its spine—**
**But his blade passed right through.**
Sai's eyes widened.
It wasn't **fully here.**
The dead king turned, and its **hand closed around Sai's throat.**
Pain exploded through his body as abyssal energy **burned through his veins.** His system screamed warnings, but he barely registered them.
The king's hollow eyes **bored into him.**
**"You are not ready."**
Sai gritted his teeth. "Then I'll make myself ready."
Abyssal fire **flared around him**, his power **unleashing in full force.** He **broke free**, flipping backward, landing on the fractured floor.
His breath was ragged. His body ached.
But he wasn't **losing.**
Not here. Not now.
The dead king studied him once more.
Then—it **smiled.**
And the throne behind it **shattered.**
The trial was over.
Sai stood amidst the ruins, his heart pounding. His system flickered.
**[Trial Complete.]**
**[Path to the Abyssal Crown Unlocked.]**
Sai exhaled, staring at the remnants of the throne.
He didn't understand everything yet.
But he knew one thing.
**This was only the beginning.**