Chapter 60: The Final Trial
The abyssal staircase stretched endlessly before Sai, spiraling upward into the darkness. Each step felt heavier than the last, as if the weight of the Abyss itself was pressing down on him, testing his resolve. The gate at the top pulsed with abyssal fire, a beacon in the void, waiting for him to claim what lay beyond.
Sai exhaled, steadying his breathing. He had passed the first two trials. He had seen the Abyssal Kingdom before its fall. He had faced his own reflection, a future that threatened to consume him. But this? **This was the final step.**
His system pulsed.
**[Final Abyssal Trial: The Throne of Shadow Awaits.]**
Sai's fingers curled into fists. **A throne.** The words made his stomach twist. He had never wanted power, never sought to rule, but the Abyss kept pushing him toward it, whispering that this was inevitable.
He forced himself to move forward.
Each step sent a ripple through the abyssal mist, the shadows around him shifting like unseen figures watching from the void. The whispers were back, faint but **constant**, voices pressing against his mind.
**"He comes."**
**"The Abyss chooses."**
**"Will he claim or will he fall?"**
Sai gritted his teeth. He wasn't here to be a puppet. He would finish this on his own terms.
Then—**he reached the top.**
The Abyssal Gate stood before him, massive and alive, its flames shifting between darkness and golden fire.
Sai inhaled sharply.
Then—**he stepped through.**
---
### **The Throne Room of the Abyss**
The moment Sai crossed the threshold, the world **shifted.**
The darkness **gave way to light.**
He was standing in a throne room—not in ruins, not broken, but **whole.** Towering pillars stretched toward a sky that didn't exist, lined with **symbols of a forgotten kingdom.** The air was heavy with power, and at the center of it all, on a raised platform of black stone, stood **the throne.**
A throne of pure abyssal energy.
Sai's breath hitched. **This was the Abyss before it fell.**
A deep voice echoed through the chamber.
**"You have come."**
Sai turned sharply.
And there, standing beside the throne, was a **man.**
Not a creature, not a shadow, not an illusion. A **man.**
Dressed in dark armor lined with gold, a presence so overwhelming it made the air tremble. He was not young, but not old, his black hair streaked with silver. His golden abyssal eyes burned with something beyond power—**something absolute.**
Sai knew **exactly who he was looking at.**
The Betrayer.
Sai's fingers twitched toward his daggers, instincts screaming at him to be ready.
But the Betrayer simply watched him, expression unreadable.
Then—**he smiled.**
"Finally."
Sai's pulse pounded. "You were expecting me."
The Betrayer nodded. "Of course."
Sai narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
The Betrayer exhaled, stepping closer. "Because I was once you."
---
### **The Weight of Truth**
Sai's breath caught, but he didn't move. He didn't want to believe the words, but deep down, **he already knew.**
The resemblance. The voice in the visions. The warnings that he was following the same path.
The Betrayer wasn't just a legend.
He was the **first Abyssal Heir.**
And Sai was walking the same road he had once taken.
Sai forced himself to speak. "Then tell me. What happened to you?"
The Betrayer's gaze darkened. "I chose."
Sai clenched his jaw. "Chose what?"
The Betrayer turned toward the throne, his voice quieter now.
"The Abyss does not simply exist. It is shaped. Molded by its ruler. It is not a force of chaos. It is a kingdom without a king."
His golden eyes flickered toward Sai. "And now, it calls for you."
Sai's heart pounded. "And if I refuse?"
The Betrayer smiled, but there was no humor in it.
"Then it will take you anyway."
The room **shuddered.**
The Abyss **responded.**
And Sai realized—**this was the true trial.**
It wasn't about winning a fight. It wasn't about passing a test.
It was about making a **choice.**
---
### **The Abyss Demands a King**
The shadows deepened. The throne pulsed, abyssal fire rising higher.
Sai's system flickered with new warnings.
**[Final Trial Activated: Claim or Be Claimed.]**
The Betrayer stepped aside, gesturing toward the throne. "Sit, and the Abyss is yours. Resist, and it will consume you."
Sai's fists clenched. **He wasn't ready.**
But the Abyss **didn't care.**
The throne room **shook violently**, and suddenly, Sai felt **something pulling him forward.**
A force, unseen but impossible to resist.
It was **dragging him toward the throne.**
Sai struggled, fighting against the pull, but the moment his boot touched the first step, **his mind shattered.**
---
### **A Glimpse of the End**
A city in ruins.
The Abyss, spilling into the real world, devouring everything.
And at the center of it all—
**Himself.**
Sitting on the throne. Crowned in abyssal fire. Watching as the world burned.
The vision **ripped through his mind**, and suddenly, he was back in the throne room, his body trembling, his breath ragged.
The Betrayer watched him carefully. "Do you see it now?"
Sai swallowed hard. **He had seen the truth.**
The Abyss didn't just want a ruler.
It wanted a **weapon.**
A king to wield its power, to spread its reach, to **finish what the Betrayer started.**
And if Sai took that throne, he knew—**he would not be the same person when he stood up.**
His voice came out hoarse. "What happens if I walk away?"
The Betrayer's expression darkened. "Then the Abyss will choose for you."
The throne pulsed, abyssal mist rising from its surface.
The choice was now.
**Claim it.**
Or be **consumed by it.**
Sai clenched his fists, staring at the throne. He could feel its power calling to him, whispering that this was **meant to be.**
That this was his **fate.**
He took a slow breath.
Then—**he made his choice.**
The Abyss **roared.**
And the world **changed forever.**