Chapter 75
Sai **fell.**
Not down. Not toward anything.
Just—**into.**
The Abyss **swallowed him whole**, the weight of its presence pressing against his body, his bones, his mind. The darkness wasn't cold, wasn't hot—**it simply was.** A vast, endless nothingness that **should have terrified him.**
But Sai didn't scream.
Because he understood now.
This wasn't a **prison.**
It was a **question.**
And for the first time—**he had an answer.**
The black mist **curled around him**, shifting, moving, but Sai didn't resist. He let it **carry him deeper.**
And suddenly—he wasn't falling anymore.
He was **standing.**
---
### **The Abyssal Plane**
The moment Sai's feet touched solid ground, he **felt it.**
Not stone.
Not earth.
Just… **existence.**
A space beyond the throne room, beyond the Abyss itself.
A place that **wasn't supposed to be.**
The darkness stretched infinitely, yet there was **light.**
Not golden.
Not abyssal.
Something **new.**
And at the center of it all—
A single **figure.**
Sai's breath caught.
It wasn't the King.
It wasn't the golden-eyed version of himself.
It was **something else.**
A man stood before him, clad in simple black robes. No armor. No weapons. His hair was long and dark, streaked with silver at the edges. His eyes were abyssal gold, but **not burning.** Not overwhelming.
Just **watching.**
Sai exhaled slowly. "Who are you?"
The man smiled faintly.
"You already know."
Sai's **fingers twitched.** His body felt weightless, yet **heavy.** Like something inside him was shifting, realigning itself to the **truth.**
And then—**he knew.**
His jaw clenched. "You're the first Abyssal King."
The man inclined his head slightly. "Yes."
Sai took a step forward. "Then tell me—what the hell is this? What is the Abyss really?"
The First King exhaled softly, his gaze shifting toward the endless horizon. "The Abyss was never meant to exist."
Sai frowned. "What?"
The First King's golden eyes flickered. "It was not created. It was **born.** A wound in reality. A tear in what should have been."
Sai's heart **pounded.**
A **wound.**
Just like the golden-eyed Sai had told him.
The First King turned back toward him. "For thousands of years, the Abyss has tried to fix itself. To find an answer to what it is."
Sai exhaled sharply. "And?"
The First King's gaze locked onto his.
"It chooses rulers."
Sai's stomach **tightened.**
The King continued, his voice calm. "Each ruler is given a choice. To control it. To destroy it. To use it. Or—"
He tilted his head slightly.
"To change it."
Sai's breath hitched.
The First King **watched him carefully.** "You are the first one to reject the throne and still be standing."
Sai frowned. "So what does that mean?"
The First King smiled faintly. "It means the Abyss is waiting for you to decide."
---
### **The Choice**
Sai's chest **tightened.**
The Abyss had been **testing him from the beginning.**
Every gate. Every trial. Every fight.
Not to kill him.
Not to break him.
But to **see what he would do.**
And now—**it was his turn to decide.**
He let out a slow breath, his mind racing.
He could take the throne. Rule like the others before him. Keep the Abyss from consuming everything.
But then—**nothing would change.**
He could destroy it. Burn it all down.
But then—**the wound would be unsealed.**
The world would fall apart.
And then, an idea **formed.**
A new path.
A path no one had taken before.
His golden abyssal eyes **hardened.**
Sai exhaled.
And **he made his choice.**
---
### **Rewriting Fate**
The Abyss **shuddered violently.**
The First King's eyes widened slightly.
The black mist **rushed toward Sai**, trying to **consume him,** trying to **force him into a decision already made.**
But Sai **stood firm.**
He didn't push back.
He didn't resist.
Instead—**he reached out.**
And the Abyss **stilled.**
The darkness **froze mid-motion**, the tendrils of mist **curling around his fingertips but not pulling him under.**
Because this time—**he wasn't fighting it.**
He was **accepting it.**
Not as a curse.
Not as a prison.
But as **part of him.**
The moment he did—**the Abyss obeyed.**
The darkness **shifted, rippled.**
For the first time—**it listened.**
Sai took a slow breath.
And then—**he reshaped it.**
The Abyss **roared.**
The world **cracked.**
And everything **changed.**
---
### **The Awakening**
Sai gasped as he **snapped back into the throne room.**
His body **burned** with abyssal fire, his veins **thrumming with power.**
But he wasn't the same.
The throne **no longer called to him.**
Because he had **become something greater.**
The golden-eyed Sai stood across from him, watching in silence.
Sai exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "I get it now."
The King tilted his head slightly. "Do you?"
Sai smirked.
"I'm not taking the throne."
The palace **shuddered.**
The mist **coiled violently**, as if rejecting his words.
But Sai **lifted his hand.**
And **it stopped.**
The golden-eyed Sai's eyes **narrowed.**
Sai's smirk widened.
"I'm not rejecting the Abyss. I'm not ruling it. I'm **changing it.**"
The throne **cracked.**
The black stone **fractured**, the abyssal fire flickering wildly.
Because the Abyss had **never considered that answer before.**
The King exhaled. Then—**he smiled.**
And for the first time, Sai saw it.
Not arrogance.
Not amusement.
But **relief.**
"Then it's yours now."
Sai's breath hitched.
The golden-eyed Sai **stepped forward**, his form **already beginning to fade.**
"You figured it out," he murmured. "You don't need the throne."
The mist **coiled around him**, swallowing his body piece by piece.
"Because now… you are the Abyss."
Sai's chest **tightened.**
The golden-eyed Sai **vanished completely.**
And the throne **shattered into dust.**
---
### **The New Abyss**
Silence.
Sai exhaled, running a **hand through his hair.** His fingers trembled slightly, his heart **still racing.**
The others stood frozen in the ruins of the throne room, staring at him.
Lena spoke first, her voice **quiet.**
"Sai… what the hell just happened?"
Sai slowly turned toward them.
The abyssal mist **still coiled around his arms**, but it wasn't **pulling him under anymore.**
It wasn't a curse.
It was **his.**
His smirk was slow, but certain.
"I think…" he murmured, stretching his fingers, feeling the Abyss **bend at his command.**
"…I just rewrote the rules."
The Abyss **rippled.**
And for the first time—it didn't fight him.
It **followed.**