Chapter 3: Breaking the Chains of Fate

The abyss had long been a realm of silence, an unchanging void where forgotten gods and exiled titans lingered in eternal regret. But today, the air crackled with something unseen for millennia—change.

Rael stood at the heart of it. The once-oppressive shadows now bent to his will, and the beings that had resigned themselves to an eternity of nothingness knelt before him. Not out of obligation. Not out of fear. But out of something deeper. Recognition.

Selene stood at his side, her violet gaze unreadable. She had been the first to kneel, not because she had been defeated, but because she saw the truth—the inevitability of Rael's ascension. Yet, she was no mindless follower. No, her expression still carried that hint of amusement, that flicker of curiosity. She was watching, waiting, measuring him in ways the others could not.

Beyond them, the forgotten gods of the abyss stirred, their whispers growing louder, an undercurrent of uncertainty. Some had already submitted. Others hesitated, trapped between their long-held despair and the pull of something new.

Rael's golden eyes burned with an intensity that cut through the abyssal dark. He could feel the weight of their gazes, the unspoken questions in their minds. Would he free them? Would he lead them? Or was he just another false dawn in this forsaken place?

He turned to face them fully, his voice carrying the weight of command. "You were cast down, not because you were weak, but because they feared your strength." His words rang out, stirring something long buried in those who listened. "They called you unworthy, yet even in exile, you endure. Even in defeat, you still exist."

The abyss itself seemed to tighten around them, as if resisting the shift in power. But Rael would not be denied.

A divine pulse erupted from his form, golden light rippling outward. The ancient runes of suppression carved into the very fabric of this prison cracked, flickering under his power. The chains that had bound these deities for eons trembled.

Some of the prisoners recoiled, their disbelief evident. "You can't break the abyss," one whispered, their voice hoarse from centuries of silence. "It is eternal."

Rael took a single step forward, and the abyss shuddered. The air vibrated with raw energy as the chains holding them began to snap, one by one.

"I do not break," he said, his tone unwavering. "I take."

With those words, the final shackles shattered.

A shockwave of golden energy exploded outward, tearing through the abyss. The forgotten gods gasped as the weight that had held them down for so long vanished. They could feel it—their divinity, long suppressed, flickering to life once more. It was weak, fragile, but it was there.

For the first time in eternity, they were free.

Selene exhaled, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. "You certainly don't lack theatrics."

Rael turned to her, his smirk subtle. "Did you doubt me?"

Her violet eyes gleamed. "Doubt? No. I simply enjoy watching."

Before Rael could respond, a new shift in the abyss caught his attention. The shadows trembled—not from his power, but from something else. A presence. A will not his own.

A deep voice echoed through the darkness, ancient and vast. "Who dares defy the judgment of the Supreme Pantheon?"

The very air grew heavy, thick with a force that sought to crush all who opposed it. The freed gods stiffened, some gasping in pain as the weight of divine authority bore down upon them once more.

Rael narrowed his eyes. He knew this presence. It was not a single god, but a projection—the combined will of the Supreme Pantheon reaching into the abyss to silence him before he could rise.

Selene's expression hardened. "They move faster than I expected."

"They fear me more than you expected," Rael corrected, stepping forward. His golden aura flared in defiance, pushing back against the oppressive force pressing down on them.

A figure coalesced before him, formed of divine energy. A faceless, armored colossus—a manifestation of the Pantheon's authority. It gazed down upon Rael with neither hatred nor anger. Only judgment.

"You were cast into the abyss for a reason," it intoned, its voice layered with the power of countless gods. "You were meant to be forgotten."

Rael smirked. "And yet, here I stand."

The colossus raised an ethereal blade, the weight of divine law condensing around it. "Return to nothingness."

A single step forward, and the abyss itself fractured.

The force of the attack sent the freed gods staggering. Even Selene's normally poised expression faltered, her hands lifting to shield herself from the sheer intensity of the Pantheon's decree.

But Rael? He did not flinch.

He raised his arm, golden energy coiling around him like a living storm. The divine blade descended, crashing against his defense—only to halt, caught mid-air by his hand.

A stunned silence followed.

The Pantheon's will—absolute and unchallenged for eons—had been stopped.

Rael tightened his grip, cracks spiderwebbing along the weapon's surface. His smirk widened, and when he spoke, his voice was soft, yet it carried more weight than the decree of the gods themselves.

"Your laws do not bind me."

The blade shattered.

A shockwave of raw power erupted from the clash, tearing through the abyss. The colossus staggered back, its form flickering. For the first time in eternity, the Supreme Pantheon's decree had been defied.

Rael did not give it time to recover. He moved, faster than thought, golden energy crackling as he thrust his palm forward. His power surged, latching onto the fading remnants of the Supreme Pantheon's projection.

And then, he crushed it.

The abyss trembled violently, as if recoiling from what had just transpired. The presence of the Supreme Pantheon faded, its attempt to suppress him shattered by his will alone.

Silence followed.

Then, slowly, Selene exhaled. "Well," she murmured, her lips curling upward, "you certainly know how to make an impression."

Rael lowered his hand, his golden irises gleaming. "I'm just getting started."

The freed gods stared at him in a mixture of awe and terror. They had seen the Supreme Pantheon pass judgment before, and none had ever stood against it. None had ever won.

Until now.

Rael turned away from the remnants of the colossus, his focus shifting to the far end of the abyss. The invisible barrier that had sealed this realm for eternity was weakening. He could feel it.

It was time.

He looked back at Selene. "Are you coming?"

She chuckled. "After that? You'd have to kill me to stop me."

Rael grinned, then raised his hand. A crack split through the darkness, widening into a rift.

Beyond it, a world that had long forgotten his name awaited.

He stepped forward, the first to cross. Behind him, his first followers followed, gods reborn in his shadow.

The abyss had been his prison.

Now, it was his first conquest.

And soon, the heavens themselves would bow.