Chapter 6: The Abyss Beckons

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The silence of the catacombs stretched endlessly. The echoes of Eden's battle with the Inquisitor had long faded, but the weight of victory sat heavily on his shoulders. His fingers flexed around the hilt of his sword, still slick with the remnants of his enemy's essence. Though the battle had been won, the war had only just begun.

Azrael's words lingered in his mind. "This isn't over. The game has only just begun."

Eden exhaled sharply, forcing himself to move forward. Every step was a reminder of the battle's toll—his ribs ached, his muscles screamed for rest, but something deeper, something within, kept him moving. The abyss whispered in his ear, a silent hunger clawing at the edges of his mind. It had given him power, but at what cost?

You were not chosen. You were forged.

The voice slithered through his thoughts, as cold as the void itself. Eden had heard it before, in moments of desperation, when the abyss had offered him strength. Now, it felt closer, more present, like it was no longer a separate entity but something intertwined with his very existence.

He ignored it.

Ahead, the passage twisted, narrowing into a jagged corridor of obsidian stone. Strange symbols pulsed faintly on the walls, their dark light illuminating the path forward. Eden traced a hand across them as he walked, feeling the ancient power etched into the rock. This place was older than time itself. It was not a grave—it was a gateway.

He emerged into a massive chamber, the ceiling lost in darkness. At its center, a monolithic structure loomed—a doorway of shifting void energy, tendrils of darkness spiraling outward like grasping fingers.

Azrael stood before it, his silhouette barely discernible against the pulsating blackness. His wings, now folded tightly against his back, shimmered with an ethereal glow. When he turned, his golden eyes bore into Eden with an intensity that sent a chill through his spine.

"You took longer than I expected," Azrael remarked.

Eden scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "I was busy killing your friend."

Azrael chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "The Inquisitor was never my friend. He was a pawn, much like the others who will come after him."

Eden frowned. "Others?"

Azrael gestured toward the doorway. "The Abyss is not the only force at play. There are more… entities, each with their own champions. The battle you fought was merely the first step."

Eden narrowed his eyes. "And where does this lead?" He pointed to the void doorway, the tendrils of energy shifting ominously.

Azrael's expression darkened. "To the next stage."

Eden didn't flinch. "What's on the other side?"

Azrael took a slow breath before answering. "A world unlike any you've seen. A world where war is endless, where the strong devour the weak, and where you will find the answers you seek." He paused. "If you survive."

Eden smirked, the exhaustion in his body momentarily forgotten. "Sounds like my kind of place."

Azrael studied him for a moment before stepping aside, allowing Eden a clear view of the abyssal gateway. "Then step through, mercenary. And welcome to the true battlefield."

Eden took a final glance at the ruins behind him—the remnants of his old battle. He had walked through fire, through blood, through death itself to reach this moment. There was no turning back.

With a steady breath, he stepped forward and let the abyss take him.

Darkness enveloped Eden the moment he stepped through the abyssal gate. It wasn't the absence of light—it was something deeper, something alive. It coiled around him, whispering in voices he couldn't understand. He felt weightless, as if he were falling through the void itself.

Then, pain.

A crushing force gripped his chest, dragging him downward. The whispers grew louder, overlapping until they became an unbearable roar. His instincts screamed at him to fight back, to claw his way out, but there was nothing to grasp—only the abyss, endless and unrelenting.

You belong to us now, the voices hissed. You are one of many. You are nothing.

Eden gritted his teeth. I am not nothing.

The abyss laughed.

Then, with a violent pull, the darkness spat him out.

Eden slammed into solid ground, the impact knocking the air from his lungs. He rolled onto his side, coughing, trying to steady his breathing. The world around him was… different.

The sky above was fractured, great cracks of crimson energy splitting the heavens apart. The ground beneath him was a mix of blackened stone and glowing veins of something molten. Towering structures loomed in the distance, their architecture alien—jagged spires twisted unnaturally, as if reality itself had warped them.

A battlefield.

Figures moved across the ruined landscape, distant but unmistakable. Armored warriors clashed in brutal combat, their weapons sending arcs of energy through the air. Some wielded magic that bent space itself, while others fought with monstrous strength, tearing through their enemies like paper.

Eden pushed himself up, his senses still reeling. His body ached from the transition, but he had no time to rest. Instinct told him he wasn't alone.

A presence loomed behind him.

He turned just in time to see a figure step out from the shadows—a warrior clad in obsidian armor, their face hidden behind a mask resembling a screaming skull. Twin curved blades hung at their sides, dripping with an eerie, greenish mist.

The warrior tilted their head, studying Eden. Then, without a word, they moved.

Eden barely reacted in time. He threw himself backward as the twin blades sliced through the space he had occupied a second ago. The warrior was fast, unnaturally so. Their movements were fluid, precise—no wasted motion.

Eden landed in a crouch, his fingers already forming the sigils for a spell. The abyssal power within him flared, darkness gathering at his fingertips. But before he could release it, the warrior was on him again.

A blade came for his throat. Eden twisted, letting it pass by a fraction of an inch. The second blade followed immediately, aimed at his heart. He had no time to counter—he could only evade.

This wasn't just an enemy. This was a hunter.

The realization sent a thrill through him. He hadn't felt a challenge like this in a long time.

A grin tugged at the corners of his lips. "Alright," he muttered, summoning his sword into existence. "Let's see what you've got."

The warrior paused, as if acknowledging the challenge. Then, they attacked with even greater speed.

The battle had begun.

Eden's grip tightened around his sword as the hunter moved like a shadow, their curved blades singing through the air. Their speed was relentless, each attack fluid, their precision bordering on supernatural. Eden had fought monsters, assassins, and warlords, but this… this was different.

The first blade came for his ribs. He parried, feeling the force reverberate up his arm. The second followed immediately, aimed at his exposed throat. Eden ducked, twisting his body to avoid the lethal arc.

A fraction of a second too slow.

A thin line of crimson appeared on his neck. The hunter had drawn first blood.

Damn. Eden didn't have the luxury of admiring their skill. He countered with a vicious slash, aiming to force them back, but they sidestepped with inhuman agility.

The hunter pressed forward, never giving him an inch. Their movements were a dance of death—no wasted motion, no hesitation. Each step was calculated, each strike perfectly executed. Eden barely managed to keep up, his sword clashing against theirs in a flurry of sparks.

Then, the hunter changed tactics.

They feinted, drawing Eden's sword up to block an incoming slash—only to pivot mid-motion, dropping low and sweeping his legs out from under him.

Eden hit the ground hard.

Before he could recover, the hunter was already upon him, one blade raised for the finishing blow.

His instincts screamed.

Eden's free hand shot out, fingers twisting into a complex sigil. Abyssal energy surged through his veins, responding to his call.

Shadow Step.

Darkness swallowed him whole.

The hunter's blade slammed into empty stone.

Eden reappeared behind them, breathing heavily. He didn't hesitate—he struck, his sword slicing through the air in a brutal arc.

For the first time, the hunter was forced to defend.

Their twin blades met his in a shower of sparks, but the sheer force of Eden's attack sent them skidding backward. They landed in a crouch, their masked face tilting slightly, as if reassessing the battle.

Eden exhaled slowly, his muscles burning. "Not bad," he admitted, wiping the blood from his neck. "But I'm done playing."

The hunter stood, rolling their shoulders. Then, for the first time, they spoke.

"You are worthy," they said, their voice distorted, layered as if multiple beings spoke at once. "The Trial of the Abyss acknowledges you."

Eden's eyes narrowed. Trial?

Before he could respond, the ground beneath him shifted.

A deep, guttural roar echoed through the battlefield. The air vibrated with an unseen force, and the shadows around them coiled, writhing like living things.

The hunter stepped back, sheathing their blades. "Survive," they intoned. "And the Abyss shall accept you."

Eden turned just in time to see something rise from the molten veins beneath the battlefield.

It was massive—easily twenty feet tall, its body a grotesque amalgamation of flesh and shadow, multiple eyes blinking across its shifting form. Its maw opened, revealing rows of jagged teeth, and it let out another roar that sent tremors through the ground.

The abyss had given him a challenge.

Eden grinned, raising his sword. "Alright then," he muttered. "Let's see if you can kill me."

And the beast lunged.

The ground shattered beneath Eden as the abyssal beast lunged, its massive claws slicing through the air. He barely had time to react, throwing himself to the side as the impact sent jagged cracks radiating through the battlefield. The force alone was enough to lift chunks of molten stone, sending them flying in all directions.

Eden rolled across the uneven terrain, heat searing his exposed skin. He came to a stop, his sword raised, eyes locked on the monstrosity before him. The thing was unlike any creature he had ever faced. Its form constantly shifted—muscles bulging, limbs elongating and retracting, dozens of burning eyes sprouting and vanishing across its grotesque frame.

And then it spoke.

A voice that wasn't a voice, an amalgamation of screams and whispers, directly inside his mind.

"You do not belong here, mortal."

Eden's grin widened. "Yeah? Then try and make me leave."

The beast howled—a sound that sent a physical shockwave rippling outward. Eden barely had time to brace before he was lifted off his feet, sent hurtling through the air. He twisted mid-flight, calling upon the abyssal energy within him. Shadows erupted around him, twisting into tendrils that latched onto the broken landscape, slamming him back down before he could be thrown too far.

He landed in a crouch, the force sending another wave of pain through his already battered body. But he ignored it. Pain was secondary. Victory was all that mattered.

The beast was already charging again.

Eden's mind worked fast. Physical attacks won't work. It adapts. I need to break it.

He slammed his free hand against the ground.

Devouring Sigil—Chains of Ruin.

The battlefield reacted. Black, crackling energy surged from the molten veins, forming massive abyssal chains that shot toward the beast. They coiled around its limbs, locking into place, burning into its flesh like branding iron.

The beast roared, its shifting form distorting violently. The chains held, but barely.

Eden didn't wait. He moved.

He sprinted toward the restrained monster, sword pulsing with abyssal energy. He leaped, twisting mid-air, aiming directly for its exposed core.

But the beast was already adapting.

A dozen new arms burst from its torso, writhing and clawing. Eden barely managed to deflect the first, twisting to avoid the second—but the third caught him mid-air, its grip like a steel vice.

Pain exploded in his ribs.

The beast slammed him into the ground. Once. Twice. A third time.

Eden felt something crack. Blood filled his mouth. His vision blurred for a fraction of a second. But his mind remained sharp.

As the beast prepared to finish him, he let go.

He stopped resisting.

And the abyss answered.

A surge of pure darkness erupted from his body, a pulse of energy that tore through the battlefield. The beast screamed, recoiling as the abyss devoured the limbs holding him.

Eden landed on his feet, swaying slightly. His own power was beginning to take a toll—but he wasn't done yet.

He tightened his grip on his sword, abyssal energy now coursing violently through its blade. The power he had once feared now embraced him.

The beast shrieked, reforming itself, but Eden was already moving.

A single step. Then another.

And then—he vanished.

Abyssal Step.

He reappeared behind the monster, his sword already descending.

Dark Severance.

A slash of pure void energy tore through the beast's form.

Silence.

Then—the creature split apart.

For the first time, the battlefield was quiet. The abyssal beast—one of the guardians of this forsaken world—collapsed into nothingness, its very essence devoured by the void.

Eden exhaled, wiping the blood from his lips. "One down," he muttered. "What's next?"

Behind him, the masked hunter observed in silence.

And then, slowly, they bowed.

The battlefield was silent. The abyssal beast—once an unstoppable force—was now reduced to nothing but fading echoes in the void. The molten veins beneath Eden's feet pulsed like a dying heart, the ground trembling in the aftermath of his attack.

He exhaled, his breath ragged. The battle had drained him more than he expected. The abyssal energy he had unleashed still clung to him, writhing like a living thing, reluctant to retreat.

Then, movement.

The masked hunter—his would-be executioner—remained still for a moment, their expression unreadable behind the eerie skull-like mask. But then, slowly, they did something unexpected.

They bowed.

It wasn't an act of submission, nor one of defeat. It was recognition. A warrior's respect.

Eden narrowed his eyes. "What's this supposed to mean?"

The hunter straightened, their voice a whisper layered with echoes. "You have been acknowledged."

Before Eden could question further, a deep, resonant sound filled the battlefield. A vibration, like the tolling of an ancient bell. The fractured sky above shifted, its crimson cracks widening as a surge of power rippled through the air.

Something was coming.

The hunter took a step back, raising their head toward the heavens. "The Abyss has accepted you," they murmured. "But you are not yet free."

Eden tensed. "Not free?"

The ground beneath him trembled. The molten veins flared violently, and suddenly, the battlefield itself began to change. The very fabric of reality twisted, the structures in the distance contorting and stretching like they were being rewritten.

The hunter gestured toward the shifting landscape. "This is the second trial."

Eden scowled. "Of course there's a second trial."

The tolling sound rang out again, and this time, figures emerged from the cracks in reality. Shadowy forms, humanoid but… wrong. Their limbs elongated and retracted unnaturally, their faces featureless except for hollow voids where eyes should be.

One by one, they stepped forward.

Dozens. No—hundreds.

Eden rolled his shoulders, exhaustion gnawing at the edges of his mind. He wasn't at full strength. The last fight had drained him. But he didn't have a choice.

He tightened his grip on his sword, abyssal energy crackling along its edge. "Alright," he muttered, flashing a bloodstained grin. "Let's make this quick."

The first shadow lunged.

Eden moved.

He met the creature head-on, his sword carving through its form in a single, precise strike. The shadow shrieked, dissipating into nothingness. But the others didn't hesitate. They swarmed him from all sides, moving with unnatural speed, their clawed hands reaching for his flesh.

Eden twisted, his movements fluid despite his exhaustion. His blade became an extension of his will, cutting through the oncoming horde with ruthless efficiency. But for every shadow he struck down, more took its place.

They weren't slowing down.

Eden clicked his tongue. "This is getting annoying."

Then, he felt it.

A shift in the air. A presence unlike the others.

His instincts screamed.

He turned—just in time to see something emerge from the abyssal rift forming above him.

A figure.

Clad in blackened armor, their presence was suffocating. Their very existence radiated an overwhelming pressure, like gravity itself had intensified around them. Their face was obscured by a jagged helm, their eyes burning with the same abyssal energy that coursed through Eden's veins.

A challenger.

The hunter, still watching from a distance, spoke once more.

"This is your final test," they said. "Prove yourself… or be consumed."

Eden exhaled, his grip tightening.

He was tired. Wounded. Outnumbered.

And yet—he smiled.

Finally, a real fight.

The armored figure raised a massive blade, abyssal energy surging along its edge. Then, without warning—

They charged.

And Eden met them head-on.

The world tore apart as Eden and the abyssal warrior clashed.

Their blades met with a force that sent shockwaves rippling through the battlefield, shattering the molten ground beneath them. Eden felt his arms tremble under the sheer weight of the impact. This wasn't like the mindless shadows he had been cutting down—this warrior was different. Stronger.

Eden gritted his teeth and pushed back. Sparks flew as their swords locked, abyssal energy colliding with abyssal energy. For a moment, time seemed to pause—two forces of destruction locked in an unyielding struggle.

Then the abyssal warrior vanished.

Eden's instincts screamed. He spun just in time to block a strike from behind. But the force sent him skidding backward, his boots digging into the scorched earth.

He barely had a second to breathe before the warrior was on him again.

A flurry of attacks—relentless, precise, merciless. Eden barely deflected each one, his movements pushed to their limit. His mind raced, analyzing, calculating. This warrior wasn't just strong. They were fast. Tactical. Every strike forced him into a worse position.

Eden blocked another blow, but his body screamed in protest. He was still drained from the last fight. His abyssal energy hadn't fully recovered. If this kept up—

No. Focus.

He had fought stronger. Survived worse.

He just had to find an opening.

The warrior lunged again, their massive sword arcing toward his head. Instead of blocking, Eden dropped—his body moving purely on instinct. The blade whistled past him, cleaving through empty air.

His chance.

Eden shot forward, twisting mid-motion. His sword became a blur of abyssal light, slashing toward the warrior's exposed side.

The strike landed.

But instead of cutting flesh—his blade stopped.

A barrier. A layer of abyssal energy hardened around the warrior's armor, absorbing the attack.

Eden's eyes widened.

Then pain.

A fist slammed into his gut. The force sent him flying. He crashed into the broken earth, skidding across the battlefield before slamming into a jagged rock formation. Blood filled his mouth. His ribs felt like they had cracked.

He barely had time to recover before the warrior was already upon him, their sword descending like an executioner's guillotine.

Move.

Eden forced his battered body to roll, narrowly avoiding the blade as it split the rock behind him in half.

He needed a new approach. A direct fight wasn't going to cut it. Not against this.

Eden coughed, forcing himself to his feet. The abyss within him stirred, whispering, urging him forward. His exhaustion was meaningless. His wounds were nothing. He had come too far to fall now.

The warrior turned to face him again, abyssal energy crackling around their body like living shadows.

Eden exhaled, a slow grin forming.

"Alright," he muttered, wiping the blood from his lips. "My turn."

He raised his free hand. The abyss answered.

The battlefield shuddered.

Darkness surged from Eden's fingertips, twisting and coiling into jagged tendrils of void energy. The ground beneath him cracked, consumed by the abyssal power that now radiated from his very being.

The warrior hesitated. Only for a fraction of a second.

But it was enough.

Eden moved.

Abyssal Step.

He vanished—reappearing directly above the warrior, his blade descending in an arc of pure destruction.

This time, the warrior wasn't fast enough to block.

The sword struck their armor—cracks splintering across its surface. The warrior staggered. Eden didn't let up. He twisted, driving his knee into their helmeted face, sending them crashing backward.

The abyss howled. Eden's power surged.

No more hesitation.

He raised his sword, abyssal energy roaring to life. The air itself trembled under the weight of his next attack.

The final blow.

The abyssal warrior slowly rose, their shattered armor barely holding together. Their burning eyes locked onto Eden's. No words were spoken. No plea for mercy.

Just two warriors—one final clash.

Eden swung.

The battlefield erupted.

Darkness swallowed everything.

The world drowned in darkness.

The moment Eden's blade connected, an abyssal explosion tore through the battlefield, swallowing everything in an inescapable void. The force sent shockwaves through the sky itself, distorting reality as if the very fabric of existence was protesting against the sheer intensity of his strike.

Then—silence.

The battlefield was gone.

Or rather, it had been remade.

Eden exhaled sharply, his vision flickering. His body screamed in exhaustion, but he forced himself to remain standing. The void around him began to recede, the swirling abyss unraveling like a shattered illusion.

And there—amid the dissipating darkness—stood the abyssal warrior.

Or what was left of them.

Their armor was ruined, shattered beyond repair. The void energy that once radiated from their form flickered weakly, barely clinging to existence. They staggered, struggling to remain upright.

And yet—Eden saw it.

Their eyes still burned.

Even in defeat, they refused to fall.

Eden's grip tightened on his sword. He could barely stand himself, but he had to finish this. One final strike. One last decisive blow.

The warrior straightened, their massive blade now cracked and faltering. But instead of charging, they did something unexpected.

They laughed.

A deep, guttural sound that echoed through the ruined battlefield.

Eden frowned. "Something funny?"

The warrior took a slow, unsteady step forward. "You… are different." Their voice was strained, laced with pain, yet filled with something else. Admiration? Anticipation?

Eden narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

The warrior exhaled. Then, with deliberate slowness, they lifted their sword—only to stab it into the ground. The weapon crumbled into dust, abyssal energy dispersing into the void.

A surrender.

Eden remained tense. Was this a trick? A final desperate attempt to catch him off guard?

But the warrior simply knelt, resting one hand against their shattered chestplate. Their abyssal eyes flickered, dimming like a dying star.

"The Abyss… has chosen you."

Eden's pulse quickened. "What the hell does that mean?"

The warrior didn't answer. Instead, they raised a single hand. And in that moment—

The entire dimension trembled.

A surge of energy erupted beneath Eden's feet. The battlefield twisted, reconfiguring itself, the broken terrain shifting into something new.

And then, the sky split apart.

A massive abyssal rift opened above them, swallowing the crimson heavens. From within, an overwhelming presence emerged—a force so immense that Eden instinctively raised his sword, every fiber of his being screaming danger.

The true test had just begun.

The abyss had accepted him.

But what had he truly been chosen for?

The void whispered, and Eden had no choice but to listen.

The abyss spoke.

Its voice was not a sound, nor a whisper, nor a scream—it was a presence. A weight that pressed against Eden's very soul, as if the universe itself had turned its attention to him.

The rift above expanded, swallowing what remained of the sky. Eden could feel something waiting beyond it. Something vast. Something incomprehensible.

His instincts screamed at him to run.

But there was nowhere to go.

The abyssal warrior—what remained of them—knelt motionless before him. Their form flickered, unraveling piece by piece, like a candle burning out. And yet, those abyssal eyes still watched him.

"The Abyss does not choose lightly," the warrior murmured, their voice distant, fading. "You stand at the threshold."

Eden clenched his jaw. His body was barely holding together. Every limb ached, his vision blurred at the edges. And yet—he remained standing.

The threshold?

The void shifted.

A pulse of power surged from the rift. The ground beneath Eden's feet cracked, ancient symbols igniting in a deep violet glow.

Then—chains.

They erupted from the abyss, coiling around his limbs, wrapping around his torso, pulling him toward the rift.

Eden struggled, instincts roaring, but the chains weren't physical. They weren't something he could cut.

They bound something deeper.

His soul.

A trial, then.

Eden exhaled sharply, tightening his grip on his sword. Fine. He had faced worse.

He let the abyss pull him in.

—

The world vanished.

Darkness.

Then—a voice.

Not the abyss this time.

Something older.

"Prove yourself."

A flash.

Eden opened his eyes and found himself standing somewhere else.

A vast arena stretched before him—not of this world. Towering structures of obsidian and bone, twisting into the sky. Floating chains suspended in the air, moving as if alive. A crimson sun loomed overhead, casting a dim, bloodstained glow across the battlefield.

And before him—

Ten figures.

Each radiating power.

Each watching him.

A single throne stood at the far end of the arena. And upon it, a presence sat—one that made even the abyssal warrior seem insignificant.

A voice rumbled across the void.

"The Abyss grants power… only to those who earn it."

The figures stepped forward. Their forms were obscured—some cloaked in flame, others wreathed in shadow. Each carried a weapon unlike anything Eden had ever seen.

His heart pounded.

A test.

He exhaled, rolling his shoulders. His exhaustion remained. His body still ached. But none of that mattered.

Eden raised his sword, abyssal energy flaring to life.

"Alright then," he muttered.

"Come and take me."

The abyss watched.

Eden stood alone, facing the ten figures—each radiating a presence so overwhelming it felt like the weight of an entire dimension pressing against his soul. These weren't ordinary beings. They weren't even warriors.

They were chosen.

Abyss-forged.

The voice from the throne rumbled again, shaking the very air.

"Survive."

The moment the word was spoken, the figures moved.

Not like normal combatants. Not like humans.

They blinked forward—each one appearing from multiple angles at once, phasing in and out of existence.

Eden reacted on pure instinct.

Abyssal Step.

He vanished, reappearing high above the battlefield. But before he could even breathe, one of the figures was already there. A massive scythe carved through the air where his neck had been a fraction of a second ago.

Eden twisted midair, deflecting the strike with a sharp flick of his blade. The impact sent him hurtling downward. He crashed into the obsidian floor below, rolling to lessen the impact.

No time to recover.

Another opponent was already lunging. A hulking figure, twice his size, its body a living void of shifting shadows. A warhammer in its hands.

Eden sidestepped. Barely.

The hammer obliterated the ground where he had been, sending a shockwave across the battlefield.

He felt a presence behind him. Two more.

His mind raced. They're not attacking randomly.

It was a test.

A trial of survival.

They weren't just trying to kill him. They were measuring his reaction speed. His instincts. His ability to read death itself.

Eden exhaled sharply. Fine. If this was a test—then he'd make sure they never forgot his name.

The abyss within him stirred.

He shifted his stance. Lowered his blade. And then—

He vanished.

Abyssal Echo.

He split into three.

His afterimages blurred across the battlefield, each moving unpredictably. Two figures slashed at his echoes, their weapons phasing through air—fake.

The real Eden appeared behind the scythe-wielder, blade flashing toward their spine.

But before his attack could land—

A hand caught his wrist.

Cold. Inhuman. Unstoppable.

The figure turned. A mask of shifting void, staring straight into Eden's eyes.

The next moment—

A fist slammed into his gut.

Pain.

A flood of abyssal energy surged through his body, sending him flying across the battlefield like a broken doll.

His back hit the ground hard. Blood filled his mouth. His vision blurred.

But he refused to fall.

His body screamed in protest, but he forced himself to rise.

Nine figures still remained.

The one who had struck him tilted its head slightly. As if curious.

Eden wiped the blood from his lips and grinned.

"That all you got?"

The abyss shuddered.

The figures moved again.

This time—they weren't holding back.

Eden tightened his grip on his sword.

The real battle had just begun.

The air cracked.

Eden's heart pounded as the ten abyss-forged warriors lunged. Their speed warped reality, their movements breaking the laws of physics as if time itself bent to their will.

Eden barely had time to react before the first strike came—a spear wreathed in abyssal flames, thrusting straight for his heart.

Too fast!

His instincts flared.

Abyssal Step.

He phased backward, barely dodging the spear as it skewered the space he had occupied a fraction of a second earlier. But before he could counter, a second opponent was already in front of him—a gauntleted fist slamming into his ribs.

CRACK!

Pain exploded through his body.

Eden was sent flying, his body twisting midair as he barely managed to recover. He hit the ground hard, rolling across the obsidian battlefield. Blood pooled at the corner of his lips.

But he didn't stop moving.

A blade whistled past his ear—he tilted his head just in time, feeling the abyssal energy burn against his skin.

Another attack. A hammer descending from above.

No time to dodge.

He raised his sword.

CLANG!

The impact sent shockwaves across the battlefield, cracks splintering beneath him. His arms screamed from the force, but he held on, using the momentum to twist away.

His breath came in ragged gasps.

He was outnumbered. Outmatched.

Each of these warriors fought with centuries of experience—no hesitation, no wasted movements. The trial was designed to break him.

And yet—

Eden grinned.

The abyss thrived in despair.

It whispered to him. Offered him more power. More.

A voice echoed in his mind.

"You will fall."

Eden wiped the blood from his lips and smirked. "Not today."

He clenched his sword, abyssal energy roaring to life. The entire battlefield trembled.

For the first time, the ten warriors paused.

They felt it.

The abyss inside him was awakening.

Eden's aura shifted. His energy warped, twisting into something more primal. More dangerous. His wounds sealed at an unnatural speed, his body repairing itself with abyssal power.

And then—he vanished.

Not with speed. Not with teleportation.

He ceased to exist.

The moment he reappeared, his blade was already moving.

Abyssal Rift—Second Phase.

He cut through space itself.

One of the warriors staggered. A deep gash appeared across their chest—before their body shattered into abyssal fragments.

Eden didn't stop.

He was already moving to the next target, his blade a blur of destruction. His attacks were sharper, his instincts honed to perfection.

Abyssal Echo.

Two more versions of him split from his form, each attacking simultaneously.

The warriors adjusted, adapting to his newfound power. Their movements became sharper, their counters more brutal.

But it didn't matter.

Eden was already beyond them.

Another warrior fell. Then another.

The battle raged—seconds stretched into eternity, each strike a war between death and survival.

Until—

Only one opponent remained.

The final warrior.

Unlike the others, they hadn't moved. They simply watched. Studying him.

Now, they finally stood.

A massive greatsword materialized in their hands, crackling with abyssal energy. Their presence was suffocating—more than all the others combined.

Eden exhaled.

This was it.

The final test.

The abyss stirred.

And the duel began.