The battlefield remained fractured, currents of Abyssal Flow twisting through the air, shimmering between dimensions Kael couldn't yet understand. His breath was steady, but beneath the calm exterior, his heart thundered—not from fear, but from expectation.
He had synchronized with the Abyss. Fully. Completely. The weight of it pressed against his Void Anchor, shifting around him like a tide that was no longer resisting his presence—but embracing it.
Rhyse stood before him, his expression unreadable. Not out of hesitation. Not out of confusion. But out of confirmation.
"You felt it," Rhyse murmured, rolling his shoulders as his Abyssal resonance settled. "You felt what it means to be within the Abyss, not just wielding it, but existing inside its threads. That isn't something most wielders experience."
Kael exhaled, feeling the lingering echoes of his last movement still vibrating through the space around him. "Then what does it mean?"
Rhyse tilted his head slightly, as if the question itself wasn't one he had an easy answer for.
"That," he said simply, "depends on what you do next."
The Deva watching from the edges of the battlefield remained motionless, their presence heavy yet detached. They were observing, analyzing—but none had spoken since Kael's last synchronization shift. Alyss remained as still as them, though her gaze was sharp, locked onto Kael as if she could see something he had not yet processed.
Kael clenched his fists. The energy around him hadn't faded—not fully. He could feel the pull of the Abyss still lingering within his body, shifting between instinct and control. This wasn't like wielding conventional techniques. This was something more. Something dangerous.
And yet, he wanted to understand it.
"Again," Kael said firmly, his voice carrying through the Abyssal resonance. "We go again."
Rhyse's grin returned. "Alright, then."
The Second Trial
The abyss did not wait.
Before Kael had even adjusted his stance, Rhyse fractured the battlefield again, his Echo Genesis unfolding into a layered strike. Countless timelines collapsed into singular moments, each afterimage moving independently before converging into attacks that shouldn't have been possible to dodge.
Kael didn't hesitate.
He didn't analyze the strike patterns. He didn't strategize around movement gaps.
He let the Abyss lead him.
His Void Anchor pulsed, energy shifting in perfect resonance with the battlefield distortions. Tidal Collapse activated instantly, allowing him to warp weight and motion within Abyssal Flow's pressure zones. The gravitational shift carried him forward—not through space, but through instability itself, bending the battlefield in his favor.
The first strike missed.
The second strike shattered an afterimage rather than his real form.
The third—
Kael caught Rhyse's wrist mid-motion.
Reality rippled.
The battlefield split.
For a fleeting second, Abyssal Flow itself paused, bending between both fighters as their resonance collided. Kael was no longer reacting to Rhyse's movements. He was moving within them.
Rhyse's eyes widened slightly—but instead of pulling back, he smirked.
"You're waking up," Rhyse murmured, the abyss vibrating around his words. "You're really waking up."
Kael's grip tightened—his Abyssal Flow adjusted again, shifting beyond raw combat techniques. Something deeper had started.
This wasn't just a battle anymore.
This was Kael stepping into something irreversible.