The rain fell like daggers.
Kael Draven lay face down in the mud, the warmth of his blood washing away with each drop. His armor, once polished silver, was now cracked and darkened with dirt, ash, and betrayal.
Steel boots approached.
"You were always too proud, Kael," came the voice—familiar, cruel.
Kael struggled to lift his head. Through blood-streaked eyes, he saw the face of Sir Varyn, his former commander, standing over him. Behind Varyn stood the rest of Kael's unit—men he once trusted, fought beside, bled for. Not one of them met his gaze.
"I saved your lives!" Kael spat, coughing. "I bled for the kingdom. For the gods!"
Varyn knelt beside him. "Exactly. And now they want your blood back."
With a casual motion, Varyn drove his blade into Kael's chest.
---
Darkness didn't come gently.
It devoured him—mind, memory, soul. Time lost meaning. He floated in silence, weightless and blind. Until… something moved.
A whisper.
Then another.
> "He is marked."
"He does not belong here."
"Yet he returns... again."
Kael opened his eyes.
There was no sky. No stars. Only void. The ground beneath him pulsed like a dying heartbeat—black stone cracked with glowing veins of crimson energy. The air reeked of burnt flesh and wet iron.
A single word carved itself into his vision:
> [WELCOME TO THE ABYSS]
Kael staggered to his feet. His body felt… different. Stronger. Sharper. But colder. He looked at his hands—scars he remembered were gone, replaced by faint sigils that pulsed with eerie light.
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]
[Soul Reaver Protocol: BOUND]
[Devour or be devoured.]
"What... is this?" he whispered.
From the shadows, a figure emerged—tall, humanoid, wrapped in chains and shadows. Its face was a mask of bone, and in its hand, it held a lantern that glowed with trapped souls.
> "You died, Kael Draven," the creature said, voice like wind over graves.
"And now... you serve the Abyss."
---
Kael's instincts flared. He drew a blade—no, it wasn't his old sword. It was darker, curved, humming with energy he didn't understand. It felt alive.
> [First Trial: Survive the Abyssal Warden]
[Reward: Skill Unlock – Devour]
The chained figure lunged.
---
(TO BE CONTINUED…)
---