Darkness was not the absence of light.
It was a presence — thick, alive, pulsing with hunger.
Kael felt it wrap around him like a living ocean, pulling him deeper, deeper, deeper…
His spear's glow thinned until it was nothing but a trembling spark.
For a moment, Kael wondered if he still had a body — or if the Abyss had pulled him apart into thought alone.
Then a whisper slid across his mind like a blade.
> "Kael…"
He froze.
That voice — cold, ancient, familiar.
It was the same voice that had spoken when Arhaan's star had dimmed.
> "You seek to break the chain."
"But chains have two ends."
Suddenly, the darkness shattered, and Kael fell onto solid ground.
---
I. THE ABYSSAL CORE
A vast plain stretched before him — but it did not obey the laws of worlds.
The "ground" shifted like breathing ash.
The "sky" was a void filled with drifting eyes.
And in the center lay something impossible:
A massive cosmic chain, thousands of miles long, half-buried in the pulsing abyss-flesh.
It throbbed with every heartbeat of Arhaan's dying star.
Kael felt his chest tighten.
> "So this is it…
The chain binding Arhaan to the Abyss."
The air vibrated with laughter.
Not loud — but close, intimate, mocking.
A voice that felt like cold fingers pressing into his skull.
> "He was forged to shackle me."
"But shackles rust."
Kael readied his spear.
> "Show yourself."
The void shook with amusement.
---
II. THE FIRST VOICE
From the sky — or what passed for it — a shape descended.
Not a creature.
Not a shadow.
A concept, given form.
A colossal entity built of spiraling darkness and star-eating flame.
Its "face" was a swirl of teeth and eyes, shifting constantly.
The First Voice.
The original Abyss.
It spoke without moving.
> "You came to save the Star."
"Yet you cannot save yourself."
Kael stepped forward, refusing to kneel.
> "You're afraid."
The void stilled.
Kael pointed his spear directly at the cosmic horror.
> "If Arhaan dies… he becomes part of you again.
If he lives… he stays your prison."
The First Voice's laughter shook reality.
> "Smart child."
"Wrong fate."
---
III. THE CHAIN REVEALS THE TRUTH
The chain pulsed again.
A violent shockwave rippled through the realm.
In that pulse, Kael saw visions he was never meant to see:
— Arhaan being forged in the First Dawn.
— Eryon screaming as he was consumed.
— The Abyss lunging for freedom.
— The chain sealing shut like a burning brand.
But then Kael saw something else.
A moment hidden even from angels.
He saw Arhaan crying — begging not to be made a weapon.
Kael staggered.
> "Arhaan… you suffered alone…"
The First Voice leaned closer.
> "He was never meant to feel."
"But you changed him… Kael."
The void trembled; the chains rattled.
> "And that is why he is dying."
Kael's rage exploded.
> "Enough! I'll break your hold on him — even if it kills me!"
He charged.
---
IV. THE FIRST BATTLE IN THE VOID
The First Voice moved.
The void warped.
Gravity twisted sideways.
Tendrils erupted from the ground like obsidian spears.
Kael sliced through them, his spear blazing with starfire.
Every strike echoed across the infinite.
> CLASH!
The shockwave carved trenches in the void-flesh.
The First Voice spoke calmly amid the chaos.
> "You fight well.
But you misunderstand."
Tendrils wrapped around Kael's leg.
He tore free, severing them in a burst of divine heat.
> "I do not wish to kill you."
A black tendril formed into a hand and reached toward him.
> "I wish to offer you something."
Kael hesitated for one fraction of a breath.
That was enough.
The tendril touched his forehead.
---
V. THE MEMORY OF ANOTHER LIFE
Kael fell to his knees.
Not physically — spiritually.
Visions burned through him:
— Arhaan's laughter before the First Dawn.
— Their training in the starfields.
— Arhaan choosing Kael as his first friend.
— And the moment Arhaan was taken to be reforged into the Star.
Screaming Kael's name.
Kael gasped, choking on grief.
The First Voice whispered:
> "He loved you more than he loved his duty."
"And that made him weak."
Kael's grip tightened around his spear until blood dripped from his palm.
Tears fell.
> "No… It made him alive."
---
VI. THE HEART OF THE ABYSS
The chain pulsed violently.
A hole opened beneath Kael — a downward pull stronger than gravity, fate, or time.
The First Voice spoke with finality.
> "If you want to sever the chain…"
"…you must descend deeper."
Kael glared up at the cosmic monster.
> "Deeper than this?"
The Voice laughed.
> "To the Abyss's heart."
"Where all gods are unmade."
Kael swallowed his fear.
He stepped forward.
And the Abyss swallowed him whole.