**Chapter 3: The Truth of the Cube**
The Abyssal Lord stood over the kneeling Zorak, his white eyes unreadable. "You have resilience," he said, his voice a commanding echo. "I am impressed. This is your second chance. Take it."
Zorak, no longer arrogant, looked up with a newfound respect. "I accept, Abyssal Lord. Not out of fear, but out of respect for a true master."
To prove his worth, Zorak summoned an Eternal Shadow Sovereign with a sliver of power granted to him by the Abyssal Lord. It was a magnificent creature that unleashed a massive sphere of shadow energy called the Eclipse of Eternity.
The Abyssal Lord simply flicked his hand, and the Sovereign was erased from existence. "I have defeated countless beings like that. They are no match for me."
He then looked down at the Cube of Pure Darkness in his hand, the spectral crowd watching in hushed silence. "Zorak, you've proven your worth… but there is something you must know," he said, holding the artifact aloft. "This was never a mere tool. It was my own power, sealed away into this form."
The crowd gasped as the Cube shattered into a million motes of light and shadow. The energy surged into the Abyssal Lord, and his true form was revealed. He was no longer a humanoid figure, but an infinite expanse of stars, galaxies, and swirling darkness. His eyes were twin universes, glowing with immeasurable might.
"This realm, these souls, and all that I conquer," his voice boomed, a chorus of echoes from across time and space, "they are but a fraction of my dominion. The Cube was a seal I placed upon myself to test my own limits… and to find those worthy of standing by my side."
Zorak, humbled and awestruck, bowed low. He discarded his old name, a relic of his former pride. "I am Kaelith, the Soul Warden," he vowed. "And I will serve the Eternal Conqueror."