Dawn arrived slowly over the ruins of Rinsho.
The sun rose behind a curtain of gray clouds, its pale light struggling to reach the shattered city below. What once stood as a proud stronghold of civilization now resembled a scar carved into the earth itself.
Buildings lay collapsed like broken bones. Streets were buried beneath rubble and ash. The once-great gates of Rinsho had been torn apart as if they were nothing more than paper.
Silence filled the city.
Not the peaceful silence of early morning.
But the heavy, suffocating silence of death.
A faint wind drifted through the ruins, carrying with it the lingering scent of smoke and something far more unsettling.
Dark energy.
.....
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Normally I didn't plan on destroying Rinsho since that's our MC'S homeland, but since this is a villain story, I had to. There's a saying " there's no place like home" well in this case more like he destroyed his home. I plan on adding some author's note in between. So prepare your mind, I'll be disturbing y'all with some author's note.
.....
Footsteps echoed across the broken stone.
A group of armored figures slowly entered the city through what remained of its eastern gate. Their armor gleamed with silver engravings and royal insignias, and their cloaks bore the crest of the Guardian Order.
They were not ordinary soldiers.
They were elite.
At the front walked a tall man whose presence commanded the attention of everyone around him.
High Guardian Commander Rael Vortigan.
His silver hair was tied neatly behind his head, and a long scar ran across the bridge of his nose, a mark from countless battles fought in defense of the realm.
.....
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally, a villain. Oops, since our MC is the villain I guess this will be the hero. Well high Guardian commander Rael Vortigan is like the strongest guardian. Blah blah blah.
Well some of u might have noticed the clash in name, I started with Japanese names then now we are seeing English names. Well let's just say that's me being me. I like being flexible.
.....
Rael stopped a few steps into the city.
His sharp eyes scanned the devastation.
Behind him, dozens of guardians stood frozen in disbelief.
One of them whispered under his breath.
"Gods… what happened here?"
Another guardian slowly knelt beside the body of a fallen comrade.
His hands trembled as he lifted the broken helmet from the corpse.
"…They were guardians," he said quietly. "All of them."
Rael said nothing.
He continued walking deeper into the ruins.
Every step revealed something worse than the last.
Collapsed towers.
Burned homes.
The bodies of guardians and people scattered throughout the streets.
None of them had survived.
Rael crouched beside a large crack in the ground.
The stone had been shattered as if struck by unimaginable force. The edges of the fracture were stained with strange black residue that seemed to move faintly, like shadows refusing to disappear.
Rael touched the ground lightly.
The moment his fingers brushed the dark residue, a cold sensation rushed through his arm.
His expression hardened.
"This energy…"
He stood slowly.
"It's still here."
Behind him, another group entered the ruins.
Unlike the guardians, these figures wore long robes decorated with arcane symbols. At their center walked a woman whose calm presence carried the authority of the royal court.
Archmage Seraphine Valeria.
Her long white hair flowed behind her like falling snow, and her golden eyes observed the ruins with quiet focus.
.....
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Finally, it is finally here.
When I started writing scar of the abyss I plan on using the theme of magic, but since our MC has shadow prowess I thought I should make the opposing force of light, but I change my mind.
In conclusion the guardians are warriors of light, in opposition of the abyss which represents shadow. And we'll also have mages, having magic makes a story much more interesting, fireball 🔥.
Don't mind me.
.....
She approached Rael without hesitation.
"You felt it too," she said softly.
Rael nodded.
"This isn't normal magic."
Seraphine knelt near the crack in the ground.
She extended her hand and allowed a faint stream of blue mana to flow from her fingertips.
The moment her magic touched the black residue, the air trembled.
The shadows around them stirred unnaturally.
Seraphine's eyes widened.
Then she quickly withdrew her hand.
"That's impossible…"
Rael looked at her.
"What did you sense?"
Seraphine remained silent for a moment.
Then she spoke quietly.
"…The Abyss."
Several guardians nearby stiffened.
Rael frowned.
"The Abyss is a myth."
Seraphine slowly shook her head.
"No," she replied.
"It's an ancient truth most people chose to forget."
Rael folded his arms.
"Explain."
Seraphine stood and looked across the ruins of Rinsho.
"Long before the modern kingdoms existed,"
she began, "there were records of a power that did not belong to this world."
Her voice remained calm, but a subtle tension lingered beneath her words.
"A force of darkness that existed beyond the boundaries of life and death."
Rael's gaze sharpened.
"The Abyss."
Seraphine nodded.
"According to the oldest texts… the Abyss cannot influence our world unless it finds a vessel."
Rael's voice dropped.
"A vessel?"
Seraphine's golden eyes darkened slightly.
"The one who carries its power."
The wind swept through the ruins again.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Rael glanced across the devastated city.
"Are you suggesting," he said slowly, "that someone is controlling that power?"
Seraphine looked toward the center of the city where the destruction was greatest.
"Yes."
A younger guardian approached nervously.
"Commander," he said, "we found survivors."
Rael immediately turned.
"Where?"
"Near the northern district."
"Bring them here."
Minutes later, three trembling figures were escorted through the rubble.
Two men and a woman.
Their clothes were torn, and their faces were pale with exhaustion.
Rael stepped forward.
"You survived the attack?"
One of the men nodded weakly.
"Barely…"
Rael knelt so that his gaze met the man's.
"Tell me what happened here."
The survivor swallowed hard.
"We don't know."
His voice shook.
"It happened so fast."
The woman beside him suddenly spoke.
"There was a man."
Rael's eyes narrowed.
"A man?"
She nodded frantically.
"Yes… but he wasn't human."
Seraphine stepped closer.
"What do you mean?"
The woman's breathing grew uneven as the memory resurfaced.
"The shadows moved around him."
Her voice trembled.
"Like they were alive."
Another survivor added quietly,
"And his eyes…"
Rael looked at him.
"What about them?"
The man shuddered.
"One was… darkness."
He hesitated.
"Like looking into a hole that never ends."
"And the other?"
"…Violet."
Silence fell again.
Seraphine's face turned pale.
Rael noticed.
"You recognize something."
Seraphine looked at the cracked earth beneath her feet.
"Yes."
Rael's voice hardened.
"Then speak."
Seraphine exhaled slowly.
"There is a legend," she said.
"The oldest records in the royal archives mention a being known as…"
She paused.
"…The Bearer of the Abyss."
Several guardians shifted uneasily.
Rael's gaze sharpened.
"And what does this 'Bearer' do?"
Seraphine looked toward the horizon.
"The texts describe him as the ruler chosen by the Abyss itself."
Rael frowned.
"That sounds like folklore."
Seraphine shook her head.
"According to the records, when the Abyss chooses its bearer…"
Her voice lowered.
"…the world enters an age of darkness."
The survivors stared at her.
Rael remained silent for several seconds.
Then he turned toward the heart of Rinsho.
Massive cracks stretched across the land like wounds.
"This was done by one person?"
Seraphine nodded.
"Yes."
Rael clenched his fist.
Then he looked toward the sky.
"If someone possesses power capable of destroying an entire city…"
His voice grew colder.
"…then they are a threat to the entire world."
Behind them, guardians continued searching through the ruins.
More bodies were discovered.
More devastation.
Hours passed.
As the sun began to sink toward the horizon, messengers were already leaving Rinsho.
They rode toward distant kingdoms carrying news that would shake the world.
Within days:
Kings would hear of the destruction.
Armies would begin mobilizing.
Scholars would search ancient texts for answers.
Fear would spread across the continent.
Rael stood at the edge of the ruined city.
Seraphine approached quietly.
"What will you do now?"
Rael looked across the scarred land.
"For now?"
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"We prepare."
Seraphine studied his expression.
"You believe the legend."
Rael exhaled slowly.
"I believe what I see."
His eyes moved across the devastation once more.
"If this Bearer of the Abyss truly exists…"
He paused.
"…then the world is about to face something it has never seen before."
Seraphine remained silent.
The wind moved through the ruins once more.
Far beyond Rinsho…
Across distant kingdoms and peaceful cities…
Life continued as normal.
People laughed.
Markets bustled.
Children played in the streets.
None of them knew.
None of them understood.
That somewhere beyond the boundaries of their world…
The Abyss had awakened.
And the one who carried its power had already taken his throne.
.....
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Normally I'm not a fan of war in any work of art, but with the theme this novel is following I guess war is inevitable.
Since this is my first novel, scar of the abyss won't be that long, around 40 chapters should suffice.
But like i said in the last chapter, I'm currently working on a new novel.
So concerning scar of the abyss update time. I was hoping for a chapter per day, but as I am at the moment, I'm going to die of boredom, in order to avoid that I'll be dropping at random, once I complete a chapter I'll be dropping it immediately, though they are days I won't drop any chapter, so, I'm sorry in advance.