The ruined chapel was silent except for the ragged breaths of Gabriel.
He had collapsed again, pressed against the cracked stone floor, Nyx's massive shadow body curling protectively around him. Every inch of Gabriel's body ached as if the world itself were tearing him apart.
Pain from Alex's battle still coursed through him—every slash, every broken bone, every ounce of suffering. But something had changed.
Gabriel lifted his head slowly, silver eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness.
"This…" he whispered, voice hoarse, "this is power."
The shadows around him shifted and quivered as if sensing his realization. They twisted and writhed, feeding on the pain coursing through Gabriel.
He clenched his fists.
"I've been fighting the curse all wrong."
Every wound Alex had suffered, every agonizing moment he had felt, had been fuel for something greater. Gabriel no longer fought to survive. He would grow stronger because of it.
Nyx stepped forward, towering over him. The shadow wolf's body pulsed with a strange, almost tangible energy. Gabriel reached out and touched its dark fur.
"Good… you're more than a shadow now."
The wolf barked softly, and with a sudden surge of movement, the shadows beneath Gabriel lifted. They swirled violently, black tendrils stretching toward the ceiling, coiling and expanding like a storm made of darkness.
Gabriel's breathing grew steady. Pain continued to strike him relentlessly, but he did not flinch. Instead, he let it flow through him.
A burning sensation ran along his spine. His ribs felt as though they were breaking all over again. His chest seared as if it were aflame. And yet…
He felt energy—raw, dark, and alive—pouring into his body.
The shadow spikes surrounding him multiplied, twisting and sharp as obsidian spears. His power no longer seemed like an extension of his pain—it was the pain.
Gabriel slowly rose to his feet.
"I've been a victim for too long," he murmured. His voice carried a chilling calmness. "From now on… pain is mine to command."
He lifted his hand, and the shadows reacted immediately. Dozens of black spires shot upward from the floor, then turned toward the doorway, ready to strike.
Nyx growled, its massive form now towering like a beast of nightmare.
Gabriel's silver eyes glimmered with a dangerous light.
"And one day… one day, Lucifer will see that the curse he placed on me was a mistake."
His voice hardened.
"The stronger Alex becomes, the stronger I will be. And when I am ready… I will take back my freedom. No one… not even Hell itself… will hold me down."
The chapel trembled slightly as the shadows surged around him. Gabriel's body throbbed with pain—but it no longer terrified him. Instead, it fueled his resolve.
"Pain…" he whispered. "You've made me more than a man. You've made me a weapon."
And with that, Gabriel extended his hand fully. The shadows responded instantly, forming a wall of living darkness that filled the room.
He took a deep breath, feeling the immense power coursing through him for the first time.
"I am no longer just suffering," he said quietly. "I am the storm that will consume it all."
Far above, in Hell, Alex's battle continued. But on Earth, in the quiet darkness of a ruined chapel, Gabriel had awakened a power that even Lucifer had not predicted.
A power born purely from suffering.
A power that would one day rival the King of Hell himself.
And Nyx at his side, the first of his many shadow creations, howled as if echoing Gabriel's silent vow:
"We will not be controlled. We will not be broken. And we will rise."