A blinding light erupted from the warrior's blade, turning the battlefield into a sea of golden fire. The air itself shook under the sheer force of his power.
Kael barely had time to react before the warrior moved faster than before, his speed now beyond anything Kael had faced.
A slash carved through the air, the divine blade aimed straight for his heart.
Kael dodged, but the edge of the attack still tore through his side, searing pain ripping through his body. He gritted his teeth, rolling to absorb the impact as the ground beneath him cratered from the force.
Lyra gasped. "Kael!"
But he couldn't answer.
Because the warrior wasn't done.
He struck again.
Kael barely got his arms up before the greatsword collided with his guard, sending him flying backward. He smashed through a jagged wall of abyssal stone, his breath ripping from his lungs.
He's faster. Stronger. He wasn't using his full power before.
The warrior stepped forward, his golden aura pulsing like a living star. His eyes, glowing beneath his helmet, locked onto Kael with unwavering judgment.
"This is your final warning," he intoned, his voice like the tolling of an executioner's bell. "Surrender. Or be purged."
Kael coughed, tasting blood.
He should have been afraid.
But instead, he felt something else something awakening inside him.
His abyssal energy surged, but not wildly like before. It was controlled now. Calculated. Focused.
He stood, his wounds already knitting back together. His body felt heavier, denser, filled with an energy that wasn't just the Abyss anymore.
Something new had awakened inside him.
He grinned, cracking his knuckles. "You think I'm afraid of you?"
The warrior didn't answer.
Kael vanished.
One second he was standing the next, he was in front of the warrior, his fist crashing forward.
The warrior blocked, but this time he staggered.
Kael pressed the attack. A barrage of strikes, each infused with abyssal force, rained down. The warrior blocked, countered, but Kael was faster now, his movements unpredictable.
Then, with a single blazing punch, he sent the warrior skidding backward.
Lyra's eyes widened. "Kael… what did you do?"
He clenched his fists, feeling the balance of darkness and something else coursing through him.
The Abyss was his.
But now?
Now, he had become something more.
The warrior steadied himself, his gaze unreadable.
Then he did something Kael didn't expect.
He smiled.
"You've finally awakened," the warrior said, lowering his sword slightly. "Now the real battle begins."