The world trembled as the entity surged forward, its colossal form shifting between reality and void. Shadows bled from its body, stretching out like tendrils, consuming everything they touched.
Kael barely had time to react before one of those tendrils lashed toward him. He dodged, but the air itself felt heavy, as if space was warping around him.
Then, he felt it.
The Abyss within him responding.
This thing it wasn't just a creature of corruption. It was something more.
"Kael!" Lyra called out, slashing through an oncoming tendril with her weapon, but the severed shadow regrew instantly, twisting toward her like a living nightmare.
Valen's golden energy flared as he stepped forward. "This isn't a mindless beast," he said grimly. "It is something ancient. Something that has existed since the first tear in reality."
Kael's eyes narrowed as the realization clicked. "It's not corrupting the Abyss…" His pulse pounded as the truth settled in.
"It is the Abyss."
The entity's countless crimson eyes burned brighter. Its form shifted, revealing an endless, swirling void at its core.
Kael felt the weight of it pressing against his very soul. The Abyss within him recognized it not as an invader, but as something primal, something that had been waiting for him to reach this moment.
"You are a fragment," the entity's voice echoed inside his skull, "a piece of what was lost. But you were never meant to wield it."
The void expanded, shadows twisting, coiling then rushing toward Kael.
He braced himself, power surging through his veins.This was no ordinary battle.
This was a fight for control of the Abyss itself.