The glowing cracks in the ground pulsed like a heartbeat, each thrum louder than the last. Dust drifted upward as if gravity itself had been shaken loose.
Vemy clenched his fists, abyssal energy coiling around his arms, but the cloaked figure raised a single hand and the mist recoiled—like even the abyss obeyed him.
"You're not the first to claim the Vanish," the figure said, voice low, steady. "But you may be the last to survive it."
Vemy's teeth ground together. "You talk like you know me. But you're nothing but a shadow hiding in fire."
A faint smirk tugged at the stranger's lips beneath the hood. "Shadow, fire, abyss—it's all the same origin. The only difference is whether you burn, vanish, or fracture."
The ground cracked wider, light spilling upward like a prison breaking open. The pulse grew so strong Vemy felt it hammering against his ribs.
Master Kael's voice rumbled within him.
"This isn't just a man… He's a key. A living seal. And if he's here, the gate was never meant to stay closed."
The hooded stranger drew a slow breath, his blue flames intensifying. The abyss inside Vemy stirred violently, as though it recognized the man.
Finally, the figure extended a hand, not in attack—but in invitation.
"Choose. Bind the abyss to me, and live as its herald. Or resist me, and awaken what sleeps beneath."
The light from the cracks shot upward, a pillar piercing the sky. The air vibrated with a deafening hum, and all around them the shadows began to twist into shapes—half-formed, half-screaming.
Vemy's heart pounded. This wasn't just another fight. It was the kind of choice that could end worlds.
And he wasn't sure if there was a right answer.
⚡ Do you bind yourself to the cloaked figure and risk servitude, or resist and unleash the unknown?