The battlefield fell silent for a single heartbeat. Then the silence cracked.
The giant shadow colossus bellowed, its roar shaking the mountains, a sound like ten thousand tombs breaking open at once. Around it, the lesser creatures shrieked—not in defiance, but in recognition. Their glassy eyes turned from the cloaked figure… and fell upon Vemy.
The abyss had chosen.
But Vemy's body screamed under the weight. His veins burned black, his claws trembled, and the shadows that wrapped him writhed like living chains. Forcing the abyss to obey was like forcing a hurricane into a cage—it bent, but at any second it could snap.
Jaylin surged to his side, cutting down a beast that lunged at them. "Vemy! You're losing yourself!" Sparks of fire crawled across his armor, every swing desperate to hold the swarm back.
"I'm not—" Vemy choked, his voice layered with that other tone, guttural and vast. His hands spread wide, and the monsters froze mid-charge, their many eyes flickering. "…I'm making them mine."
The lesser beasts twitched, then bowed, their forms shuddering as though trying to resist but unable to break free of his pull. The ground shook as the colossus lowered its massive head, its dozens of mouths snarling, caught between instinct and submission.
The cloaked figure laughed softly, stepping closer to the pillar of light. His flames dimmed, curling inward like coiled serpents. "Good. Very good. You've learned faster than I thought."
Vemy glared at him, abyss aura spiking. "Shut up. I'm not your pawn."
"Oh, you misunderstand," the cloaked man replied, voice dripping with amusement. "This isn't obedience. It's inevitability. You've claimed them, yes—but every chain has two ends. The abyss obeys you only because it knows you will never let it go."
Jaylin snarled, slicing through another wave, sparks streaking the air. "Don't listen to him, Vemy! This isn't control—it's infection. The longer you use it, the deeper it burrows!"
Vemy's chest heaved, his aura colliding with Jaylin's fire, their energies sparking violently. But he couldn't stop—because the swarm pressed tighter, their claws raking the air, their screams shaking the night.
The colossus lunged.
Its titanic arm swung down, blotting out the sky. Vemy raised his claws instinctively, abyss energy surging from his hands like black lightning. The blast collided with the colossus's strike—an explosion of shadow against shadow, reality itself warping at the impact. The shockwave hurled Jaylin backward, flames sputtering, while the cloaked figure simply stood, watching with a satisfied smile.
The ground split open wider, and more shapes began to crawl free—giants with twisted wings, serpents made of writhing eyes, humanoid figures with faces that melted and reformed with every blink. The abyss gate was bleeding its horrors into the world, and only Vemy's unstable control kept them from overrunning everything.
But every second cost him. His muscles tore and healed, his blood boiled, his eyes flickered between human clarity and abyssal void.
Jaylin staggered back to his side, gripping his shoulder. "Listen to me! If you keep this up, you'll burn yourself out. The abyss doesn't give without taking!"
Vemy grit his teeth, blood dripping from his lip. "Then let it take. If I don't hold them—everyone dies."
The cloaked figure tilted his head, shadows curling tighter around him. "Not everyone. Just the weak. But you… oh, you're proving me right. You're the herald the abyss always wanted."
Vemy's claws dug into the earth. He wanted to tear that smug hooded face apart. But before he could speak, the colossus reared back and roared again, its mouths chanting in a single voice:
"MASTER."
The swarm echoed it, their screeches rising into one unified cry. The abyss wasn't just obeying—it was acknowledging.
The world trembled. Jaylin stared at Vemy, fire dimming in shock. "Gods… what are you becoming?"
Vemy's chest heaved. Shadows swirled around him like a crown, flames sparking at his fingertips. His voice cut through the chaos, hoarse but unyielding.
"I'm not their slave.
I'm not their herald.
If the abyss wants me… it serves me."
The monsters bowed as one.
But the cloaked figure only smiled wider. "Exactly as I hoped."
Because while the abyss bent its knee, the gate behind him flared brighter—its true purpose only beginning.
🔥 Vemy has bent the abyss to his will—but in doing so, he may have crowned himself as the very king the cloaked figure was waiting for.