The corridors of Hell opened into a massive, shadowed chamber, its walls lined with gravestones that seemed to pulse faintly, as if the dead themselves were watching. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of soil, bone, and time long forgotten.
At the center of the chamber sat the Gravekeeper, a figure draped in tattered robes, face hidden beneath a hood, hands resting on a staff of blackened bone. Silence ruled the chamber, broken only by Kairo's chains rattling softly as he stepped forward, Bone Blade glowing faintly.
"You come," the Gravekeeper's voice was hollow, echoing as if from a thousand graves. "I have watched. The blood you've shed, the chains you've claimed… and still you move forward. Why do you seek me, Red-Eyed One?"
Kairo's crimson eyes met the unseen gaze beneath the hood. "I need your power. The seal of the Gravekeeper… and your guidance. Without it, I cannot face Hades."
A pause. Then the Gravekeeper tilted his head, almost curiously. "And what will you offer in return?"
Kairo's hand clenched around the Bone Blade. "My soul," he said simply, voice steady. "I give it freely. But the Seal of Armageddon… that I keep. It is mine to wield, for the world above will need it more than you or Hell ever could."
The Gravekeeper regarded him in silence. Slowly, he extended a hand, the air around it shimmering like ripples over a stagnant pond. Shadows and whispers crept from the floor, coiling around Kairo as the pact was sealed.
Chains rattled, Bone Blade thrummed, and an eerie light filled the chamber. Kairo felt power surge through him, coursing into every fiber of his being. He felt the weight of countless souls, of death itself, binding and empowering him.
"Your path is set," the Gravekeeper intoned. "But know this — power demands sacrifice. Even a soul freely given is not free from consequence."
Kairo's lips curved faintly. "I know. I've survived Hell. I can survive anything."
With a whisper of wind, shadows swirling around him like a cloak, Kairo stepped forward, the pact complete. The Bone Blade pulsed brighter than ever, chains coiling like serpents ready to strike.
Beyond the chamber, the chaos of the pit continued — Igron still held Veyrith at bay, illusions twisting and crashing. Kairo's path to Hades was clear, and with the Gravekeeper's power now at his command, the Red-Eyed One was more than ready.
Chains rattled, shadows whispered, and Hell itself seemed to bow to the inevitability of what was coming.