The cavern air was damp, heavy with the lingering weight of the summoning. The ritual's glow had long faded, leaving only faint streaks of crimson etched into the stone floor. Khaeryon—now simply Khae to the children—walked ahead with long, measured strides, his shadow stretching unnaturally against the walls.
Behind him, two small figures hurried to keep pace. Caelan, fourteen, held Ciel's hand tightly. At only seven years old, Ciel's legs struggled to keep up, and his wide eyes darted nervously between his brother and the towering figure they followed.
The silence broke when Khae glanced back at them, his pale face betraying the faintest smirk.
"How old are you two? You're barely up to my hip."
Caelan stiffened, his pride pricked. "I'm fourteen."
"And I'm seven…" Ciel added quietly, his voice soft but clear.
"Fourteen and seven?" Khae repeated, his tone strangely amused. "Mortals are always so… fragile. Yet your souls already burn stronger than most hunters I've seen."
Caelan frowned, unsure whether that was supposed to be a compliment or a warning. Ciel, on the other hand, just held tighter to his brother's hand.
But before either could reply, the cavern shook violently. Dust fell from the ceiling in a choking cloud, and jagged stalactites groaned as if ready to tear free.
Ciel yelped, ducking against Caelan's side. "B-Brother!"
Khae's eyes narrowed, glowing faintly white against the darkness. He tilted his head, listening to something deeper, something vast. "...Something stirs."
A sound ripped through the cavern then—a guttural roar that rattled their bones. From the depths beyond the summoning chamber, the ground split open. A colossal shape forced its way into the open, wings scraping against stone, claws grinding into the cavern floor.
The beast was a dragon.
Its scales gleamed black, streaked with veins of glowing violet that pulsed like molten energy. Its eyes, twin spheres of burning amethyst, locked onto them with primal fury. The cavern shook under the beat of its wings as it launched upward, filling the space with a violent wind.
The impact dislodged massive chunks of stone from the ceiling.
"Down!" Caelan shouted, dragging Ciel close.
But Khae only lifted one hand lazily. Shadows curled from his fingers, and in an instant, a massive umbrella appeared above them—black and purple, as wide as a carriage. The falling rocks shattered harmlessly against it, bouncing away as though striking steel.
Caelan blinked at the absurdity of it. "An… umbrella?"
Khae's lips curved into the faintest grin. "Function matters more than form."
Ciel peeked up at the umbrella with wide eyes. "It's… pretty."
The dragon roared again, swooping down. Its maw opened, a blast of violet flame building.
Khae sighed, tilting his head back. "Noisy lizard."
With a flick of his wrist, the cavern floor heaved. A boulder, larger than a house, tore free from the earth. Khae hurled it with effortless force, the air screaming as the stone collided with the dragon mid-flight.
The beast let out a strangled cry, its body slamming into the cavern wall before crashing to the ground with earthshaking force. Dust and debris exploded outward, settling into silence.
Ciel clung to his brother's arm. "I-Is it dead?"
Khae shook his head, already stepping toward the fallen creature. "No. Just… inconvenienced."
The two boys exchanged nervous glances before hurrying after him.
The dragon's massive chest still rose and fell, its breath ragged but steady. Its head rested against the broken stone, faint smoke rising from its nostrils.
Khae stood over it, arms crossed, studying the beast with sharp, unreadable eyes. "Dragons… proud, ancient, and yet bound by instinct. Perhaps it knows the way out of this labyrinth."
He lowered himself to one knee, tilting his head. The silence stretched. Caelan expected him to chant some spell, or perhaps tear open the dragon's mind with his abyssal powers.
Instead, Khae raised a hand and slapped the dragon square across the cheek.
CRACK!
The sound echoed through the cavern like a thunderclap.
Ciel nearly jumped out of his skin. "K-Khae?!"
Caelan's mouth fell open. "Did you just—"
The dragon's eyes snapped open, blazing with violet fire. Its maw spread wide, revealing rows of fangs—
—and then it froze.
"You… you dare strike me?" The voice was deep, resonant, undeniably human.
Caelan and Ciel both gasped. "It can TALK?!"
The dragon's gaze swept over them, then focused on Khae. Its voice trembled between fury and disbelief. "What are you, that shadows bend to your will?!"
Khae smirked faintly, leaning back on his heels. "I am Khaeryon, God of the Abyss. Remember it well, lizard."
The dragon flinched, its wings shifting uneasily. For the first time, its arrogance faltered. "…The Abyss… returned? After centuries?"
Ciel tugged on Caelan's sleeve, whispering in awe. "Brother… he slapped a dragon awake."
Caelan rubbed his temples again, muttering, "He's insane. Completely insane."
Khae ignored them both, his gaze sharp as a blade. "You. Dragon. There is an exit to this cursed labyrinth, yes? Show us."
The dragon let out a slow, rumbling growl. "You would command me?"
Khae's hand twitched as though ready to summon another boulder. His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Would you prefer a second slap?"
The dragon went silent, glaring.
Ciel, clutching his lollipop from earlier, piped up timidly, "Um… please, Mister Dragon? We just… we want to go outside."
For a long moment, the cavern was filled only with the sound of the dragon's steady breathing. Finally, with a huff of smoke, it lowered its head.
"…Very well. Follow me, children of the abyss."
Caelan blinked. "Children of the—what?!"
Khae chuckled under his breath, shadows curling at his fingertips like smoke. "A fitting title. You'd better get used to it, Caelan."
The boy groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "First lollipops. Now this."
And so, with a dragon as their reluctant guide, the strange trio—two frightened children and a demon god with a taste for chaos—began their path out of the cavern.
Unbeknownst to them, the world above had already begun to shift, whispers of the Abyss spreading like wildfire.
The dragon shifted its massive wings and began lumbering forward, each step shaking the cavern floor. Dust rained from the ceiling, and the children stumbled to keep their balance as they followed.
But after only a few steps, Khae sighed loudly. "You are so big. You're blocking our entire view."
The dragon snorted, violet eyes flicking back toward him. "I am a dragon. What did you expect?"
Khae waved a hand dismissively. "I expected to see where I'm walking without staring at your tail the whole time. Can you not turn into something smaller?"
Caelan nearly tripped over his own feet. "K-Khae! That's a dragon! You can't just—"
But before he could finish, the dragon let out a low, rumbling growl that echoed like thunder. Then its body shimmered, scales peeling away into light, wings folding into nothingness. In a blink, where the great beast once stood, a tall man now walked.
He was still imposing, taller than Caelan but shorter than Khae, with sharp features and a youthful face that looked no older than twenty. His hair was long and deep violet, streaked with black like shadows woven into silk, and his eyes still burned faintly with draconic glow.
The man adjusted the dark cloak that formed around his frame as if it had always been there, and smirked. "Is this small enough for you, Abyss-God?"
Caelan's jaw dropped. "He… he turned human?!"
Ciel's eyes widened in awe. "Brother, he's cool!"
Khae tilted his head, arms crossed as he inspected the dragon's new form. "Hmm. Better. At least now you don't take up the whole cavern. But you're still… flashy."
The man—no, the dragon—arched a brow. "Flashy? I reduced myself to a mere mortal shape, and you still complain?"
Khae's lips curved faintly. "I complain about everything."
Caelan groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "You don't say…"
Ciel giggled softly, holding his lollipop tight as he peeked at their new companion. "Mister Dragon, do you… have a name?"
The man glanced at him, violet eyes narrowing for a moment. Then his lips curved into something almost like pride. "Zerath. Remember it, little one. In the old tongue, it means 'the wing that splits the sky.'"
Ciel's face lit up. "Zerath… it sounds strong!"
Caelan muttered under his breath, "Of course it does. Dragons don't exactly go around naming themselves Bob."
Khae chuckled, placing a hand on Caelan's head and ruffling his black hair much to the boy's annoyance. "Careful, child. Pride is all dragons have. Insult it, and you'll find yourself roasted."
"Hey! Don't mess up my hair!" Caelan snapped, smacking Khae's hand away, but Ciel only laughed at the sight.
Zerath, still smirking, began leading them again—his boots clicking softly on the cavern floor this time instead of the earth-shattering stomps of claws. "Come. The exit lies far above. You would never have found it alone."
As they walked, the air grew colder, and faint shafts of light began to pierce the gloom ahead. For the first time since the summoning, a hint of the outside world awaited them.
But none of them noticed how the shadows that clung to Khaeryon stretched unnaturally longer, as though the Abyss itself was eager to step into the mortal realm once again.