The night over Blackthorn City bled with an eerie stillness, the kind that made the skin crawl. Not a whisper of wind stirred, not even the rustle of leaves. The once-bustling streets stood empty, and every lantern burned with a dim, sickly hue as if the city itself held its breath. Kaien Draven stood at the edge of the citadel walls, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The purple mist that had been seeping into the world for weeks now grew thicker, and with it came a sense of dread that gnawed at every soul who dared to remain.
Behind him, his allies gathered: Ayame with her silver glaive gleaming faintly under the moonlight, Ren with his twin blades strapped across his back, and Elira, the quiet mage whose eyes shone like fragments of a star. They had fought countless demons since the veil between realms began to crack, but tonight felt different. Tonight, the very ground pulsed like a living heartbeat.
"The air's heavier," Ren muttered, scanning the streets below. "Feels like something's waiting to crawl out of the dark."
"It's not waiting," Elira whispered, clutching her staff tighter. "It's already here."
Kaien didn't speak. He could feel it too—the shadows stretching unnaturally, twisting against the stone walls, slithering like living serpents. His sword hummed faintly at his side, the legendary blade he had unearthed months ago, its edge carved with runes that glowed faint purple in response to the encroaching darkness. The blade was attuned to the abyss; it always warned him when something powerful was near.
The ground trembled.
A low rumble echoed beneath the citadel, and the cobblestones cracked with jagged lines that glowed red like veins of molten lava. The guards on the outer walls panicked, shouts of alarm breaking the silence. Kaien's eyes narrowed as a jagged fissure split the main plaza in two. From its depths came a sound—a chorus of whispers, screams, and growls all at once, a thousand voices bleeding into one.
Then the abyss opened.
Clawed hands erupted from the fissure, talons scraping stone, pulling themselves upward. Demons—hundreds of them—began to pour out. Their forms twisted, some with too many eyes, some with too many limbs, their bodies blacker than night yet glowing faintly with crimson lines that pulsed like veins of fire. Their screeches pierced the air, rattling glass and striking terror into the hearts of those who heard them.
"Archers! Hold the line!" a captain shouted from the wall, but the words drowned under the roar of the abyss.
Kaien leapt from the wall in a single bound, landing in the plaza with the grace of a predator. His sword flared to life, the runes blazing violet as the first wave of demons lunged at him. With one fluid motion, he cleaved through three, their bodies disintegrating into black ash. Purple sparks scattered in the air, crackling like lightning.
Ayame followed, spinning her glaive in a deadly arc. The blade carved through a demon's torso, and she twisted midair to land beside Kaien. "They're swarming fast!"
"That's because this isn't a breach," Kaien growled, slashing down another demon. His eyes flashed, golden irises cutting through the dark. "This is an invasion."
More fissures split open across the plaza, each one vomiting out another flood of monstrosities. The streets filled with their howls, shadows crawling up walls like an ocean tide. Ren dropped from the wall, twin blades flashing as he intercepted a pack rushing toward the guards. Elira stood back, her staff glowing with arcane light. She chanted under her breath, glyphs spiraling around her as spheres of radiant fire streaked toward the horde.
Kaien's sword thrummed louder, almost singing in his grip. Each strike he delivered felt heavier, charged with power that wasn't entirely his own. Shadows bent away from him, and the mist recoiled with every swing. Yet for every demon he cut down, three more took its place.
The ground beneath the fissures widened, revealing not just cracks but entire chasms that led into an endless void. From within, Kaien glimpsed something massive moving, a shape too large to belong to any ordinary demon. His chest tightened. This wasn't just another raid. The abyss itself was tearing through.
"Kaien!" Elira's voice rang sharp through the chaos. She pointed toward the largest fissure at the center of the plaza. A towering figure was emerging—horned, draped in shadows that writhed like living chains. Its eyes glowed a deep scarlet, and with each step it took, the ground split further apart.
The demon general.
Kaien clenched his teeth. He had faced dozens of elite demons before, but this one radiated malice far greater than any he had encountered. The city itself trembled under its presence, buildings groaning as stone cracked under invisible weight.
"Everyone, stay sharp!" Kaien barked. He dashed forward, sword blazing with violet fire. The general raised its clawed hand, and the lesser demons parted like a tide, giving it room to move. With a guttural roar, it swung its massive arm toward him, the force of it sending a shockwave through the air.
Kaien braced, slashing upward. His blade met the creature's claw in a burst of sparks and raw energy. The impact rattled his bones, forcing him back a step, but he held firm. Ayame struck from the side, glaive cutting across its leg, while Ren darted in with swift precision, his blades sinking into its other arm.
The general barely flinched. With a roar, it flung its arm, sending Ren crashing into the citadel wall.
"Ren!" Ayame shouted, but Kaien cut her off.
"Focus! It'll tear us all apart if we lose our ground!"
Elira's magic surged, spirals of light lancing into the general's torso. For a moment, its shadowy form rippled, the crimson veins flickering. Kaien seized the opening, leaping upward, his sword glowing brighter than ever before. He drove the blade down, slashing across the demon's chest in a blazing arc.
The general roared, stumbling back, but even as its black blood hissed against the stones, it began to heal. Shadows crawled over the wound, knitting it shut in seconds.
Kaien's grip tightened on his sword. "It regenerates…"
Ayame's expression hardened. "Then we just keep cutting until there's nothing left to heal."
But Kaien wasn't so sure. The blade in his hand still hummed, but not with victory—with warning.
And the fissures around them kept widening.
Kaien's blade sang with fury as it clashed against the abyssal general's armored hide. The black flame coursing along its edge chewed through the creature's defenses, leaving gaping wounds that refused to close. With each strike, shadows burst outward like storms, rattling the stones and shaking the citadel walls.
But his body was reaching its breaking point. His arms felt heavy, his veins burned as if molten iron had replaced his blood, and the whispers clawed relentlessly at his mind. He wasn't just wielding the abyssal power—he was becoming its vessel.
Yes… yes… more… you are the blade. You are the void.
Kaien grit his teeth, sweat dripping down his face. He forced the voices back, if only for a moment. This wasn't about him. It was about the people still trapped in the city. About Ayame, Ren, Elira—his allies who trusted him not just with their lives, but with their hope.
The demon general roared again, lifting its remaining claw to smash him into the ground. The air bent under the force of its strike.
Kaien surged upward, meeting the blow head-on. His blade carved through the descending claw, the impact blasting a shockwave so violent that windows shattered across the plaza. The creature shrieked, stumbling back as Kaien vaulted onto its massive chest. With a fierce cry, he plunged the abyssal sword deep into its remaining eye.
The explosion of darkness that followed consumed the entire plaza.
For a heartbeat, there was nothing but silence. Then the creature toppled, crashing into the chasm it had emerged from. The force of its fall widened the fissure further, sending tremors through the entire city. Demons scattered, shrieking as they dissolved into mist, unable to hold form without their general's power anchoring them.
Kaien ripped his blade free and leapt back to the cracked ground. The black fire still hissed along its edge, its whispers louder than ever. He staggered, clutching his chest as his vision wavered.
"Elira!" Ayame shouted. The mage sprinted to Kaien's side, her staff glowing as she pressed a hand against his arm. Healing light coursed into him, but it barely held the abyss at bay. His veins glowed faintly purple beneath his skin, and his eyes flickered between gold and violet.
"You're burning yourself alive," Elira said, voice tight with fear.
Kaien exhaled sharply. "We… didn't have a choice."
Ren limped toward them, bloodied but still wearing his reckless grin. "Well, you did it. Big ugly's down. That counts for something, right?"
But Kaien wasn't celebrating. His gaze fixed on the widening fissure at the heart of the plaza. Even with the general dead, the chasm continued to bleed shadows into the world. Worse—something moved deep within it. Something far greater than the demon they had just slain.
The mist rose higher, swirling like a storm. And then, faintly, a massive horned silhouette began to rise from the abyss. Its size dwarfed the citadel towers. Its presence pressed against their lungs, making it hard to breathe.
"No…" Elira whispered, her voice trembling. "That wasn't the general. That was just a gatekeeper."
Kaien's pulse spiked, and his sword thrummed violently in agreement. He tightened his grip, his golden-violet eyes locked on the monstrous form emerging. The whispers in his head turned into a deafening chorus. Open yourself fully… become the abyss… only then will you stand against what comes.
Ayame stood at his side, her glaive gleaming despite the purple mist. "Kaien… what do we do?"
For a moment, Kaien didn't answer. The air trembled as the colossal demon rose higher, its horns scraping against the night sky. Its roar shattered rooftops, echoing through every street of Blackthorn City. The people hiding in their homes screamed as walls cracked and dust rained down.
Kaien's heart thundered. He knew the truth. If he unleashed the abyss fully, he might have the strength to cut it down. But it would consume him. He'd no longer be Kaien Draven—the boy who once walked to school with Ayame and Ren, the one who laughed at Ren's jokes, the one who found quiet comfort in Elira's strange wisdom. He would become the abyss itself.
And yet… if he didn't, the city—and everyone in it—would be swallowed.
The sword trembled, black lightning crawling across its edge. Kaien's knuckles whitened as he raised it, his body screaming in protest. His allies watched, waiting, trusting.
The abyss stared back with a thousand eyes.
Kaien exhaled, his decision made.
He took a step forward.