A world without Kaien felt hollow. The skies, once torn by war, now hung in eerie silence. The clouds were still heavy with ash, but no thunder rolled, no flames burned — only the faint echo of what had been.
Reina stood at the edge of the crater where the portal had once been. Her fingers brushed the scorched earth, trembling as if trying to feel for something — anything — that proved Kaien was still alive. But all she found was his sword, half-buried in the ground, its edge cracked and still faintly glowing.
Ethan approached from behind, his face shadowed beneath his hood. "It's been three days," he said softly. "The rift closed completely. There's no sign of him in any realm."
Reina didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on the sword. "He's not dead," she whispered. "I'd feel it if he was. His aura… it's still out there. Faint, but alive."
Ethan knelt beside her, resting his hand on the weapon. "If he survived the collapse of the Abyss, then he's beyond our reach. That place doesn't obey time or life. If he's trapped there—"
"He's fighting his way out," Reina interrupted sharply, standing tall. "Kaien doesn't die easily. You know that."
Ethan gave a small, grim smile. "Yeah. He doesn't."
In the distance, the world was beginning to heal. Forests that had burned were slowly regrowing, and rivers once black with demonic taint were clearing. But peace felt wrong — fragile, unfinished. Everyone knew it. The Slayers were rebuilding, yet every survivor carried the same quiet grief.
Far beyond their reach, deep within the Abyss, Kaien opened his eyes.
He was lying on a field of black dust under a sky of swirling crimson clouds. His body felt heavy — each movement a war of will. The power he had absorbed from the Demon King burned inside him, an inferno threatening to tear him apart.
"So, you live," a voice echoed.
Kaien pushed himself up slowly, gripping his chest. The voice belonged to the Demon King — or what was left of him — a fading echo now bound to Kaien's soul.
"I told you," Kaien muttered, standing. "I'll bear it. You don't control me."
The voice laughed softly. "Control? No. But you cannot destroy me without destroying yourself. We are one now. Slayer and King — the perfect paradox."
Kaien looked down at his hands. They were covered in dark cracks glowing red beneath his skin. He clenched them. "Then I'll learn to control you instead."
He began walking through the desolate realm. The air was thick with whispering shadows, each one taking shape for an instant before dissolving again. They seemed to bow as he passed — not in fear, but recognition.
With every step, Kaien felt the weight of the Demon King's throne calling to him. A jagged structure of obsidian loomed in the distance, pulsing faintly. He could feel its energy pulling him closer, tempting him to sit — to claim his place as ruler of the abyss.
But he refused.
"I'm not your successor," he said to the emptiness. "I'm going back."
Back in the mortal realm, Reina gathered the surviving Slayers in the ruins of the Temple of Light. Her expression was fierce, her heart unshaken. "We're not waiting anymore," she declared. "Kaien saved this world. Now we'll save him."
Ethan frowned. "How? The Abyss was sealed. The energy it would take to reopen it—"
"Then we'll find another way," Reina interrupted. "If Kaien could reach into the shadows and fight a god, we can reach in and pull him back."
She turned to the group. "Prepare for a journey to the edge of the Veil. We leave at dawn."
Meanwhile, Kaien reached the base of the obsidian throne. He stared at it in silence. The Demon King's voice whispered like poison in his mind.
"Why do you resist what you already are? Look at yourself — your shadow obeys no master. Your strength surpasses the heavens. You were born for this."
Kaien drew his sword. The blade flickered with faint gold light — weak, but pure. "I was born to protect," he said firmly. "Not to rule over ashes."
As he turned away, a pulse of dark energy erupted from the throne. Figures began to rise from the shadows — new demons, their forms twisted and incomplete, born from the throne's dying will.
Kaien sighed. "So it begins again."
He raised his sword. Black and gold flames coiled together around him, forming wings of light and shadow. The first demon lunged — Kaien met it mid-strike, his blade cutting through the creature with one motion. The flames devoured the rest.
The battle raged endlessly in the void. Every strike, every roar, echoed through the realms — faint ripples reaching even the mortal world.
Reina felt one of those pulses as she stood beneath the moonlight, her hand over her heart. "He's fighting," she whispered. "He's alive."
Ethan looked at her. "Then we better move fast. If Kaien's facing the throne itself, he'll need us before he loses himself completely."
As dawn rose over the broken lands, the new age began — one where light and shadow were no longer enemies, but threads of the same fate.
And in the heart of the Abyss, Kaien struck down the last of the demons and stood before the throne once more. He touched its cold surface and whispered, "You won't have me. Not now. Not ever."
The throne cracked, releasing a surge of power that tore open a faint, glowing rift — a doorway back to the living world. Kaien stepped toward it, his sword at his side, his eyes calm and determined.
He didn't know if he'd survive the passage. But he didn't care. He had a promise to keep.