The rift shimmered like a dying flame, its edges fraying with unstable light. Kaien stood before it, his shadow stretching long behind him, torn between two worlds. The energy of the Demon King's throne surged within him — wild, violent, uncontained — threatening to consume what was left of his humanity.
He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his sword. "Not yet," he muttered. "Not until I finish what I started."
He stepped into the rift.
The world spun violently. Darkness collided with light, space folded in on itself, and Kaien felt his very soul being ripped apart and stitched back together. Every heartbeat was agony. But through it all, one voice broke through — faint, familiar.
Kaien… come back.
Reina's voice.
He forced his eyes open and pushed forward.
The rift exploded into a storm of energy, hurling him out into the mortal realm. The sky above was gray with dawn, and the air was cold and sharp. He crashed into a field of shattered stone, the ground splitting beneath the impact. Smoke rose from the crater as he slowly pushed himself to his feet.
His cloak was torn. His armor cracked. But his eyes — those burning gold and shadow-black eyes — were alive.
He was back.
Reina felt it instantly. She had been kneeling in the temple ruins, focusing her aura, when a surge of dark energy pulsed through her. It wasn't hostile — it was him.
Her head snapped up. "Kaien."
Ethan turned. "What is it?"
She didn't answer. She ran.
When she reached the ridge overlooking the field, she saw him — standing amidst the smoke, his sword embedded in the ground, energy still crackling around him. For a moment, the sight didn't feel real.
He turned his head slightly, sensing her presence. Their eyes met.
Reina froze.
He looked different now — more powerful, but colder. His aura wasn't just human anymore. It carried the echo of something far older, far darker.
"Kaien," she whispered.
He gave a faint, weary smile. "Told you I'd make it back."
She rushed forward, ignoring the fear clawing at her chest, and threw her arms around him. "You idiot… You were gone for three days! We thought you were—"
"I know," he said softly, his voice rough. "I almost was."
Ethan appeared behind her, cautious but relieved. "You look like death walked out of the abyss."
Kaien smirked faintly. "Not far off."
But as the others approached, the ground trembled. Kaien's expression hardened. He turned his gaze toward the horizon — the sky there was darkening again.
"The throne didn't die quietly," he said quietly. "Its power… it's leaking into this world."
Reina's eyes widened. "You mean—"
"The Abyss is trying to follow me back."
Massive black fissures began to spread across the sky, like cracks in glass. Shadows poured through them, swirling into monstrous forms. The very air screamed as the barrier between realms weakened once more.
Ethan drew his blades. "Then we end it here, before it spreads again."
Kaien nodded, his aura flaring. "No more running. No more sealing. This time, we destroy it completely."
The Slayers rallied around him — old veterans and new recruits alike. The battlefield of destiny had returned, and the world was watching.
Kaien raised his sword, the blade glowing with a fusion of gold and black light. "Everyone stay close. These aren't the same demons as before — they're fragments of the throne itself."
The first wave hit like a storm. Beasts of molten shadow and obsidian claws tore through the sky. Kaien charged forward, cutting through the first one with a single strike that released a shockwave of mixed energy. Each slash of his sword split the darkness and light apart, fusing them again in violent bursts.
Reina fought beside him, her staff pulsing with runic fire. Ethan moved like lightning, his twin blades flashing silver arcs that shredded through the shadows. Together, they carved a path through the endless swarm.
But with every kill, Kaien could feel the throne's voice clawing at the edges of his mind.
You cannot destroy me, Kaien Draven. You are me.
He roared, slamming his blade into the ground. "I am not you!"
The explosion of power that followed shook the entire valley. Shadows disintegrated. The cracks in the sky flickered — but didn't close.
Reina ran to him, panting. "You can't hold it much longer, can you?"
Kaien's eyes flickered between light and dark. "I'll hold until it's over."
Ethan shouted over the chaos. "Then we'll buy you the time you need! Do it, Kaien — end this!"
Kaien took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He reached inside himself, feeling both the holy flame and the demonic power. For the first time, he didn't fight either. He let them merge — perfectly balanced.
When he opened his eyes again, they glowed silver — the union of light and shadow.
He lifted his sword toward the heavens. "I reject the throne. I reject the abyss. I choose the world."
The blade ignited. A beam of light and darkness shot upward, piercing the sky. The fissures screamed and began to collapse, the shadows writhing as they were dragged back into the void. The power threatened to tear Kaien apart, but he held firm, his body glowing brighter than ever.
Reina and Ethan shielded their eyes as the final explosion tore through the clouds, dissolving the last of the darkness.
When the light faded, Kaien stood alone at the center of the crater, his sword embedded in the ground. The sky above was clear — for the first time in centuries.
Reina approached slowly. "It's… over."
Kaien nodded weakly. "For now."
Ethan sheathed his blades and looked at him. "You really are impossible to kill, you know that?"
Kaien chuckled faintly. "Guess that's why they call me the Demon Slayer."
He turned his eyes toward the sunrise. For the first time, it didn't look like the end — it looked like a beginning.
The shadows within him had quieted. But deep down, he knew they would never truly vanish. He had become both savior and curse — a being who walked between light and dark.
And though the world was safe, Kaien could feel something distant stirring once more. A whisper. A prophecy not yet fulfilled.
When the balance breaks, the Slayer will rise again.
Kaien looked toward the horizon. "Then I'll be ready."