The castle slept beneath the bleeding moon, yet Ethan Vale could not rest.
Even with Valen's ashes still cooling in the Hall of Shadows, something deeper gnawed at him a whisper, faint but endless, calling from beneath the world.
"Return to me… Eternal King…"
The voice wasn't human.
It was ancient, vast, and hauntingly familiar.
The Descent
Lilith found Ethan standing at the balcony, his gaze locked on the crimson horizon.
"Still hearing it?" she asked softly.
He nodded. "It calls from below. The Abyssal Grave."
Seraphina stepped from the shadows, her frost trailing across the marble. "That place was sealed by your command, my King. Even we do not tread there."
Aria appeared last, a fiery smirk hiding her worry. "Then maybe it's time you see what you sealed away."
Ethan looked at them the women who had fought for him, died for him, and now stood beside him again. "If the answers to my death lie there… then I have to go."
[System Quest Activated: Descent of the Abyss]
[Objective: Reach the Abyssal Grave 0/1]
[Warning: Unknown deity signatures detected.]
The Abyssal Gate
They traveled to the mountains beyond the castle where the earth itself was cracked and lifeless.
A colossal gate of obsidian and bone stood buried in darkness, guarded by spectral chains that pulsed with cursed light.
As they approached, the chains began to writhe like serpents.
Seraphina raised her hand. "The seal still recognizes your power, my King. Only your blood can open it."
Ethan drew a line across his palm and pressed it to the gate.
His blood ignited, glowing crimson-gold.
[Blood Resonance Detected 7.9%]
[Abyssal Lock Override Success.]
The gate screamed open, releasing a surge of black wind and whispers that crawled into their souls.
The Abyssal Grave
They stepped into a realm of endless shadow.
Towers made of bone, rivers of blood, and faces carved into the dark itself all frozen in eternal agony.
At the center stood a massive throne carved from the corpse of a dead god. Upon it sat a chained figure a giant draped in black, eyes burning with divine madness.
"So…" the voice rumbled. "The child of my blood returns."
The system pulsed violently.
[Alert: Entity Detected "Vampire God: Noctarion, Father of the Eternal Night."]
[Threat Level: ???]
[Data corrupted.]
Ethan's vision blurred. Memories flashed a past self standing before the same throne, but not as a visitor.
As a conqueror.
"You… you're the one I killed," Ethan whispered.
The god smiled, fangs like mountains.
"Killed? No, boy. You became me."
Pain tore through Ethan's chest. Flames of black blood erupted around him, forcing his wives to back away.
[Memory Fragment Unlocked 12%]
Images rushed through his mind kingdoms burning, angels kneeling, stars collapsing under his command. And a final image his own wives, crying as they sealed him beneath the world.
Lilith's voice trembled. "Ethan… that voice isn't from outside. It's from within you."
Noctarion's laughter shook the realm.
> "Every King becomes the god he kills. The Eternal Night is not a title… it is a curse. You carry me, my child. My rage, my hunger, my divinity."
Ethan clenched his fists, his aura blazing like twin suns.
"Then I'll control it. I won't let your curse rule me again."
[System Update: Bloodline Resonance 10.0%]
[New Title Acquired: "Heir of the Abyss."]
[Skill Unlocked: Abyssal Rebirth Temporarily merge with the God of Night to access divine power.]
The chained god roared as Ethan's aura intertwined with his. The Abyss cracked, lightning of crimson and void swirling around him.
When the storm settled, Ethan stood transformed his eyes glowing with both divine gold and abyssal black.
"The King who kills gods," Lilith whispered.
Ethan looked at his hands, trembling from the surge of power. "This is only the beginning. The Eternal Night… wasn't just my empire."
He looked up at the throne.
"It was my prison."