Darkness engulfed Lucian.
It wasn't the absence of light—it was something deeper. A void that pressed against his skin, wrapped around his soul, and whispered in his mind.
For a moment, he felt weightless. Drifting. Falling. Becoming.
Then—pain.
A sharp, searing pain ripped through his chest, as if something inside him was being torn apart and reshaped.
Lucian gasped, his vision swimming in an endless black sea. His body trembled under an unseen force, his very essence pulled toward something vast, ancient—eternal.
Then, a voice.
"You have fought for so long, but tell me, Lucian… what is it you truly fear?"
The voice was deep, resonant, and everywhere at once. It slithered into his thoughts like a poison, unearthing things he refused to acknowledge.
Lucian clenched his fists. "I don't fear anything."
"Lies."
A pulse of dark energy rippled through him, sending him crashing to his knees. He tried to stand, but the void was crushing him, forcing him to kneel.
Then—visions.
Flashes of moments from his past.
🔥 His father's cold, disappointed gaze.
🔥 The moment he was Marked by the Abyss, a curse written into his flesh.
🔥 The fear in Selene's golden eyes when she saw the darkness inside him.
🔥 The burning knowledge that no matter how hard he fought, the Abyss was always waiting.
Lucian's breath came ragged.
His greatest fear wasn't dying.
It wasn't even losing the war against the Forsaken.
It was becoming what he had sworn to destroy.
And now—he stood at the edge of that fate.
The War Outside
Meanwhile, in the waking world—Selene screamed.
Lucian's body convulsed, dark tendrils coiling around him as the Rift pulsed violently.
Ash gritted their teeth, dragging their dagger across their palm. Blood dripped to the ground, glowing silver as they began to weave a protective sigil. "We need to break whatever hold the Abyss has on him!"
Selene gripped Lucian's hand, her golden eyes burning with desperation. "Lucian, come back to me!"
But he wasn't hearing her.
He was somewhere else.
Trapped.
Falling.
And becoming.
The Abyss's Temptation
Lucian found himself standing in another vision.
But this time—it was not the past.
It was the future.
A future where he had given in.
He saw himself, standing atop a ruined kingdom, draped in black and silver armor. His sword was wreathed in Abyssal fire, his eyes no longer his own—cold, empty, consumed by darkness.
And at his feet—Selene lay broken.
Her golden eyes stared at him in betrayal, her fire snuffed out.
The Abyss whispered.
"This is who you are meant to be."
Lucian's hands shook.
He didn't want this. He would never become this.
But the darkness around him tightened like a noose, and he could feel it sinking into his bones, branding itself into his very existence.
What if fighting it was pointless?
What if this was inevitable?
Selene's Gamble
Selene refused to lose him.
She had lost too much already.
With a fierce cry, she threw herself into the darkness, gripping Lucian's face in her hands. Heat flared through her fingertips, fire clashing against the void.
"Lucian, listen to me!" Her voice was raw, desperate. "I don't care what the Abyss says! I know who you are! And I won't let you forget it!"
The Rift shuddered.
Lucian's vision cracked, the darkness wavering.
Her voice reached him.
His heart thundered in his chest.
She wasn't afraid.
Even when she should have been.
Selene wasn't letting go.
"Come back to me," she whispered, her forehead pressing against his. "We fight together. Always."
Lucian gasped.
The darkness screamed—furious, enraged.
And then—he tore free.
The Rift Shatters
Lucian's eyes snapped open, and the Abyss shattered around him.
The darkness recoiled, retreating as he gasped for breath, his body trembling. Selene's arms were around him, her fire still burning at his fingertips.
She had saved him.
Again.
He looked into her golden eyes, the only light he had ever truly known.
"Selene…" His voice was hoarse.
She gave a shaky smile, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "You took your damn time."
Lucian let out a breathless laugh, pulling her close.
But the moment was short-lived.
Because the Rift was collapsing.
Ash cursed, grabbing their weapons. "We need to move! Now!"
Lucian stood, his power stabilized, the Abyss no longer in control. He glanced toward the now-destroyed door to the Abyss's heart.
And standing beyond it—was the First Vessel.
Watching.
Waiting.
Lucian's jaw clenched.
This wasn't over.
Not yet.
And now—it was personal.