The courtyard was silent, but the tension cracked through the air like thunder waiting to fall.
Christian stood face to face with Talon Drax, leader of the Infernal Legion's elite unit. Behind him, the other members watched with practiced detachment—smirks playing on their faces, eyes gleaming with barely contained disdain.
"I don't care about your Legion," Christian said coldly, but his voice lacked the certainty he once had.
Talon tilted his head. "You should. Because unlike these so-called mentors around you, we understand the Abyss. We don't fear it. We shape it. Master it."
He took a step closer, and Christian felt the black mist stir inside him. Reacting. Resonating.
"You feel it, don't you?" Talon whispered. "It's calling to you—because you were never meant to suppress it. You were born to wield it."
Christian clenched his jaw. "And what? Become like you? A puppet for some shadowy force?"
Talon's smile disappeared. "You don't get it yet, but you will. The Abyss doesn't destroy—it reveals. The Infernal Legion is preparing for the next Age, Vale. And you're either with us…" he leaned in, voice low, "...or in the way."
Before Christian could reply, Garran appeared from behind the stone archway, eyes locked on Talon.
"That's enough."
Talon didn't flinch. "Master Garran. Still babysitting your broken students, I see."
Garran didn't answer. His presence alone was enough to force Talon to back off.
But the damage had been done.
---
Later – The Abyss Waits
That night, Christian sat alone at the edge of the cliffs behind the academy, overlooking the black sea that stretched far into the horizon.
The pendant on his chest pulsed with a slow, steady rhythm.
He couldn't stop hearing Talon's words.
Born to wield it…
He had always resisted. Always fought to stay in control. But what if that fight was pointless? What if the darkness inside him wasn't something to suppress—but something to become?
> "You are afraid," the Abyss whispered in his mind.
"You deny your nature. You starve yourself of power. You're weak."
"No," Christian said aloud, gripping the pendant tightly. "I'm still me. I have to be."
The wind howled around him, and for a moment, it felt like the Abyss itself was watching.
---
Meanwhile – Secrets of the Infernal Legion
Inside one of the Legion's hidden sanctums, Talon knelt before a towering obsidian statue—its face a mass of void symbols, its eyes hollow and endless.
A voice echoed through the chamber.
> "The boy is resisting."
Talon bowed his head. "For now. But the artifact has awakened. It's only a matter of time before the Void Core overtakes him."
> "Then guide him. Break him. And when he falls… the Gate will open."
Talon rose, eyes gleaming with dark purpose. "As you command."
---
Training Grounds – The Choice Presses In
The next morning, Christian met Kien in the private training hall. She took one look at him and knew something had shifted.
"You saw something last night," she said.
Christian hesitated. "I almost gave in."
"But you didn't," she replied, stepping closer. "That's what matters."
He looked at her, the battle raging in his chest. "What if I can't hold out forever? What if... Talon's right?"
Kien reached for his hand, her grip firm and grounding. "Then we'll face it together. I know what it means to feel that power pulling you apart from the inside. But you have something the Abyss will never understand."
"What?"
"Hope. Choice. And a reason to keep fighting."
---
The Spirit Realm Trembles
In the deep corners of the Spirit Realm, cracks were forming.
The pendant—Christian's Void Core—was reacting to something ancient. Something buried.
An artifact of the first Abyssal War… the Eye of Collapse, a relic said to open the boundary between the realms, was awakening.
And somewhere, a creature of pure Void stirred from its slumber.
---
To Be Continued…