The abyss had been silent for centuries. A realm forgotten by time, where the fallen and the forsaken were cast away. It stretched endlessly, a void of shattered divinity and lingering regrets, where gods were stripped of their power and left to wither in oblivion. But tonight, the silence was broken.
Rael opened his eyes. The darkness no longer felt suffocating, nor did the weight of exile press upon his soul. The moment his consciousness fully returned, the oppressive force that had once kept him bound shattered like brittle glass. Chains of celestial energy still clung to his wrists, pulsing with the last remnants of the Supreme Pantheon's curse. But they no longer held power over him.
A deep breath. The air was stagnant, thick with decay and broken oaths. Yet, it was no longer his prison. He clenched his fist, and the divine shackles disintegrated into golden dust, fading into the abyss. The power within him, once suppressed, now surged violently, like an untamed storm struggling to break free. He welcomed it.
The abyss trembled.
A low, distant groan rippled through the ruined expanse. It was not the sound of stone breaking but of something far older—something awakening. The abyss was not empty. It was watching.
Rael took his first step forward, his bare feet pressing against the cold, lifeless ground. Each movement carried purpose. He was no longer a prisoner. He was something more.
All around him, figures stirred within the shadows. The remnants of gods long forgotten, divine beings who had once ruled over realms, now reduced to fractured spirits and powerless husks. Some shrank back into the darkness, unwilling to confront the presence that now stood among them. Others, those who still clung to the memory of what they had once been, watched in eerie silence.
A voice, hoarse and laced with disbelief, broke the stillness. "Impossible…"
Rael turned his gaze toward the speaker. A withered titan, his form scarred with the remnants of celestial punishment, his once-magnificent frame reduced to a mere shadow of its former glory. His sunken eyes, once filled with fury, now held only fear.
"There are no impossibilities," Rael said, his voice carrying the weight of a truth the titan had long since abandoned. "Only those who fail to defy their fate."
A surge of power rippled outward from him, invisible yet undeniable. The very fabric of the abyss shifted in response. The void itself seemed to hesitate, as if recognizing the presence of something that should not exist—something beyond its control.
The other prisoners whispered among themselves. Some in reverence, others in fear. None dared to approach. None, except one.
From the shadows, a figure emerged.
She moved with an unshaken grace, a quiet confidence that contrasted with the decayed remnants of her surroundings. Long silver hair cascaded down her back, strands shimmering faintly with traces of celestial energy. Her violet eyes locked onto Rael's, unflinching, filled with something far more dangerous than fear—curiosity.
Unlike the others, her body had not withered. Though her celestial robes were tattered, they did little to conceal the regality that still clung to her being. The weight of time had done nothing to diminish her presence.
"So," she murmured, tilting her head ever so slightly. "The outcast returns."
Rael studied her, sensing something familiar in the way she held herself. There was no desperation, no broken spirit like the others. Only intrigue.
"Tell me, demigod," she continued, taking a step closer, "are you here to save us, or to claim us?"
A test. A challenge. She was different from the others. The prisoners of the abyss had long lost their will, but she—she still had hers.
Rael met her gaze, the corner of his lips curling slightly. "Neither."
The air between them crackled with tension. She did not flinch, nor did she lower her gaze. Instead, her lips quirked upward in amusement.
"A bold answer," she mused. "Then tell me… what do you seek?"
The abyss trembled once more. The whispers grew louder. The very fabric of this forsaken realm felt as if it were shifting beneath his will. Rael lifted his hand, and for the first time, the abyss did not resist.
Power erupted around him, golden and untamed, illuminating the darkness. The prisoners recoiled, shielding their eyes from the sheer force of his presence. He did not just stand apart from them—he dominated the space he occupied.
"I am not here to seek," Rael said. "I am here to take what is mine."
A moment of stillness. And then, the first change.
The abyss no longer suffocated him. It no longer clung to his form, seeking to erase him as it had done to so many before. No, it was something far more profound.
The abyss was bowing.
The silver-haired woman exhaled softly, as if realizing something inevitable. "Interesting."
She took another step forward, closing the distance between them. For the first time in eons, the abyss had found something greater than itself. And she, too, had found something she could no longer ignore.
She smiled.
"Then take it."
Rael extended his hand, golden energy surging at his fingertips. The abyss trembled beneath him as he closed his grip.
The chains of the past had shattered, and the first step toward a new era had begun