Eclipse Requiem

The underground chamber pulsed with an unnatural energy. **Kael and Saren stood before the massive sealed door,** the abyss whispering from beyond its chains.

*"Release me."*

Kael clenched his jaw. The abyssal fragment in his palm burned against his skin, responding to the voice. He could feel it—**whatever was behind this door wasn't just an abyssal entity.**

It was something **ancient. Powerful.**

Saren took a cautious step forward, gripping her sword tightly. "Kael… tell me we're not about to open this thing."

Kael hesitated. "I don't know."

Saren gave him a flat look. "Wrong answer."

Kael exhaled sharply. Every instinct screamed at him to leave—**but the abyss had led him here for a reason.**

And then—**the voice spoke again.**

*"You have come far, child of the abyss."*

The chamber trembled. **A single glowing sigil appeared on the door, shifting and pulsing.**

Kael swallowed hard. "Who… are you?"

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

*"I am the First."*

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### **The Origin of the Abyss**

Kael's breath caught in his throat.

The **First?**

The abyss had existed long before history, long before even the great wars between light and darkness. But if this being claimed to be **the first…**

Then they were looking at something far beyond Malrik, beyond the abyssal creatures Kael had faced.

Saren tensed. "Kael, I don't like this."

Kael turned to her, his voice steady but uncertain. "I don't either."

But before he could say more—**the sigil changed.**

It reshaped into an outstretched hand. A simple gesture.

*"Take my hand, and I will show you the truth."*

Kael's fingers twitched.

The abyss wasn't attacking him. It was offering knowledge.

But at what cost?

Saren shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. You don't shake hands with eldritch horrors, Kael."

Kael hesitated. "If it has answers—"

Saren grabbed his wrist. "If it has answers, it's because it wants something. And that something is probably **your soul.**"

Kael looked at the sigil again. The hand remained there, waiting.

This was a moment of choice.

And he had to make it.

---

### **The Choice**

Kael exhaled. His mind raced—**was this a trap? Or was it truly knowledge?**

The abyss had tested him before, but this felt **different.**

Saren's grip on his wrist tightened. "Kael… please. Think about this."

Kael turned to her. He saw the concern in her eyes, the trust she had in him.

Then he turned back to the sigil.

And he made his decision.

His hand **reached forward.**

Saren cursed. "Kael—!"

The moment his fingers **touched the sigil,** the entire chamber **exploded with darkness.**

Abyssal energy **rushed into his mind,** into his soul—**and Kael saw.**

He saw **the beginning.**

The abyss wasn't born from chaos. It was born from **betrayal.**

He saw a war that had been erased from history.

He saw **the First Abyssal King.**

And he saw **what lay beyond the sealed door.**

Kael's eyes snapped open.

He stumbled back, gasping for air. His vision swam, his heart pounded.

Saren caught him before he fell. "Kael! What the hell just happened?!"

Kael's hands **shook.**

Because now he knew.

The abyss wasn't just a force. It was a prison.

And something inside **wanted out.**

Kael looked up at the sealed door, his breath unsteady.

The sigil had disappeared. The whispers had gone silent.

But the abyss had given him a message.

*"The seal is breaking."*

Kael clenched his fists.

Their battle wasn't over.

It was only just beginning.

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