Requiem of the Abyss & The Dawn's Call

The night smelled of blood.

Screams tore through the battlefield as shadows moved unnaturally fast, weaving through the chaos like specters hunting their prey. Steel clashed, sparks igniting the darkness, but nothing seemed to slow the enemy.

Lucian had fought rebels before. He had faced monsters before. But this… this was something else entirely.

A soldier beside him was yanked backward into the dark, his cry cut short. Another raised his blade just in time for a clawed hand to pierce through his chestplate as if it were paper.

Seraphina's voice rang out, commanding Divine Ethrion to flare around her, momentarily pushing back the encroaching nightmare. But even as golden light illuminated the battlefield, the enemy remained—a towering, shifting figure in the mist.

It stepped forward, slow, deliberate.

The Hollow Revenant.

Lucian felt it before he saw it. A presence that pressed against the world itself, warping the air, making every movement feel sluggish. It didn't lunge, didn't rush to slaughter—it walked, as if nothing before it was even worth the effort of haste.

Then it spoke.

"Is this all?"

The voice was hollow, layered, as if it echoed from a place beyond existence. The soldiers who could still hold their weapons trembled.

Dain Irvath, standing beside Elias, tilted his head. "That's a big mouth for a walking corpse."

The Hollow Revenant laughed. A deep, grating sound that didn't belong to anything living.

"Ah. A bold one." It shifted, its towering form twisting unnaturally as if amused. "But not bold enough."

It moved—too fast.

Dain's sabers barely came up in time to parry a strike that should have split him in half. The impact sent him skidding back, boots carving trenches into the dirt. Seric and Lira struck from the sides, twin blades seeking flesh, but the Revenant didn't even acknowledge them.

It didn't need to dodge.

Seric's dagger found purchase in its side—only for his entire arm to be violently repelled, as if the wound itself refused to exist.

Lira fired three arrows in rapid succession. The first vanished into its form, the second was caught midair, and the third was simply ignored.

Then the Revenant turned to them, voice mocking.

"Ah, the little insects struggle."

It stepped forward, unbothered.

Lira pulled another arrow, but a blackened hand closed around her throat.

Elias moved without thinking. His sword lashed out, aimed straight for the creature's wrist. The edge sliced through the Revenant's form… but it wasn't flesh.

It was like cutting through water.

The creature didn't react, didn't flinch. It simply turned to him.

And then it laughed again.

"What is this supposed to be?"

Elias gritted his teeth, swinging again, this time faster, sharper. A clean strike to the center of its shifting form. But it was like fighting mist.

The Hollow Revenant didn't even look at him.

"Ah, the little swordsman thinks himself a warrior." It tilted its head mockingly. "But even rats can hold steel. Tell me, do you think it makes a difference?"

Elias clenched his jaw. "I don't need my sword to kill you."

The Revenant's form twisted, the air itself distorting as it leaned closer.

"Then by all means… try."

Dain appeared beside him in an instant, his sabers flashing like silver lightning. This time, the Revenant raised a hand, actually blocking.

It was the first time it had even bothered to acknowledge anyone as a threat.

But it wasn't pain.

It was boredom.

"Hm. You two are almost entertaining."

Seraphina's Divine Ethrion flared at the same time, slamming into the Revenant's back with a force that would have obliterated a lesser foe.

It finally turned.

And laughed again.

"Ah, the little priestess thinks light can banish the abyss. Foolish."

Seraphina clenched her jaw. "Your existence is an abomination."

The Revenant mockingly tilted its head.

"And yet, you can barely touch me. What does that make you?"

Lucian had heard enough. His blade burned with Holy Dominion's will as he lunged. The strike was aimed for its center, where its Abyssal Core should be.

The Hollow Revenant let it land.

Lucian expected resistance. Expected something. But instead… his sword passed through as if he had slashed at a mirage.

The Revenant didn't even turn to look at him.

"Oh, were you trying to do something?"

The next second, Lucian was gone.

Not gone. Launched.

The impact sent him crashing through three soldiers, skidding across the battlefield. Pain exploded through his ribs, but it wasn't from claws. It was from pure force, a dismissal rather than an attack.

It hadn't even bothered to strike him properly.

It had just brushed him aside.

Seraphina moved to his side, pulling him up.

Her hands trembled.

Lucian had never seen them tremble before.

Dain was still standing, blades raised, but his usual smirk had vanished.

Elias wiped blood from his mouth, eyes narrowing. "So what's the plan? Because 'hit it really hard' doesn't seem to be working."

Dain exhaled slowly. "No. It doesn't."

The Hollow Revenant watched them with something close to amusement.

"Is that it? This is the best humanity has to offer?" It turned slightly, surveying the broken battlefield. "Disappointing. I had hoped for something more."

Then, without warning—it moved.

The next attack would not be for amusement.

It would be to kill.

And none of them were fast enough to stop it.