He towered over them, his form shrouded in swirling darkness. The air was heavy with his malevolent presence, and every breath Alex Mercer took burned like ash in his lungs. Tendrils of shadow writhed around the monster, slashing at the scorched earth and sending cracks rippling across the ground.Lucifer's golden eyes shone like an unsettling spotlight. He stepped beside Alex, his smirk flattened into a hard line."This isn't a fragment," he muttered. "This is the Abyss incarnate."Helena gripped her sword, white-knuckling it. "Fantastic. So what's the plan?"Lucifer smiled humorlessly. "Don't die."The abyssal beast let out a roar, sound echoing through the battlefield like an aftershock. The momentum of it carried Alex back on his heels before he caught himself, his boots sinking into cracked earth."We've faced worse," Alex said, though not even he really believed that statement."Sure you have, Mercer," Lucifer said with an easy smile as shadows curled and uncurled around his fin

The cavern's walls trembled, chunks of rock crumbling into the abyss below. Rivers of molten lava hissed and churned, illuminating the chaos with a hellish glow. Alex Mercer gritted his teeth as he steadied himself against the shuddering ground.Helena was already moving, her blade slicing through the air as she charged toward the towering beast. Its form writhed with shadow and fire, each movement shaking the very earth."Helena! Wait!" Alex shouted, but his voice was lost in the cacophony.The creature reared back, its massive claws swiping at her with terrifying speed.Helena ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding the lethal blow. Her sword found purchase in the beast's flank, black ichor spraying across the ground.The monster howled, its roar reverberating through the cavern.The air itself seemed to warp under the force of its rage."Nice hit," Alex muttered, sprinting to her side. Shadows coiled around his arms, pulsating with raw energy. The abyssal power within him was volatile

The scorched earth still shook beneath Alex Mercer's boots as he gazed across the horizon. Thick clouds churned overhead, streaked with crimson and obsidian, as if the sky itself had been rent apart by the mayhem below. The air smelled of ash and something far older a lingering malice that scratched at the peripheries of his senses.Helena stood beside him, her sword sheathed but her hand never far from the hilt. Her face was taut with worry, the faint light of the horizon casting shadows beneath her eyes.Lucifer, never bothered, straightened his spotless coat and let out a long, bored sigh. "Such theatrics," he murmured, eyeing the smoldering embers of the cavern they'd barely escaped. "Malakar certainly knows how to make an impression.""He's not done," Alex said, his voice low but determined. "None of them are."Helena's sharp eyes jumped to him. "What do you mean?"Alex's fists clenched as shadows curled around his fingertips. "When I was in the abyss, I felt. more than just Mala

The great warden roared, the guttural cry of its voice shaking down rocks from the cliffsides. The air seemed to tremble under the weight of its fury.Alex Mercer stood firm, shadows curling around him like living serpents. His chest heaved, every breath filled with acrid ash and void energy. The abyss inside him pulsed, ready to be let free.The warden charged, its massive claws tearing through the scorched earth. Each step sent shockwaves rippling through the ground, cracks spiderwebbing in its wake.Alex clenched his fists, hellfire igniting along his arms. "Come on," he growled. "Let's finish this."The creature lunged, claws as long as swords swiping through the air. Alex ducked, feeling the air above him slice through with lethal force. He countered with a blast of shadowfire that struck the warden's chest, searing through its abyssal flesh.The warden let out a howl, but it didn't stop. It brought back its hand in a wide, arcing swipe that Alex didn't see coming. It sent him fl

The light was blinding, filling the room so that everything was swallowed in it. The air became heavy and suffocating, as if existence itself were bending under the sheer authority of the presence before them. Alex shielded his eyes, ragged breath pumping through his lips. The pressure alone made his muscles scream in protest. Whatever this entity was, it was unlike anything he had faced before. Helena gripped her blade tightly and tried to regain her footing. For the first time, Lucifer looked actually unsettled. His smirk was gone, replaced by the taut line of his lip. The figure stepped forward, golden light crackling around its form like divine lightning. Its features were humanoid, but barely its body was sculpted from pure energy, its face a shifting mass of shifting sigils, ever-changing, unreadable. But its eyes two burning orbs of judgment were locked onto Alex. "You have trod where mortals do not belong," the entity said, its voice echoing through the chamber, through the