It was not the same world anymore. The fight against the Sovereign of Despair had ripped through the very fabric of existence. Above Alex and Mara, the sky was a painting of chaos; blood-red streaks intertwined with streaks of darkness that pulsed like a living heart. And yet, even in ruin, Alex's hand found Mara's, fingers interlocking as if holding onto each other would anchor them to reality.You alright?"Alex's voice was a rusty rasp, each syllable like it weighed the universe on his tongue. His hellfire faltered weakly at his fingertips, a shadow of the fire that had writhed like an alive flame mere moments ago.Mara nodded, her trembling hands belying the fear in her eyes. Her silver-white aura was now only a soft glow that barely pushed the shadows back, no longer shining as brightly as stars used to do. "I'll survive. But Alex, it's still out there.She didn’t need to say more. The Sovereign had retreated, its monstrous form dissolving into the darkness that seeped through the

The air was heavy with tension as Alex and Mara descended into the abandoned cathedral, once majestic arches now engulfed by creeping vines and shadows that seemed to have a life of their own. The faint dripping of water resonated through the vast space and mixed with the quiet creak of their footsteps against the cracked stone floor. Alex's grip on the hilt of his blade tightened as he scanned the darkness for any sign of movement. Hellfire flickered faintly along its edge. "Do you feel it?" Mara whispered, her voice barely audible but laced with urgency. Her own weapon, a slender spear of luminous light, hummed faintly in her hands. Alex nodded, his jaw clenched. "It's here. Watching us." After that last meeting with the Sovereign of Despair, it was nowhere to be seen, but Alex knew that did not mean it was gone. It was waiting and planning; it would stay hidden, ready for its time to emerge once again and cause damage. And there, behind these broken spires, behind the quiet air o

The tremors beneath the underground chamber grew stronger; the ground continued to crack wide open beneath Alex and Mara's feet. Eerie light issued from the rift, pulsing in erratic spasms as though something inside were stirring, seeking to break forth. A whirlwind of freezing air shot upwards, screaming up through the battered cathedral above it, bearing whispers inhuman, broken, guttural voices that slithered chillingly down the length of Alex's spine.Mara gripped her spear tightly, its light flashing wildly in the oppressive darkness. "Alex… this isn't over," she whispered, her voice laced with barely contained fear.Alex nodded, moving protectively in front of her. His blade, still wreathed in hellfire, cast ominous shadows against the stone walls, but even its infernal glow seemed diminished against the abyssal radiance seeping from below.The tear widened with a jerky, savage lurch, jagged cracks racing out through the cavern like dark tongues. From deep inside, a pair of elon

The roar that burst from the abyss was not just sound. It was a force one that rippled through reality itself, warping the air, shattering glass in the buildings around them, and sending Alex and Mara stumbling backward.Alex clenched his jaw against the pain still lancing through his skull, his fingers digging into the hilt of his sword like a lifeline. The visions had faded, but the lingering weight of what he had seen clung to him like a curse.The city was collapsing.Not in that manner of dilapidated structure that crumbles with time but in a more unnatural, eerie way. Streets twisted, darkness deepened even further, and shadows that began to bleed into the abyss extended like a pulsing infection swallowing everything in sight.And a thousand golden eyes stared at him from the abysmal reaches.Come home, child of the fallen.The words caressed his thoughts once more. Chilling shivers ran from his spine.No.He gritted his teeth and forced the voice out. He wouldn't let it control

Darkness.It wasn't just around him it was inside him, crawling into his lungs, sinking into his veins like an illness. The deeper Alex fell, the more he felt his body come unraveling. His limbs felt weightless, his mind fogged, and his very soul seemed to flicker, like a candle struggling against an unseen wind.He didn't know if he was still falling or if he had already hit the bottom.Maybe there was no bottom.Maybe the abyss had always been inside him, waiting for him to return.No.His fingers curled into fists, his breath ragged. The Harbinger's words echoed in his mind "You are mine now, Alex."The hell he was.His body fought it at first, heavy, slugging with inertia, forcing itself to shift. He bit down on gritted teeth, reaching for what, he could not tell. There was no ground, no walls, no sky. Nothing at all, just dark, endless formlessness.And something shifted.Whispering-quiet but utterly clear, darkness whispered."You fight in futility."That was not the Harbinger's