The Reincarnated Overlord: Vengeance in the Eternal Abyss

Chapter 2: Awakening the Abyss

Chapter 2: Awakening the Abyss

Kael woke up to the biting sensation of cold stone against his back, and his breath was shallow and wheezy. The oppressive weight of failure sat on him, combined with the burning memory of betrayal. His hand found its way instinctively to the area of his chest where the sigil- marked out on him by the Abyss- beat faintly, like a dying ember struggling for breath.

This place was dim, lit by sporadic rays filtering through the cracks of the wooden shutters. There was a funny smell of soaking wet earth and leaves that put his senses on edge. Weakness, something he had not felt for years-of someone whose power, beyond the imagination, was capable even of bringing down kingdoms. He tried to push himself up but his body protested.

"Don't move too much. You're barely holding yourself together." 

Kael's eyes flew to the source of the voice, speaking a woman was standing near the doorway, her figure dimly illustrated in faint light. She was poised and confident in stance, and her eyes keen, judging him like a predator looking upon injured prey. 

"Who are you?" Kael's voice was rough, a mere shadow of the commanding tone that usually accompanied it.

She moved a step closer, arms crossed. She was young, with dark hair pulled into a braid that fell over her shoulder. Her green eyes seemed to pierce through him. “Elara,” she said curtly. “You’re in my home. I found you half-dead in the woods, so I dragged you here before the wolves finished the job.”

Kael tried to sit up again, this time with more effort. His muscles screamed in protest, but he managed to prop himself against the wall. “Why help me?”

Elara shrugged, her tone dismissive. “I make a habit of checking the forest for strays. It keeps things... interesting.”

Kael studied her for a moment, his instincts tingling. There was more to her than she let on, but he didn’t have the strength to press her yet. Instead, he glanced down at his hands—pale and frail, a stark contrast to the powerful frame he had once inhabited.

“This body,” he muttered. "It's not mine."

Her mouth twisted into an arch smile. "You noticed," with a lot of sarcasm lacing through those words. "You are lucky whoever you are - but that mark on your chest does not mean you're entirely out of danger." 

Kael's hand moved toward the sigil, fingers tracing the slanting edges-glow pulsing faintly under his touch, a mix of warmth and cold that sent a shiver through his body. The Abyss gave him this body and this life, yet the price was high. A deep power throbbed within the sigil, it was a grand and wild force that was by no means simply reachable, like reaching into a nest of vipers.

"What do you know about this mark?" he asked harshly, sharper and more severe than he meant under the circumstances.

Elara paused, losing a little of her confidence. "Not much. Just that it's dangerous. I've seen men with power like yours before. It doesn't turn out well."

Kael narrowed his eyes. "You have seen others?"

"Once," she admitted softly. "Long ago, a traveler came through the village. He carried a mark like yours, thinking he could control it. He didn't. It consumed him, and took half the forest with it when he lost control."

Kael leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. The warning had come directly from the mouth of the Abyss that power comes at a cost, but hearsay confirmed it. He had no choice, however. To reclaim what was his, he needed power-he would pay any price.

---

The days that followed were a haze of recovery. Elara brought him food and water, though her interactions were curt and businesslike. Kael has used the time to review the whole situation. As weak as it was, his body started to gain some strength, and he spent most of his time studying the sigil carved in his chest.

On the third night, Kael decided that it was time to test the boundaries of the power the Abyss had lavished on him.

He went out from the small house in the cover of the darkness, the crisp night air biting against his skin. The village of Elburn was quiet, with its few lights dim and flickering in the distance. Outside the village was a forest, a dark mass stretching into the horizon.

He found a small clearing and positioned himself at its center with the moon casting down a wan light around him. He put a hand over the sigil, closed his eyes, and concentrated on the pulsating energy thrumming inside him. There was nothing there at first. Then, slowly, he felt it—the power stirring, like a sleeping beast waking from slumber.

A sharp pain shot through his chest, making him stagger. It felt as though his veins were on fire, the energy surging through him wild and uncontrollable. Kael clenched his fists, gritting his teeth against the pain. The sigil flared, casting a crimson light across the clearing.

Kael extended his hand, and a small orb of fire sputtered to life in his palm. It was unstable, flickering like a candle in the wind, but it was power nonetheless. He stared at it, a mix of satisfaction and frustration coursing through him.

“Not bad for someone on death’s doorstep.”

Kael turned sharply, the orb vanishing as he spotted Elara standing at the edge of the clearing. She leaned casually against a tree, her arms crossed.

"How long have you been here?" demanded he. 

"Long enough to see you nearly set yourself on fire," was her dry reply. "What are you trying to prove?" 

Kael narrowed his eyes, taking the bait. "That I'm not as broken as I seem." 

Elara stepped closer, eyes third-degree burning into him. "Playing with something you're not prepared to understand-that's not just dangerous; it's fatal. Keep pushing like that, and it'll kill you." 

Kael smirked, but there was no humor to it. "Then I'll die standing." 

Elara looked at him for a moment before her expression changed back to unreadable. "Stubborn," she muttered. "Fine. Do what you want. But don't burn down the village while you're at it." 

Turning, she began walking away when Kael's voice stopped her short. "This is the kind of strength you've seen before. What happened to someone who couldn't take it?" 

Elara turned around, her back still towards him. "He thought of himself as immortal," she said in a very muffled voice. "It turns out he isn't."

Then she melted away into the shadows, leaving Kael to the clearing’s center. He looked down at his hand, which sat balmy from the little glow leeching off of the orb on his skin. 

"I'm not him," Kael whispered to himself, his voice thick with quiet determination. "I will master this power. I will take back what is mine. And I will make them all pay."

Once again, the sigil pulsed, showering the clearing in red light, stretching shadows across the clearing caught within Kael's fists as his resolve kept hardening. It was just the beginning.