There he saw
Into the boundless depths of his own mind
A peculiar sight unfolded before his inner eye.
Two objects, seemingly incongruous yet oddly familiar, floated amidst the endless expanse.
It was like witnessing butterflies flitting across a vast, starless sky.
A sense of disorientation washed over him.
He recognized these objects – the worn, dilapidated book he'd discovered in his room earlier, and the smooth, obsidian-like gem gifted to him by the Duke.
But what were they doing here, within the confines of his own consciousness?
Intrigue battled with unease.
The book, with its brittle pages and cryptic symbols, had always held an air of mystery.
And the gem, cool and enigmatic, pulsed with a faint, rhythmic energy that Abel couldn't quite explain.
The creature's guttural growl scraped against Abel's eardrums, a chilling reminder of his imminent demise.
It loomed closer, its fetid breath washing over him as its razor-sharp teeth gnashed inches from his exposed neck.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl
"Come!!"
Abel roared, a primal scream fueled by desperation. Every fiber of his being – his will, his desperation, his very survival instinct
Converged into a single, desperate command.
"Come, fucking here!" he bellowed, his voice laced with a raw, primal energy.
A tremor ran through him.
In the depths of his mind, the obsidian-like object pulsed with a sudden, blinding light. It vibrated violently
As if responding to his desperate plea, before vanishing like a burst bubble.
With a surge of newfound strength
Abel lashed out.
He channeled all his remaining energy into a single, powerful swipe of his hand, an arm empowered by something beyond his physical limitations.
"Die you monster!"
The blow landed with a sickening thud
A sound like a coconut shattering.
The creature's head snapped sideways, its eyes wide with surprise and a flicker of pain.
Yet, the victory was short-lived.
The beast shook off the blow with inhuman resilience, a cruel smile twisting its face.
"What...!?"
Abel breathed, a mixture of disbelief and dawning horror creeping into his voice.
The power he'd unleashed – it wasn't enough. The creature, seemingly unharmed, regarded him with a chilling amusement.
"Die!"
Gritting his teeth until his jaw ached, Abel channeled every ounce of his remaining strength.
With a desperate roar, he swung his hand, the obsidian-like object once again a potent extension of his will.
It smashed into the creature's head with the force of a battering ram.
But the impact was like a pillow striking an iron wall.
The blow had no effect.
The creature barely flinched, its eyes gleaming with amusement as it watched Abel's futile struggle.
The creature watched Abel's futile struggle with amusement, its eyes gleaming with malicious delight.
"Get off!"
"Get off!"
"Get off!"
Abel's desperate pleas echoed in the air, unanswered.
No matter how much strength he mustered, each strike landed with a dull thud
leaving the beast unscathed.
Despair gnawed at Abel's resolve
"Is this really the end?"
He rasped, his voice heavy with defeat.
"Did the heavens truly deny me a chance to live?"
His words were lost on the creature, who continued to observe him with morbid fascination.
'If only...'
Abel's desperate thought echoed in the stillness.
'If only this were something sharp'
'Something deadly...'
'Something...'
His mind raced, searching for a solution in the face of his inevitable demise.
The word slipped from his lips, a desperate plea –
'Like...'
"A knife"
In that very instant, the obsidian gem within his mind shattered.
Not with a deafening explosion, but with the quiet fragility of an eggshell.
It splintered into countless pieces, revealing something beneath its dark surface.
Something sharp. Something deadly.
The shattered fragments coalesced, reforming into a singular object bathed in the pale sunlight filtering through the trees.
It was a knife, its blade as black as ink, absorbing all light that dared touch its surface. It wasn't a polished metal, gleaming and reflective
This blade held a different kind of sheen – a darkness so profound it seemed to devour the surrounding light.
It was like a slumbering monster of shadow, its true power hidden beneath its unassuming exterior.
Neither Abel, consumed by his struggle for survival, nor the creature, its cruel amusement momentarily piqued by Abel's futile resistance, noticed the transformation that had taken place.
A sickening tear of flesh and a gurgling cry shattered the tense silence.
"What...!?"
Abel, eyes wide with a mix of terror and primal rage
Finally saw the effect of his desperate attack.
The creature, its mocking expression replaced by a mask of agony, clutched at its head as blood poured from a gaping wound, staining the forest floor crimson.
In Abel's hand, the seemingly unremarkable black knife pulsed with a faint, dark energy. It was a chilling reminder of the power he had unleashed from within the obsidian gem.
Fueled by a surge of long-dormant rage
Abel transformed into a desperate beast.
He lunged at the creature, the shadow knife a blur in his hand.
Each stab was a primal scream, a violent expulsion of the fear and despair that had threatened to consume him.
"Die...!"
"Die!
"Die!"
He roared, his voice raw with emotion.
The creature, weakened and disoriented, could only offer a whimper of protest as Abel unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Blood soaked Abel's clothes once more
A grim testament to the brutality of the fight.
Finally, with a kingly flourish that belied the horror of the scene,
Abel plunged the knife deep into the creature's heart.
"Die."
A guttural death rattle escaped the creature's throat as its body went limp.
Abel watched, his chest heaving, as the last vestiges of life drained away.
The silence that followed was heavy, broken only by the dripping of blood.
He stood there, bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun, the shadow knife dripping with a darkness that seemed to seep into his very soul.
The victor, yes, but a victor forever stained by the violence of his victory.