The air was thick, oppressive—charged with a dark energy that made every breath feel like a weight on Valthar's chest. He could sense the Abyss pressing against his mind, trying to push him deeper into its black maw. He and Serra had been walking for hours, but each step felt like they were inching toward some inevitable reckoning.
As they moved through the bleak landscape, a structure appeared in the distance, rising from the cracked earth like a jagged wound on the land. It was a temple—ancient, decrepit, and etched with the same symbols of the Abyss that haunted Valthar's memories. The sight of it sent a chill through his spine.
Serra stopped beside him, her eyes narrowing as she gazed at the temple. "This place… it feels wrong."
Valthar nodded, his gaze fixed on the towering ruins ahead. "It's old. Older than the Abyss we know. I can feel it."
They approached cautiously, the oppressive silence broken only by the faint hum of dark magic pulsing from the temple walls. Valthar's heart pounded in his chest, but it wasn't fear that gripped him—it was something else. Something more primal, more personal. The temple called to him, the pull of the Abyss stronger here than it had ever been before.
As they crossed the threshold, a wave of memories crashed over Valthar, so intense that he staggered, clutching his head as the images assaulted him. Serra rushed to his side, her hand gripping his arm.
"Valthar! What's happening?"
But Valthar could barely hear her. The memories came fast, unrelenting. Visions of fire, blood, and darkness filled his mind. He saw faces—familiar, long gone. He heard voices—his own screams, the laughter of the Abyss.
Then, suddenly, the present shattered, and he was no longer in the temple.
Years Earlier
The village was burning.
Valthar, just a boy, stood frozen as the flames devoured everything around him. The acrid stench of smoke and burning flesh filled his lungs as he struggled to breathe. His parents' house—his home—was nothing but a charred skeleton, the roof caving in as the fire raged.
His father lay on the ground, his body twisted in an unnatural angle, blood pooling beneath him. His mother screamed in agony, her voice breaking as the shadows overwhelmed her. Valthar tried to run to her, but something held him back—a presence, cold and menacing, wrapping around him like chains.
"Run, Valthar!" his mother cried, her voice choking as the darkness swallowed her whole. "Run!"
But he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. The Abyss was there, whispering in his ear, promising him power. It wanted him. It had always wanted him.
And in that moment, it claimed him.
Valthar gasped as the memory faded, his body trembling. He was back in the temple, but the pain lingered, sharp and suffocating. He fell to his knees, clutching his chest as though the Abyss had torn his heart out.
Serra knelt beside him, her face etched with concern. "What did you see?"
Valthar couldn't speak for a moment, the weight of the past suffocating him. Finally, he whispered, "The day the Abyss came for me. The day my family died."
Serra's expression softened, but there was a hardness in her eyes as well. "You've never spoken about them before. What happened?"
Valthar's mind reeled, memories he had buried for years clawing their way to the surface. He had tried to forget. He had tried to push the pain down, to pretend that the Abyss had always been a part of him. But it hadn't. There had been a time before—before the darkness, before the blood. Before Kaelion.
He stared at the temple walls, his voice hollow. "My village was attacked. Kaelion… my brother. He was there, but he wasn't the same. The Abyss had already taken him."
Serra's eyes widened. "Kaelion… he did this?"
Valthar nodded, his jaw clenched. "He wasn't always like this. We were brothers once, close. But he was always drawn to the Abyss. He thought he could control it… just like I did."
Serra stayed silent, letting him continue.
"He found the Abyss first," Valthar murmured, his voice distant as the memories flooded back. "He wanted to show me… to share its power. But I resisted. I didn't want it. Not then."
He swallowed hard, the image of his burning village seared into his mind. "But Kaelion… he was consumed by it. And the Abyss, it fed on him. It twisted him into something else. When he came back to the village, he wasn't my brother anymore. He was a monster."
The temple's shadows seemed to deepen, the Abyss whispering in the corners of Valthar's mind. The past was unraveling, and with it, the weight of his guilt.
"I tried to fight him," Valthar said, his voice breaking. "But I was too weak. He destroyed everything—our home, our family. And in the end… I let the Abyss in. I let it take me."
Serra's hand rested on his shoulder, a silent gesture of support. "You were a child, Valthar. There was nothing you could do."
Valthar shook his head, his voice low and bitter. "I could have stopped him. I should have stopped him."
The weight of his past hung heavy in the air, but Serra's grip on his shoulder tightened. "You didn't choose the Abyss, Valthar. It was forced on you. And now, you have a chance to change things—to stop Kaelion before he destroys everything again."
Valthar closed his eyes, the memories still raw, but Serra's words held a sliver of truth. He had a chance now to end what had started so long ago, to stop his brother before the Abyss claimed everything.
The temple walls seemed to pulse with dark energy, the Abyss feeding off his emotions. But in the midst of the darkness, there was a flicker of resolve. He wouldn't run from his past anymore. He wouldn't let the Abyss win.
With a deep breath, he rose to his feet, his gaze hard. "We need to find the Key. And when we do… we end this."
Serra nodded, her eyes fierce. "Together."
As they turned to leave the temple, Valthar knew that the journey ahead wouldn't just be about the Key. It would be about facing the darkness that had haunted him for years. About facing Kaelion—and the truth of their past.
Because the Abyss hadn't just claimed his brother.
It had claimed him too.