Key's form flickered as he tore through the Abyss, each step pulling him leagues forward, his figure phasing in and out like a mirage. His mind was a blade of purpose, each thought sharpening his resolve. The energy of his power crackled around him, distorting reality in his wake as he honed in on the four warlords.
He could feel their auras from miles away—Varaxx, Zyrenna, Harak, and Malakar. Each was a beacon of malevolence, their power palpable, thick with the taint of the Abyss. As he neared their dark domain, Key slowed, his figure solidifying with an unyielding presence.
The warlords waited around the dark stone table, their eyes cold and calculating as they sized up the intruder. Varaxx, his reptilian gaze sharp and menacing, was the first to sneer. "So, the Ascended graces us with his presence.." he drawled, the corners of his mouth twisting in a serpentine smile. "Do you believe you can reclaim what's been claimed by the Abyss?"
Key's eyes narrowed, glowing with a dangerous intensity. His voice was low, a razor's edge of warning. "No games. Yield or get killed."
Varaxx laughed, the sound dripping with mockery. "We welcome your wrath, Ascended. Show us what you're made of."
A dark smile curved Key's lips, his eyes glowing with an intense, vibrant purple as he activated another skill
"I've always hated snakes."
Before he could finish activating his power, Varaxx lunged, coiling around him with blinding speed, constricting his movements. Key's eyes narrowed as he felt his limbs lock under Varaxx's crushing grip.
Varaxx's low chuckle reverberated in his ear. "Now, Harak!"
Harak stepped forward, raising his hand as molten energy erupted from his palm. "Molten Barrage!"
The sky darkened as hundreds of blazing meteor-sized lava rocks hurtled toward Key, each one aimed to crush him. Malakar, his face twisted in a cruel grin, held up his hand, blue energy sparking to life.
"There's no escape." With a flick of his wrist, he encased Key in a massive blue gem, sealing him tight. Malakar turned to Zyrenna, noting the brief flicker of hesitation in her eyes.
"What's the matter, Zyrenna?" he taunted. "Having second thoughts?"
Zyrenna's fingers twitched, her gaze fixed on Key. "I… I…" She stammered, her voice betraying a strange tremor. Her mind raced. 'My body… it's reacting to him… why?'
Malakar scowled. "Enough. Focus on the task. You were the one eager to fight together."
He then enclosed his hand and the gem detonated, releasing a cascade of shimmering shards just as the lava meteors slammed down
BOOOM
Dust and smoke obscured the area, but Varaxx's eyes scanned the shadows warily. "Look around.." he hissed. "He's not finished."
Harak glanced at Zyrenna, frowning. "What's gotten into you today? Usually you'll be the first to erase something."
Zyrenna tore her gaze from Key's silhouette, forcing her voice into an icy edge. "I'm fine." But her heart beat wildly, a whisper of fear mingled with fascination.
"We've already hit him once. A few mo-"
In the haze, a voice interrupted Varaxx, soft yet mocking. "All that… for an afterimage?"
Varaxx spun, slashing toward the voice with a deadly swipe. Key ducked beneath the blow.
"Weave-"
He then caught a fist aimed at his chin from Harak in a tight grip.
"Oh so y'all jumping now?" Key smirked, but his words were cut short as skeletal hands shot up from the ground, locking around his ankles.
Malakar took his chance, driving a fist into Key's jaw, snapping his head back. He followed with a swift kick to Key's solar plexus, bending him over, and Harak hammered down on him with a brutal strike, sending him hurtling skyward.
"Zyrenna!" Malakar barked.
Zyrenna clenched her fists, forcing herself to act. Black Abyssal energy crackled around her hands as she released it in a sharp blast. "Burst forth, Ruin Pillar!"
The ground beneath Key pulsed violently, splitting open to release a massive black beam that reached him in an instant.
Varaxx, his anger boiling over, raised his hand to the stormy sky. "Eliminate him. Lightning Bridge."
A thick, green bolt of lightning streaked down, locking onto Key, relentless as it struck him repeatedly, each impact crackling with lethal energy.
"This time, he won't escape."
Miniature suns formed around Key, circling him faster and faster, their intense heat warping the air. Harak's voice was chillingly calm. "Combust."
The suns collapsed inward, unleashing a violent explosion that seemed to tear the very fabric of the Abyss.
"And now…" Malakar began, summoning a dark sphere of energy. "Reality Erasure—"
-SNAP-
Suddenly everything..paused.
The warlords felt it—a paralyzing silence, an unnatural stillness that bound them. Their bodies were frozen in mid-motion, as if reality itself had become shackled by an unseen force. They strained, trying to push against the invisible binds, but it was no use. The power that gripped them was beyond anything they had encountered before.
From within the swirling chaos of the explosions and energy blasts, Key stepped out, unscathed. His form flickered, as if his presence distorted reality itself, bending time and space around him. His eyes glowed brighter, charged with the essence of the Divine Ascension: Wrath of the Ascended. With a slow, deliberate movement, he lifted his hand, and the dark energy around him shifted, condensing into tendrils that crackled with chaotic power.
"I warned you.." he whispered, his voice echoing with a strange, layered resonance. "Now you'll see the depths of the Abyss you've claimed."
Key's hand opened, and with it, fissures tore open across the warlords' domain, releasing storms of void energy that swirled and lashed out, bending and twisting the world around them. Reality began to fray, the edges unraveling as if it were nothing but a fabric he could rip apart. Each warlord felt the oppressive weight of his power press down upon them, a dark energy that threatened to consume them whole.
Varaxx's serpentine eyes widened in horror as he realized the sheer magnitude of the force before him. "Impossible… no one has commanded the Void like this."
Key's smile was cold, devoid of mercy. "No one..except the creator of it."
With a twist of his hand, the Void tendrils tightened around each of the warlords, pulling them toward the fissures. The dark energy coiled around them, restraining their movements, and as they struggled, their own powers were dampened, fading as they were consumed by the overwhelming force of Key's wrath.
Harak's face contorted in rage, his voice strained as he tried to summon his lava energy, but only a flicker responded. Zyrenna's hands trembled, black energy barely sparking as she fought against the pull. Malakar and Varaxx, both seasoned warriors of the Abyss, could do nothing but watch in horror as their own domain betrayed them, reshaped by Key's will.
Key watched as the warlords struggled, bound by the tendrils of the Void, the remains of their power draining as they hung on the edge of oblivion. Despite the fury and rage that had driven him this far, a flicker of something else passed through his gaze—mercy, or perhaps a desire to test them, to see if even they could recognize the inevitability of his dominion.
With a slow, almost contemplative gesture, Key loosened the tendrils, letting the Void's grip around them waver just enough to allow movement. His voice echoed through the broken realm, calm but charged with authority.
"One chance." he said, his tone as cold as the void itself. "Surrender now, submit to me, and I will grant you a place by my side. Resist…" His gaze hardened, the Void's energy swirling in his eyes. "And you will be erased."
Varaxx's expression twisted in fury. His pride, deeply rooted in his ancient power, wouldn't allow him to bow. With a fierce hiss, he snarled, "Never! The Abyss was ours long before you crawled into it. I will not serve!"
Without a word, Harak and Malakar followed suit, their pride mirroring Varaxx's. Lava energy bubbled and surged from Harak's fists as he prepared another attack, while Malakar's blue aura flared, his eyes filled with pure contempt.
But as they readied to strike, Zyrenna took a step back, her gaze softening as she looked at Key. Something within her stirred—a recognition of his overwhelming power, a respect, even admiration. Slowly, she lowered her head, bowing, her voice filled with sincerity.
"Master.." she whispered, her tone carrying both awe and loyalty. "I see now… I belong to you. My allegiance, my loyalty, my life—everything I am, I offer to you, my lord."
The other warlords turned their scornful glares on her, shock mixed with betrayal. Harak spat, "You dare betray us, Zyrenna?!"
Zyrenna met Harak's gaze, her expression unyielding. "I do what I must to survive. I choose power, true power." She looked back at Key, her eyes glimmering with devotion. "I choose him."
Key regarded her with a nod, a flicker of acknowledgment in his eyes, before his gaze shifted back to the others. "So, this is your decision.." he said softly, disappointment mingling with the cold wrath in his tone.
Offered them a second chance, but their pride got in the way of a favorable outcome. How disappointing..
Varaxx let out a roar and lunged, fangs bared and claws outstretched. Harak followed, molten lava pooling in his palms as he aimed another strike at Key, while Malakar summoned the remnants of his Abyssal energy, his eyes filled with a desperate defiance.
Key sighed. "Very well."
The Void energy flared, his power swelling in response to their attacks. With a mere flick of his wrist, the Void tendrils erupted, ensnaring Varaxx, Harak, and Malakar with an iron grip. They thrashed and fought, but it was futile. The tendrils pulled tighter, siphoning the very essence from their bodies, their auras dimming as The Abyss consumed them whole.
As their forms faded, Zyrenna watched, her expression unreadable. When the last echo of their existence faded, she knelt before Key, placing her hand over her heart in a gesture of fealty.
"My lord," she murmured, her voice steady, her eyes filled with an unwavering resolve. "I am yours to command. I pledge my loyalty, my power, my life. I will follow you, serve you, and protect you, whatever the cost."
Key's gaze softened as he looked down at her, and he extended a hand, lifting her to her feet. "Rise, Zyrenna." he commanded. "You've chosen wisely, but don't call me Lord. There's only one deserving of that title and it's not me."
She nodded. "Alright..Master." A smile graced her lips.
He glanced at her, his gaze shifting forward. "Come. We must hurry to the others."