The silence of the abyss was absolute, broken only by Kael Draven's steady breathing as he stood amidst the collapsing remains of the Void. Its infinite expanse, once untouchable and omnipresent, now resided within him, consumed and enslaved by his unrelenting hunger.
Power coursed through Kael's veins, raw and intoxicating. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He could feel the tendrils of the Void wrapping around his essence, merging with him, feeding him strength beyond comprehension.
Yet, there was something else.
Something faint, almost imperceptible—a whisper at the edge of his mind.
"Kael..."
The voice was soft and familiar, laced with defiance and bitterness. It shouldn't have been possible, yet it was undeniably real.
Kael's silver eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a faint smirk. "Lysara," he murmured, his voice low. "Is that you?"
---
The whisper grew louder, cutting through the heavy stillness of the Void's remains.
"You think you've won," the voice said, its tone sharp and mocking. "You think you can take everything and leave nothing behind."
Kael chuckled, his silver eyes gleaming. "I didn't think I'd hear from you again," he said, his tone casual. "You've been quiet since... well, you know."
The voice laughed, though the sound was cold and bitter. "You didn't think I'd leave, did you?" Lysara said. "You've dragged me with you, Kael. I'm a part of this now. Whether you like it or not."
Kael tilted his head, his smirk widening. "A part of me?" he asked, his voice dripping with mockery. "Is that what you're saying?"
The voice didn't answer immediately. Instead, the shadows around Kael began to shift, forming faint, flickering images. For a brief moment, he thought he saw Lysara's face—defiant and unbroken, her golden hair wild and untamed.
"You brought me into this madness," Lysara continued, her tone sharp. "Now you can't get rid of me."
---
Kael's smirk faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression. He could feel her presence now, faint but undeniable, lingering at the edge of his mind like a stubborn ghost.
"You're not real," he said, his voice firm.
"Aren't I?" Lysara shot back. "I was real enough when you used me. Real enough when you pushed me to my breaking point."
Kael's jaw tightened, though his expression remained calm. "You didn't break," he said. "You died."
The shadows shifted again, Lysara's flickering image growing clearer. "And whose fault was that?" she asked, her voice cold.
Kael laughed, though the sound lacked its usual malice. "Yours," he said simply. "You couldn't keep up."
Lysara's image leaned closer, her silver-tinted eyes burning with defiance. "And yet, here I am," she said. "Still with you. Still haunting you."
---
Kael's silver eyes narrowed as he studied her. "Why are you here?" he asked, his tone sharp.
"Maybe I want to see you fail," Lysara said. "Or maybe I just don't trust you to handle all this power without screwing it up."
Kael chuckled, his smirk returning. "You always did have a way with words," he said.
The shadows around him twisted, forming more distinct images of Lysara—her smirking face, her cigarette dangling lazily from her lips, her makeup flawless even in the depths of her decay.
"I'm not going anywhere, Kael," she said, her voice laced with determination. "You can't get rid of me, no matter how hard you try."
---
Kael shrugged, his dark magic surging around him. "You think I care?" he said. "Stay, haunt me, whisper in my ear—it won't change anything."
Lysara's laughter echoed through the void, sharp and mocking. "We'll see about that," she said.
Kael ignored her, focusing instead on the power that now coursed through him. The Void's essence was his, bound and enslaved, a limitless source of strength that no one—not even the gods—could hope to rival.
He could feel its influence spreading through him, reshaping him, making him more than he had ever been.
"This is only the beginning," Kael murmured, his silver eyes blazing. "The realms will kneel before me. The gods will tremble. And I'll make them all suffer for thinking they could stop me."
---
Lysara's voice cut through his thoughts, sharp and mocking. "You sound so sure of yourself," she said. "But power isn't everything, Kael. You should know that by now."
Kael smirked, though his patience was wearing thin. "Spare me the lecture," he said. "You're dead, remember? Your opinions don't matter anymore."
The shadows shifted again, Lysara's image growing clearer. "Dead or not, I still know you better than anyone," she said. "And I know how this ends."
Kael raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "Do you?" he asked, his tone mocking.
Lysara's gaze hardened. "You'll burn everything to the ground, Kael," she said. "And when there's nothing left, you'll realize that even the Void can't fill the emptiness inside you."
Kael's smirk faltered, but only for a moment. "You're wrong," he said, his voice cold. "The Void is mine now. I don't need anything else."
---
Despite his words, Kael couldn't shake the faint unease that crept into his mind. Lysara's presence, though faint, was growing stronger, her voice cutting through the silence of the Void like a blade.
"You'll see," she said, her tone soft but resolute. "You can take everything, Kael. You can destroy the realms, enslave the gods, even claim the Void itself. But it'll never be enough."
Kael clenched his fists, his dark magic flaring around him. "You're nothing," he growled. "A ghost. A memory. I won't let you distract me."
The shadows around him twisted, Lysara's laughter echoing through the abyss. "I don't need to distract you," she said. "You'll destroy yourself just fine without my help."
---
Kael turned away from the shifting shadows, his focus sharpening. He could feel the realms beyond the Void, their energy faint but unmistakable. The power he now wielded would allow him to reshape existence itself, to bend reality to his will.
He took a step forward, his silver eyes gleaming with determination. "Enough of this," he said. "The realms are mine to command. Nothing will stand in my way."
As he moved deeper into the Void, Lysara's voice faded, though her presence lingered at the edge of his mind.
"You'll see," she whispered, her tone soft but unyielding. "You can't run from what you are, Kael. No matter how far you go."
---
Kael ignored her, his gaze fixed on the horizon of the abyss. He had come too far to be distracted by ghosts and whispers. The power of the Void was his, and with it, he would conquer everything.
The gods, the realms, even the very fabric of reality—they would all bow before him.
And as Kael Draven stepped forward into the endless darkness, his laughter echoed through the Void, sharp and unrelenting, a testament to his unyielding hunger.
The journey was far from over.