Kairos Veil was a prince who lived for honor and loyalty, until the day his family was betrayed and his kingdom destroyed by those he trusted most. Left to die in the Abyss—a forbidden realm where broken souls rot—he makes an unholy pact with a dying god. Armed with forbidden powers and a burning desire for vengeance, Kairos emerges from the shadows to reclaim his shattered kingdom. But the world has changed in his absence, and so has he. With allies forged in blood and enemies lurking in every shadow, Kairos must rise above the chaos to become something greater than a king—a sovereign feared by gods and mortals alike.
Chapter 1: The Abyss BeckonsThe world ended for Kairos Veil with the sound of his father's scream.
"Run!" his father roared, his once-mighty frame pinned beneath the blade of a man they had called a friend.
Kairos's legs refused to move. His blood, once proud with royal lineage, felt like ice in his veins. Around him, the throne room burned, its golden banners consumed by crimson flames. Betrayal hung heavy in the air, more suffocating than the smoke.
"Your Majesty, we must leave!" Captain Arlen, the last loyal knight, grabbed Kairos by the arm. But Kairos's eyes stayed locked on his father's.
The king—his father—smiled, even as the life ebbed from him. "Survive," he whispered.
The next moment, the assassin's blade struck true.
Kairos screamed as Arlen dragged him through a hidden passage. His vision blurred with tears and ash, and his fists clenched so tightly his nails drew blood.
"Don't look back," Arlen warned, though it was already too late.
By the time they reached the castle's escape route, the sounds of pursuit were closing in. "This way," Arlen urged, leading him to a hidden cliffside path. But when the ambush came, it was swift and brutal.
Arlen fell first, a spear through his chest. His last words were a snarl: "Fight, Prince Kairos. Live!"
And then they came for him.
Kairos fought, but he was no match for trained assassins. Bloodied and beaten, he was dragged to the edge of the Abyss—a chasm that had been forbidden for centuries.
"Your bloodline dies here," the leader sneered, shoving him toward the edge.
Kairos fell.
Down, down, down, into darkness that felt alive.
Kairos awoke to whispers.
The Abyss was not a pit of emptiness—it was a graveyard of worlds. Broken spires jutted from the ground like ribs of a long-dead beast. Shadows moved in the corners of his vision, too fast to catch.
"You're not dead yet."
The voice slithered into his mind. Turning, he saw a figure—not a man, not quite a monster. Its body was skeletal, cloaked in a robe that shimmered like black oil.
"Who… what are you?" Kairos rasped.
"I am forgotten," it replied, its voice like rusted chains. "But I remember enough to see your hatred. Your thirst for vengeance. That is why I offer you a choice."
It raised a clawed hand, and the air rippled like water.
"Die here, nameless and broken, like all the rest. Or take my power, and become something more."
Kairos hesitated. He thought of his father's scream. His mother's tears. The traitors' smirks.
"Swear yourself to me," the being urged, "and you will have the strength to shatter your enemies, piece by piece."
Kairos's trembling hand reached out. His voice was hoarse, but steady.
"I swear."
The moment their hands touched, the Abyss roared. Shadows surged into Kairos, flooding his veins with power. Pain like fire burned through his soul, but he held on.
When it was over, the figure was gone. But Kairos was no longer the same.
He looked down at his hands, now marked with glowing sigils. The ground trembled beneath his feet, and in the distance, the first of the Abyssal beasts began to stir.
Kairos Veil had been a prince.
Now, he was a revenant. And the world would know his wrath.
Chapter 2: Awakening in ShadowThe Abyss was alive.
It wasn't just the distant growls that rumbled through the air like a storm waiting to strike, or the faint whispers that coiled around his mind like vipers. It was the way the ground pulsed beneath his feet, each thrum in sync with his heartbeat, as though the entire realm was watching him.
Kairos stumbled forward, his legs trembling. The glowing sigils on his hands pulsed faintly, their light cutting through the oppressive darkness. Each symbol was a sharp curve or jagged edge, like a language of the forgotten.
"What have I done?" he muttered.
The entity's voice echoed in his mind once more, faint but unmistakable. "You have begun."
Ahead of him, the landscape stretched endlessly—a wasteland of shattered towers and jagged cliffs. Broken weapons and rusted armor littered the ground, remnants of battles fought long before his time.
A cold wind swept past him, carrying whispers that spoke his name.
"Kairos..."
He turned sharply, hands raised instinctively. The sigils flared, and shadows rippled at his command. He stared at his hands in awe and terror.
The whispers grew louder. Shapes emerged from the darkness—twisted forms of bone and shadow, their eyes glowing with a sickly green light. They slithered and crawled closer, their forms unnatural, as if the Abyss had stitched them together from the remnants of nightmares.
Kairos's breathing quickened. He backed away, but the creatures encircled him, their movements synchronized as if driven by a single mind.
"They hunger," the voice warned. "The Abyss does not give without taking."
One of the creatures lunged.
Kairos reacted instinctively. He thrust his hand forward, and the sigils blazed brighter. A shadow erupted from his palm, coiling like a serpent before spearing through the creature's chest. It shrieked, a sound that pierced the air like shattered glass, before dissolving into ash.
The other creatures hesitated. For the first time, they seemed to regard him with something other than hunger.
Kairos didn't wait. He clenched his fists, and the shadows around him stirred. Tendrils of darkness lashed out, striking the creatures with lethal precision. Each one fell, their forms disintegrating as the Abyss consumed them.
When the last one was gone, Kairos fell to his knees, his chest heaving. The sigils dimmed, but their warmth lingered beneath his skin.
"You're learning."
The voice startled him. He looked up to see a figure standing atop a nearby spire—a woman, cloaked in ragged cloth and wearing a mask fashioned from bone. Her presence was sharp and commanding, like a blade held to his throat.
"Who are you?" Kairos demanded, struggling to stand.
The woman tilted her head, her bone mask glinting faintly. "The better question is: who are you?"
Kairos scowled. "I'm Kairos Veil, heir to the Kingdom of Thalloran. And you?"
The woman laughed, a hollow sound. "Heir? Not here. Not anymore. In the Abyss, you're just another lost soul waiting to be devoured." She leapt down from the spire, landing lightly before him.
Her mask shifted slightly, revealing piercing eyes. "But you're different. That power... it's not yours. And it's only a matter of time before it consumes you."
Kairos clenched his fists. "Then let it try. I have nothing left to lose."
The woman regarded him silently for a moment, then nodded. "Good. You'll need that fire if you're going to survive. Follow me."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because," she said, turning away, "if you don't, the Abyss will claim you by dawn."
Chapter 3: Trial of the AbyssAs Kairos followed the masked woman through the ruins, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. The shadows seemed to shift when he wasn't looking, and the whispers grew louder with every step.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"To the Veilforge," the woman replied. "It's where all newcomers must go. If you're going to wield that power without losing yourself, you'll need a bond."
"A bond?"
She glanced back at him. "The Abyss is alive, prince. It demands a price for everything it gives. Without a bond to anchor your soul, that power you just used will tear you apart."
Kairos's jaw tightened. "What kind of bond?"
"You'll see."
They reached the ruins of a great temple, its spires broken and its walls covered in the same glowing symbols that marked Kairos's hands. At the center of the temple stood a massive altar, surrounded by a circle of jagged stones.
The woman gestured toward the altar. "This is the Veilforge. Place your hand on it, and the Abyss will offer you a bond."
Kairos approached the altar cautiously. The air around it was heavy, almost suffocating. He could feel the power radiating from it, a pulse that matched his heartbeat.
"Be warned," the woman said. "The Abyss doesn't care about your desires. It will give you what it sees fit. And once the bond is made, there's no turning back."
Kairos hesitated, his mind racing. He thought of his father's death, the betrayal that had destroyed everything he'd ever known.
"I don't care what it takes," he said, placing his hand on the altar. "I'll do whatever it takes to destroy them."
The altar glowed, and the world around him dissolved into darkness.