Aric stood motionless, the last echo of the figure's voice still reverberating in his mind. The Abyss will test you... The words were like a curse, clinging to his thoughts as if they had become part of his very soul. The weight of what he had just learned settled heavily on his chest, pressing against him like the very shadows that had come alive in the ruins.
The Abyss had marked him. He had been chosen.
But chosen for what?
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration surging through him. He had always known there was something different about his connection to his beast, something unnatural about the power that surged through his veins whenever he tapped into the abyssal energy. But now, standing alone in the ruins of a forgotten city, Aric realized how little he truly understood about the force he was bound to. It wasn't just power; it was a living, breathing entity. And it wanted something from him.
The cold wind blew across the ancient stones, rattling the brittle remains of the city around him. His beast growled low, an uneasy rumble that Aric could feel vibrating through the ground beneath his feet. The creature was more attuned to the dangerous undercurrents of the Abyss than he was. Aric could sense its unease—the bond between them had always been a connection of shared instinct and emotion. His beast was unsettled, sensing something in the air that Aric himself could not yet comprehend.
"Let's go," Aric murmured, his voice barely a whisper. He needed to leave the ruins. To move forward. To find some kind of answer, or at least a clue to help him understand what he was supposed to do next.
But as he turned to leave, the ground beneath his feet trembled.
At first, it was just a subtle vibration, like the distant rumble of thunder. But then the earth shuddered more violently, and the sky above seemed to darken. The wind howled, and the air grew thick, heavy with power.
Aric's eyes darted around. The ruins were alive with an ancient energy now, a palpable force th