Hakan, Aria, and Ezekiel moved swiftly through the towering fortress, their footsteps echoing against the cold stone floors. The air grew heavier with every step, an oppressive weight pressing down on them as they ascended toward the top.
Then—a deafening explosion rocked the entire structure.
A pulse of raw energy surged through the halls, a shockwave so intense that the walls trembled. Dust cascaded from the ceiling, and for a fleeting moment, the fortress itself seemed to groan in protest. The three warriors staggered, momentarily thrown off balance.
"What the hell was that?" Aria hissed, gripping the hilt of her weapon.
Ezekiel's sharp eyes flickered toward the direction of the blast. "Something—or someone—just got annihilated."
Hakan narrowed his eyes, his instincts screaming at him. This wasn't normal. That surge of energy—it was unlike anything he had felt before. And worse, there was another presence, something vast and suffocating lurking ahead, radiating a power so foreign and overwhelming that even he felt the faintest trace of unease.
Aria exhaled, shaking off the initial shock. "We need to keep moving."
"Yeah," Hakan muttered, his expression hardening. "But whatever's up there… it's not going to be a simple fight."
The air grew heavier with each step as Hakan, Aria, and Ezekiel ascended the winding staircase. The oppressive silence of the tower gnawed at their senses, broken only by the distant echoes of battle far below. The walls, once grand, bore deep cracks, as if the tower itself was suffering under the weight of the chaos unfolding within.
Then—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rocked the entire structure. The tremor nearly threw Aria off balance, and even Hakan's unwavering stance faltered for a split second. Ezekiel, his instincts razor-sharp, caught Aria by the wrist before she could stumble. They barely had time to react before another pulse of raw, unfamiliar energy surged through the tower, an abyssal force so intense it felt as though reality itself trembled beneath its weight.
"What the hell was that?" Aria breathed, eyes darting to Hakan.
Hakan's expression darkened. He didn't know. But whatever it was, it wasn't human.
He wasn't the only one who noticed.
Ezekiel placed a hand against the nearest wall, feeling the reverberations of something far more powerful than anything they had encountered so far. His brows furrowed. "Something unnatural is here… something beyond our understanding."
Aria's fingers curled around her weapon, her grip tightening. "First that explosion, and then that energy and now this ? This tower's turning into a damn nightmare."
Hakan exhaled sharply. "No use standing around. We move."
And so they did, ascending the last few steps before reaching the highest floor.
A vast chamber awaited them. Yet, it was not what they expected.
There was no grand enemy awaiting their arrival. No battlefield stained with blood. No corpses of warriors who had fought before them.
Nothing.
Just emptiness.
At the far end of the chamber stood two ancient throne-like chairs, their obsidian surfaces etched with unreadable markings, emanating a faint but ominous glow. Dust swirled in the dim light, as if the air itself had not been disturbed for centuries.
Something was wrong.
Hakan took a slow, cautious step forward, his instincts screaming at him.
Then—
The temperature plummeted.
A deafening, otherworldly screech pierced the silence as two massive figures materialized before them, emerging from thin air as if reality itself had been torn open.
The first creature stood nearly seven feet tall, its form a fusion of a man and something far more primal. Midnight-black armor covered its body, shifting and pulsating like it was alive. Its face remained concealed beneath a sinister, draconic helm, from which two curved horns jutted backward. The creature's burning crimson eyes pierced through the darkness, filled with an eerie intelligence. But the most horrifying feature was its wings—great, jagged, draconic appendages that unfurled from its back, shimmering with an unholy energy. In its right hand, it gripped a massive, rune-etched greatsword, its blade humming with restrained devastation.
Name: Vael'Zyrr, the Abyssal Warden.
Beside him stood a twisted abomination of flesh and shadow. Its form constantly shifted, shifting between humanoid and something else—a nightmare given shape. It was taller than Vael'Zyrr, its body draped in a cloak of living darkness that writhed and twisted as if trying to escape. Four skeletal arms protruded from beneath the cloak, each ending in elongated, clawed fingers that twitched in anticipation. A crown of jagged bone rested upon what could barely be called its head, hollow eyes filled with an endless abyss. The air around it crackled, reality distorting in its wake.
Name: Zareth'Ghul, the Voidborn Executioner.
The moment they appeared, an overwhelming force crashed over the entire floor. The sheer weight of their existence pressed upon Hakan, Aria, and Ezekiel like a crushing tide, their very souls rebelling against the unnatural presence before them.
For the first time in a long while, even Hakan felt it—an instinctive warning clawing at the back of his mind.
These were not ordinary monsters.
These were sentinels.
Guardians of something far greater.
And they were not here to talk.
Zareth'Ghul's head tilted unnaturally, its voice an amalgamation of whispers and screams.
"Trespassers. The abyss does not welcome you."
Vael'Zyrr raised his sword, pointing it directly at them. His voice was cold, emotionless, yet carried the weight of an ancient executioner passing judgment.
"You do not belong here. Leave, or be erased."
A silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken intent.
Then—
Hakan grinned.
"Finally," he muttered, cracking his knuckles as his blades ignited. "Something interesting."
Zareth'Ghul hissed, his form twisting. Vael'Zyrr's wings flared, his blade humming with restrained devastation.
The battle was inevitable.
And it would shake the tower to its very foundations.
The chamber erupted with power.
Hakan barely had a second to react before Vael'Zyrr launched forward, moving with terrifying speed despite his towering frame. His greatsword swung in a blur of abyssal steel, the air screaming as the sheer force of the strike tore through the space between them.
CLANG!
Hakan's arms locked as he met the blow head-on, his own power surging to reinforce his defense. The ground beneath him shattered, the sheer impact sending shockwaves across the chamber.
"Tch—he's strong," Hakan muttered, gritting his teeth as the force pushed him back several feet.
Vael'Zyrr didn't hesitate. His draconic wings flared open, kicking up a violent storm of energy as he launched another attack, his sword carving through the air like a guillotine of absolute destruction.
BOOM!
Hakan dodged at the last second, flipping backward as the blade smashed into the ground where he once stood, leaving a deep crater in the ancient stone. But Vael'Zyrr wasn't done—he twisted, swinging upward in a deadly arc, aiming to cleave Hakan in two.
Hakan smirked.
Just before impact, his form blurred—a streak of sheer speed as he vanished from sight.
"Not bad."
Vael'Zyrr's eyes snapped to the side—
—Hakan was already behind him.
His fist as he struck.
"Titan Fang!"
His attack landed squarely against Vael'Zyrr's side, the force behind it so great that the very air rippled outward in shockwaves. The impact sent the Abyssal Warden flying, his armored body crashing into the distant walls like a meteor.
The ground quaked. Dust and debris rained from the ceiling.
But before Hakan could follow up—
A shriek of pure horror ripped through the chamber.
Zareth'Ghul had begun its attack.
The shifting horror that was Zareth'Ghul loomed over them, its multiple limbs moving in erratic, unnatural motions, as if it existed beyond the constraints of mortal anatomy.
Aria's breath hitched.
This thing wasn't just powerful.
It was wrong.
A hand of black mist shot toward her. She barely managed to dodge as the floor decayed instantly upon contact, disintegrating into nothingness.
Ezekiel wasted no time.
"Shadow Reap!"
Dark blades erupted from the floor, twisting like fangs of the void, surging upward toward Zareth'Ghul. But the nightmare-thing simply shifted, its form phasing through the attack like smoke.
Then it retaliated.
From the abyssal mass of its body, jagged, black chains shot out in all directions.
Ezekiel barely dodged one, but another wrapped around his arm—
And the pain was instant.
His vision darkened. His very life force was being drained from his body, his veins turning black as the creature siphoned his strength.
"Ghh—!"
Aria didn't hesitate.
She flicked her hand, a glowing arcane blade forming in her grip. With a precise slash, she severed the chain, freeing Ezekiel before it could consume him further.
He collapsed onto one knee, breathing heavily.
"That thing can drain us if it touches us," Aria warned, helping him up. "We can't afford mistakes."
Zareth'Ghul loomed once more, its presence distorting reality itself.
And then—
The tower trembled again.
Far below, Raiden and his team sprinted through the war-torn halls, moving fast. The destruction left in the wake of the previous battle was evident—walls collapsed, scorch marks painted the floors, and the stench of blood and burning metal filled the air.
And then they saw them.
Lucian lay on the ground, barely conscious, his body trembling from exhaustion and lingering corruption. His normally sharp features were pale, sweat trailing down his forehead. His signature ethereal blades flickered in and out of existence, his power unstable.
Maris was kneeling beside him, blood dripping from her lip, her face grim.
Raiden halted. His eyes quickly assessed the damage.
"Maris! What happened?"
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "No time. Abomination... It was—" she gritted her teeth, wiping the blood from her mouth. "It nearly killed us. Lucian... they tried to override his mind. He broke free, but—"
Raiden's jaw clenched. He could see it now.
Lucian had been through hell.
He knelt beside him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "Lucian."
Lucian's eyes flickered open, barely registering him.
Raiden wasn't sure if it was rage or exhaustion in his gaze.
"Help them ?" Lucian rasped, his voice hoarse.
Maris pressed her lips together. "We killed it. But…" she turned to Raiden, urgency in her voice. "Hakan, Aria, Ezekiel—they're above us. They need you."
Raiden's eyes narrowed. "You're telling me they went ahead? Alone?"
Maris nodded, gripping his arm tightly. "Raiden, you don't get it. The things in this tower? They're not normal. And I don't think Hakan knows what the hell he's walking into."
Her expression was grave.
"Get up there. Now."
Raiden didn't hesitate.
He turned to his team. "Eli, stay here. Heal them."
Eli, their team's best healer, knelt beside Lucian without question. "Got it."
Raiden turned toward the stairway leading to the highest floor.
"Let's move."
And without looking back, he and his team composing of Dante and Victor along side the black dragons vanished into the darkness.
The battle raged on.
Vael'Zyrr and Hakan clashed again, each blow shaking the room. Aria and Ezekiel fought desperately against Zareth'Ghul, their attacks barely keeping up withthe nightmare ..
Then—
A presence surged through the chamber.
A new energy.
Fast. Familiar. Powerful.
Hakan's eyes snapped to the stairway entrance.
And there they were.
Raiden's team had arrived.
The reinforcements had come.
And the tide of battle was about to shift.
The air crackled with tension as Raiden, Dante, Victor, and the Black Dragons stormed into the battlefield. Dust and debris swirled around them, the aftermath of the ongoing clash evident in the fractured ground and abyss-tainted air.
Ezekiel, breathing heavily, didn't waste a second. "Hakan—go!" he shouted. "We'll handle this!"
Hakan hesitated, his battle instincts screaming at him to finish what he started. His fists clenched, eyes narrowing at the abyssal warlord before him. But then, he caught Raiden's steady gaze. Trust.
A wicked grin spread across his face. "Fine," he muttered. "Don't die."
Then, with explosive force, Hakan surged forward—
—and with one devastating punch, he sent Vael'Zyrr flying. The abyssal warrior crashed through the chamber, shattering ancient pillars and embedding deep into the farthest wall with a thunderous boom. The entire tower trembled.
Hakan exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "That should keep him busy." His gaze snapped to Victor. "You! Help the Black Dragons finish that bastard off."
Victor nodded, already stepping forward, his hands crackling with energy. "On it."
As he rushed toward Vael'Zyrr, Sylvia, Torren, Rina, and Alaric moved in unison, their combined strength igniting as they prepared to end the warden once and for all.
Meanwhile—
Raiden and Dante wasted no time, dashing toward Zareth'Ghul, who loomed over Aria and Ezekiel, its skeletal arms reaching for them like the grasp of death itself.
Dante's blade flashed, slashing through the abyssal chains that threatened to ensnare Ezekiel again. "You owe me for that," he quipped.
Ezekiel smirked, though exhaustion weighed on him. "I'll pay you back after we kill this thing."
Raiden's eyes locked onto the shifting horror that was Zareth'Ghul. His fist tightened. "Then let's make sure it doesn't get another chance."
The battle was far from over.
And the High Tower was about to witness a war unlike any other.
Hakan didn't look back.
His feet pounded against the ancient stone as he ascended the final steps toward the highest floor. The air grew heavier with each level he climbed, the oppressive weight of something far worse than what they had already fought pressing against his chest. Shadows slithered along the walls, watching, waiting.
But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.
Because whatever lay ahead—whoever was waiting for him—was the true enemy.
And Hakan had never once backed down from a fight.
BOOM!
Victor barely dodged as Vael'Zyrr came crashing down, his massive greatsword carving through the ground, sending a shockwave that cracked the chamber in half.
"Damn it, this thing just won't die!" Victor growled, flipping backward as Sylvia and Torren lunged in from both sides.
Sylvia's illusions distorted the battlefield, causing multiple images of the Black Dragons to attack at once, while Torren unleashed a hellstorm of flames at point-blank range. Vael'Zyrr stood in the center of it, unfazed—until Rina's barriers slammed shut around him, trapping him within a confined space.
"Now, Alaric!" Rina shouted.
Alaric grinned, manipulating the kinetic force within the battlefield itself. The very energy from every impact rebounded, gathering into his next strike. With a roar, he launched a concentrated shockwave punch—
BOOM!
The force of the attack collapsed the space within the barriers, turning the trap into a self-contained implosion that engulfed Vael'Zyrr completely.
For a moment, the battlefield fell silent.
Then—
A blackened blade shot out of the smoke.
Torren barely moved in time.
The attack missed his throat by inches, but the sheer pressure behind it sent him flying backward, crashing into the broken remains of a stone pillar.
Vael'Zyrr stepped forward, untouched.
His abyssal armor was cracked but still whole. His wings flared open, and his burning crimson eyes showed no pain.
He was relentless. Unstoppable. A warrior who would fight until his last breath.
And the Black Dragons and Victor were not winning.
Meanwhile, Zareth'Ghul was proving to be even worse.
Raiden vanished in a flash, dodging an onslaught of abyssal chains that tore through the air where he had stood a second before.
Dante clashed with one of its skeletal arms, his sword scraping against it—but it was like cutting into pure void itself.
"Nothing is hitting this thing!" Dante spat, rolling to the side as the creature's form distorted again, shifting and breaking the laws of reality around it.
Ezekiel growled, forming black sigils around the battlefield. "Then we stop playing fair."
Dark magic surged.
The sigils activated, forcing Zareth'Ghul into a more solid form—its body staggered for the first time.
That was all Aria needed.
She leaped forward, her blade glowing with arcane runes. She slashed through the nightmare, her magic-infused strike actually drawing blood—if it could be called that.
A horrific screech ripped through the chamber.
Zareth'Ghul twisted violently, its form spasming, its abyssal energy breaking apart and reforming again. It was hurt.
But not dead.
Dante, breathing heavily, wiped sweat from his brow. "Great. We can actually damage it." His expression darkened. "Now we just have to survive long enough to kill it."
Zareth'Ghul rose once more, its presence warping reality itself.
The battle was far from over.
And they were running out of time.
The Turning Point
The battle raged on, the chamber shaking under the sheer force of clashing powers.
Raiden stood in the midst of the chaos, his form engulfed in pure void energy, his very essence radiating an abyssal power that even Zareth'Ghul seemed to acknowledge. The nightmare creature lashed out, its skeletal arms warping reality itself, but—
Decay no longer worked on him.
Raiden moved like a phantom, slipping through attacks that should have erased him from existence. He countered fiercely, his void-infused strikes finally tearing into Zareth'Ghul's body, forcing the monster to screech in pain.
Dante grinned, flames swirling around him as he summoned rivers of molten lava, turning the battlefield into a blazing hellscape. "If Raiden can hold the bastard down," he roared, "then let's burn it to the ground!"
Massive waves of lava crashed forward, enveloping Zareth'Ghul in a blazing inferno. The creature twisted violently, its unholy form convulsing against the unrelenting heat.
Aria and Ezekiel seized the opening, launching their strongest attacks—
Arcane storm met dark sigils, warping space itself around the beast.
For the first time, Zareth'Ghul faltered.
They could win.
Vael'Zyrr—The Unyielding Warden
On the other side of the chamber, Vael'Zyrr was proving to be an unstoppable wall of destruction. Each swing of his abyssal greatsword shattered stone and sent shockwaves through the air. Victor and Alaric faced him head-on, knowing that even a moment of hesitation would mean certain death.
Sylvia's illusions blurred the battlefield, creating dozens of false Victors and Alarics, making it impossible for Vael to target them precisely.
Torren kept up a relentless barrage of flames, his fire snaking around the battlefield, forcing Vael to stay on the defensive.
Rina's barriers flashed into existence, absorbing deadly counterattacks and giving her allies the split-second openings they needed.
Victor struck with unmatched ferocity, his blade clashing against Vael's in a storm of steel and void energy.
Alaric, grinning despite the exhaustion setting in, channeled kinetic force into his next strike, delivering a devastating blow straight into Vael's gut. The impact sent the Warden skidding back for the first time since the fight began.
For an instant—
Both teams were finally on equal footing with the monsters.
And the battle was far from over.
The lowest floor of the High Tower trembled beneath the clash of power. The air crackled with abyssal energy, thick with the scent of scorched stone and burning magic. The once-grand chamber was now a battlefield—a warzone where light and shadow collided in an unrelenting struggle.
At its center stood Nyxara, the Abyssal Harbinger.
Her four wings twitched, two massive ones woven from abyssal feathers, while the smaller ones flared in anticipation. Midnight-black armor clung to her like living shadows, shifting with each movement. Her crimson eyes burned with twisted amusement, watching the warriors stand against her.
She tilted her head, lips curling in a cruel smirk.
"You should have left with the others," she mused, her voice dripping with condescension. "Your so-called heroes march ahead, but all they've done is leave their weakest behind."
Iffah, the Valkyrie of Dawn, stepped forward, planting her Solar Spear into the cracked stone floor. Its golden radiance pushed back the abyss, a beacon against the overwhelming darkness.
"You talk too much."
Nyxara chuckled, mocking, unfazed. "And you mortals never learn."
Then she attacked.
A storm of shadowed blades erupted from thin air, screaming toward them with relentless speed.
The Counterattack
Kaede moved first—
With a flick of her wrist, the air shifted, a deafening crack of thunder following. "Stormcaller!" Her power ignited, and in an instant, a violent gust of wind howled through the battlefield, dispersing a portion of Nyxara's attack. Lightning danced along her fingertips, before she sent a bolt of raw energy surging toward Nyxara.
Nyxara dodged, barely missing the electrified blast, but Selena Voss was already in motion.
The Lunar Sentinel's silver robes shimmered like starlight, and as she whispered her incantation, an ethereal Celestial Veil formed around them.
A dozen mirror images of the warriors flickered into existence, phasing in and out of the shadows—illusions meant to confuse the Abyssal Harbinger.
Nyxara's eyes narrowed. She extended her hand, releasing a beam of void energy, but it merely passed through one of Selena's illusions, striking nothing.
Before she could react—
Liora Ashen struck.
The Solar Legion warrior raised her golden blade, the air around her rippling with heat. "Solar Flare!" she called, and a concentrated beam of sunlight erupted from her palm, searing through the darkness, forcing Nyxara to evade.
The abyssal general hissed, momentarily blinded by the light.
For the first time—Nyxara had been pushed back.
Nyxara Unleashes Her Full Power
But instead of frustration—
She laughed.
A chilling, haunting sound that sent a shiver down their spines.
"You think you're gaining ground?" she mocked, her wings flaring wide, sending waves of abyssal energy crackling through the battlefield. "You forget where you are."
A pulse of raw abyssal energy erupted from her form, and suddenly, the room itself seemed to shift. The walls twisted, shadows slithered across the floor, and the very air felt wrong—as if reality itself was being rewritten by her presence.
Kaede felt it first—her lightning dimmed, the storm struggling to form in the corrupted atmosphere.
Selena's Celestial Veil flickered, her illusions growing unstable.
Liora's Solar Flare weakened, the golden light tainted with abyssal corruption.
Nyxara smirked. "Here, within the heart of the Abyss... I am ten times stronger than I am beyond these walls."
Before they could react, she vanished—
—then reappeared behind Iffah, her clawed gauntlet swinging for the kill.
CLANG!
Iffah barely managed to raise her spear, blocking the strike, but the force of the impact sent her skidding backward, her boots carving trenches into the stone.
Mira Solis reinforced Iffah with crystalline armor, jagged edges forming around her as a second layer of defense.
Liora gritted her teeth, her golden armor burning away the abyss creeping toward her. "We make her retreat. No matter what."
Nyxara grinned, amused by their determination.
"Very well," she purred, "Let's see how long you last."
And then, with a flick of her hand—
The battlefield descended into chaos once more.
Nyxara's crimson eyes gleamed with cruel amusement as she hovered above the battlefield, her four wings unfurling like the omen of an inescapable fate. She took in the sight of the warriors before her—**Kaede, Selena, Liora, Iffah, Mira, and their guilds—**all standing resolute despite the overwhelming abyss pressing against them.
And she laughed.
A chilling, mocking sound that reverberated through the chamber, shaking the very foundations of the tower.
"You truly don't understand, do you?" she mused, tilting her head as though amused by their ignorance.
"You fight, you struggle, you bleed… yet it is all for nothing."
She gestured to the shadows swirling at her fingertips, an extension of the power that coursed through the very walls of the High Tower.
"Our power is not our own," she said, her voice dripping with twisted reverence. "It is given to us by Him. The King of the Tower. His will shapes this place, his abyssal dominion bends reality itself… and you?" She sneered. "You think you stand a chance against that?"
Her wings fluttered, and in an instant, an oppressive force surged through the chamber, pressing down on them like a crushing tide.
"The only way to climb higher…" Nyxara continued, her voice almost mocking, "is to defeat his chosen three. Myself, the Warden Vael'Zyrr, and the Executioner Zareth'Ghul."
Her lips curled into a smirk, a glint of sadistic amusement dancing in her gaze.
"But it doesn't matter."
Her voice lowered, her tone venomous.
"Because no human can ever hope to reach the top. None of you will ever stand before Him."
The declaration rang through the chamber like a death sentence.
But then—
A voice cut through the abyss.
"You're wrong."
It was Iffah.
She stepped forward, her Solar Spear radiating golden brilliance, her armor gleaming with defiance against the all-consuming dark.
"As long as Hakan fights alongside us—we will reach the top."
Nyxara's amusement wavered.
Iffah's voice was unshaken, her belief absolute.
"You don't understand, Nyxara," she continued, her gaze fierce. "Hakan isn't like you. He doesn't fight alone. He fights for all of us. And when we fight together, there is no force in this tower that can stop us."
Selena Voss stepped beside her, her silver robes shimmering under the glow of her Celestial Veil.
"Hakan has never backed down. Never turned away, no matter the enemy." Her blue eyes narrowed, full of conviction. "He isn't just strong—he's unstoppable because we fight as one."
Kaede's storms raged, electricity crackling along her arms as she took her stance.
"You claim this place bends to the King's will?" she asked, her voice sharp as the winds howling around her. "Then we'll break that will and carve our own path."
Mira Solis, standing tall in crystalline armor, clenched her Shardweaver blades.
"We trust him."
Liora Ashen, her golden blade still burning bright, smirked.
"And that's why we'll win."
**Their words carried weight—**not just between them, but across every warrior standing in defiance of Nyxara.
Hakan was their spearhead. Their leader. Their strength.
The abyss may have had its King, but they had Hakan.
And that was enough.
Nyxara's Rage
Nyxara's amusement vanished.
Her smile twisted into a snarl, her crimson gaze blazing with fury.
"Enough!" she spat, her wings flaring wide as the abyss itself howled in response to her wrath.
"You dare place your faith in a mortal!? You think one man, no matter how strong, can change fate itself!?"
Her hands clenched, and a storm of void energy erupted from her form, distorting reality itself.
"I will show you," she hissed, her voice seething with malice, "the cost of your arrogance!"
She vanished.
Then—
She struck.
A wave of abyssal force slammed into the warriors, sending them scattering across the battlefield.
Kaede barely had time to react before Nyxara appeared before her, a clawed hand tearing through the air. Kaede dodged by a fraction of a second, rolling to the side as Nyxara's strike shattered the ground where she once stood.
Selena retaliated instantly.
A beam of lunar energy shot forth, aiming for Nyxara's exposed side—
—but the Abyssal Harbinger twisted unnaturally, dodging with terrifying precision before slamming her knee into Selena's gut.
Selena gasped, the impact sending her crashing into a pillar.
Nyxara didn't stop.
With a flick of her wrist, abyssal chains erupted from the ground, lunging toward Mira—
—but Iffah intercepted, her Solar Spear slicing through the chains before they could reach their target.
Liora struck next, her golden blade flashing toward Nyxara's neck—
—but Nyxara caught the blade with her bare hand, dark energy crackling along her fingers.
"You fight well," Nyxara admitted, her voice laced with mockery, before she tightened her grip.
Liora's eyes widened as her blade began to corrode.
Nyxara pulled Liora forward, slamming her into the ground with brutal force.
Dust and debris erupted into the air.
Kaede gritted her teeth, her lightning surging.
"Stormcaller's Wrath!"
The sky itself split open as a devastating bolt of lightning crashed down on Nyxara—
—but Nyxara raised a hand, and the abyss devoured the storm.
Kaede's eyes widened in horror.
Nyxara smirked.
"You see now?" she taunted, her abyssal energy surging, growing stronger with every second.
"You were never going to win."
She lunged forward, aiming to end it.
But then—
A light broke through the abyss.
A radiant burst of golden energy erupted from Iffah's spear, and with a single swing, she slashed through Nyxara's attack, forcing the Abyssal Harbinger to leap back.
Breathing heavily, Iffah planted her feet, standing tall despite the overwhelming power before her.
"We're not done," she growled.
Nyxara's eyes flickered with frustration.
Kaede pushed herself up, electricity crackling at her fingertips.
Selena steadied herself, her lunar illusions forming again.
Liora's blade burned brighter than before.
Mira's crystalline defenses sharpened.
They had been pushed back—
But they were far from broken.
Nyxara's rage intensified, her abyssal power surging to its limit.
And so the battle raged on.
A war of light and darkness.
A battle where fate itself would be rewritten.
Hakan stared up at the colossal gate before him, its obsidian surface carved with ancient symbols pulsing faintly in the dim torchlight. The sheer size of it—towering as high as a fortress, wide enough to swallow an entire house—sent a shiver down his spine.
Instinctively, he reached for Eclipse Fang, the legendary twin blade pulsing with black and silver light, both the longer and the shorter sword humming in anticipation.
But before he could even touch the gate—
It moved.
A deep rumbling filled the air, the sound like the groaning of the earth itself. The gate swung open on its own, revealing nothing but an abyss of pure darkness.
Hakan hesitated.
Then, gripping Eclipse Fang tighter, he stepped forward.
The Abyssal Chamber
As soon as he crossed the threshold, the gate slammed shut behind him.
Darkness.
Complete. Overwhelming. Suffocating.
The air grew thick, an invisible weight pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. His grip on his sword tightened as he took a cautious step forward, his senses straining to detect anything—a sound, a movement, a presence.
Then—
A pulse of energy.
Suddenly, the torches lining the unseen walls ignited one by one, flames roaring to life with an eerie crimson glow.
And that was when Hakan saw it.
His breath hitched.
The room… no, the space he was in—
It was massive.
So vast it felt like an entire city could fit inside, stretching beyond what should have been possible from the outside. It was as if the gate had transported him to another dimension entirely.
And in the center of this impossible chamber—
It stood.
A behemoth of terrifying grandeur and power.
A dragon.
Its crimson scales glowed faintly, like molten veins pulsing beneath stone, its eyes two burning infernos locked onto him. Its wings, when unfurled, could have blocked out the sky itself, and its **claws—**longer than greatswords—scraped against the stone with a sound that sent chills down his spine.
Hakan was frozen.
Not by fear.
But by the sheer pressure of its presence.
Then, the dragon spoke.
A deep, thunderous voice that shook the very ground.
"So you finally made it here… Son of Raihan."
Hakan's eyes widened.
He knew his name.
Before he could even process it, the dragon began to rise.
The ground trembled beneath its weight, dust and debris scattering as it lifted its titanic body, its wings spreading wide.
Then—
A single flap.
The force of wind that followed was like a hurricane, slamming into Hakan with enough power to send stone pillars crashing across the chamber.
Yet—
Hakan did not fall.
His feet dug into the ground, his muscles straining against the sheer force. He stood his ground.
The dragon stared at him, eyes narrowing slightly.
Then, its lips curled into something resembling a smirk.
"You will always remain a loser."
Hakan's breath caught in his throat.
And then—
The dragon began to change.
Its massive form shrunk, shifting and twisting, bones snapping and reshaping, its immense power condensing into something far more unsettling.
When the transformation was complete—
What stood before Hakan was not quite a dragon.
Yet, it was not human either.
Its face bore a human-like resemblance, yet something about it was utterly inhuman.
Its body remained draconic, crimson scales running down its arms and chest, its wings still vast, its tail curling behind it like a coiled serpent.
Its claws flexed, sharp as razors.
Its eyes burned like dying embers.
And it smiled.
A slow, knowing smile that sent an unexplainable dread through Hakan's veins.
The presence before him…
It was unlike anything he had ever faced.