The ruins of Vardros Keep trembled. The ground cracked beneath Kiran's feet, pulsing with waves of void energy as an unnatural silence fell over the battlefield.
He had fought wraiths before. He had battled creatures of the dark. But what stood before him now was something else.
Something far worse.
The Abyssborn emerged from the shattered air, its form shifting between shadow and reality, like a being that didn't belong in this world. It was impossibly tall, its body wrapped in swirling darkness, two burning void orbs where eyes should have been.
Kiran gritted his teeth, his grip tightening on his sword. His Hollow Mark burned, reacting to the creature's presence.
A voice slithered through the air, not spoken but felt—deep inside his mind.
"You are not ready."
The Abyssborn moved.
Faster than Kiran thought possible.
A blackened claw slashed toward him, cutting through stone like paper.
Kiran barely dodged, twisting mid-air as the ruins behind him exploded into dust. The shockwave sent him crashing into a crumbling pillar, his ribs screaming in protest.
He staggered to his feet, vision blurred.
The Abyssborn loomed before him, unmoving. Watching.
"You carry the Mark, but you do not understand it."
Its voice was inside him. Crawling through his thoughts.
Kiran's breathing was ragged. He had fought relentless beasts, night reapers, and Malrik's assassins—but nothing like this.
This thing was playing with him.
The First Strike
Kiran refused to hesitate.
He surged forward, his blade igniting with silver light, the energy of the Hollow Mark flowing through him.
The Abyssborn did not flinch.
Kiran struck.
His sword met nothing.
The creature's body shifted, vanishing into pure shadow as the blade passed harmlessly through. Before Kiran could react, something cold gripped his throat.
The world spun.
The next thing he knew, he was slammed into the ground, stone shattering beneath him.
Pain exploded through his body.
The Abyssborn loomed over him, its form flickering like a nightmare, its voice a whisper of pure malice.
"You think you fight the Void. But the Void is part of you."
Kiran coughed, blood on his lips. His vision darkened at the edges.
The creature was too strong.
Too fast.
But something inside him refused to submit.
A fire that had burned since the day he took up his sword.
The Hollow Mark pulsed, growing brighter, its energy crackling through his veins.
The Abyssborn stilled.
"Ah… So you begin to understand."
Kiran clenched his fists. He wasn't done. Not yet.
Unleashing the Mark
A rush of power surged through his limbs, wild and untamed. The Hollow Mark expanded, spreading across his arm like glowing silver veins.
For the first time, Kiran let it take over.
He vanished.
Reappeared behind the Abyssborn in the blink of an eye.
This time, when he struck, the blade connected.
The Abyssborn shrieked.
Void ichor splattered across the ruins, sizzling against the ground. Kiran didn't stop. He drove his sword deeper, twisting as the creature's form wavered.
"Impossible."
The monster's voice faltered. The very air around it trembled.
Kiran pressed forward.
"You're not as untouchable as you think."
His energy surged—until the creature's burning eyes locked onto him.
And Kiran's body froze.
A chill unlike anything he had ever felt gripped his soul, as if his very essence was being pulled into the Void.
"You have power, boy. But power is nothing without control."
The Abyssborn's form shattered into shadows, reappearing several feet away.
It no longer looked amused.
It raised a clawed hand—and the ruins exploded into darkness.
Kiran barely managed to shield himself as the battlefield collapsed into chaos.
The Real Battle Begins
He wasn't winning.
Not yet.
But for the first time, Kiran saw something in the Abyssborn's gaze.
Something close to uncertainty.
And that meant he had a chance.
Even if it killed him.
To Be Continued…