The chamber was dark, lit only by the flickering blue flames of void torches. Malrik stood before the Void Altar, his expression unreadable as he observed the battle through the swirling black mist hovering above the altar's surface.
The Abyssborn was struggling.
That was not supposed to happen.
Kiran had been expected to falter, to break beneath the sheer power of the Void. Yet, there he stood, wounds covering his body, Hollow Mark burning brighter than ever.
And worse—he was adapting.
Malrik's fingers tightened into a fist.
This was beyond mere resistance. Kiran was growing stronger. Too quickly. Too dangerously.
A cold whisper slithered into the room.
"The boy defies the Abyss."
Malrik did not turn. He knew the voice well.
Emerging from the shadows, a cloaked figure knelt before him—one of his highest acolytes, Varthis the Silent. A being who had long abandoned his human form, existing now as little more than a vessel of whispers.
Malrik exhaled slowly. "No, Varthis. He does not defy it."
He stared at the mist again, watching as Kiran unleashed another devastating attack, forcing the Abyssborn onto the defensive.
This wasn't just resistance.
Kiran was beginning to wield the Void.
And that was far more dangerous.
The Growing Threat
Malrik's expression darkened.
"I underestimated him," he admitted, though his voice remained calm. "A mistake I will not repeat."
Varthis tilted his head. "Shall I intervene?"
Malrik let the thought settle. He could send more creatures, more shadows. He could twist the battlefield itself against Kiran.
But no.
A smile, cold and knowing, crept across his lips.
"Not yet."
He stepped away from the altar, pacing slowly through the chamber, his long cloak brushing against the stone floor.
"If Kiran is learning to wield the Void…" His voice was soft, almost contemplative. "Then let him."
Varthis remained motionless. "You wish for him to grow?"
Malrik let out a low chuckle.
"I wish for him to believe he is winning."
He turned, his piercing gaze meeting Varthis's empty one.
"Kiran is becoming something new. Something unstable."
He took another step forward, shadows rippling around him.
"And when he loses control…"
The room shuddered.
"…he will destroy himself."
A New Phase Begins
Malrik turned back to the Void Altar, watching as Kiran struck another blow, the Abyssborn letting out a distorted, inhuman shriek.
The battle was not yet over.
But Malrik had already set his next move into motion.
Varthis watched in silence as Malrik extended his hand, tracing a sigil in the air. Dark tendrils of magic coiled outward, slithering into the abyss.
"It is time to awaken the Forgotten."
Varthis bowed.
"As you command, Lord Malrik."
The room darkened further, the void energy swirling like a living storm.
And far beneath the earth, in prisons long since abandoned, something stirred.
Something ancient.
Something that had been waiting for this very moment.
To Be Continued…