Silence.
A vast, infinite nothingness stretched in all directions, an endless void devoid of light, sound, or time.
Ryojin Kurohane drifted through it, his body weightless, his thoughts scattered. There was no up, no down, no sense of reality. The golden chains that had bound him still clung to his wrists and ankles, their divine energy suppressing his strength, but even they felt meaningless in this abyss.
Is this death?
He had always imagined death as something final-an end, a release from suffering. But this? This was something else entirely.
The Abyss was alive. It whispered.
"Ryojin Kurohane..."
The voice slithered through the darkness, neither loud nor quiet, but absolute.
His breath hitched. He tried to move, but his limbs felt sluggish, like he was trapped in a thick, unseen force.
"You do not belong here... and yet, you are one of us."
Shapes shifted in the darkness, formless entities that pulsed and writhed, observing him from the void. The whispers grew louder, overlapping, a chorus of fragmented voices.
"He is the one."
"He is nothing."
"He will consume."
"He will be consumed."
A cold dread settled in Ryojin's chest. He had fought gods and demons alike, but this presence-this endless, unseen force-it was beyond all of them.
"Show yourself," he growled, forcing strength into his voice.
The whispers stopped.
Then, the Abyss moved.
A pair of colossal violet eyes opened in the void, burning with an eerie, inhuman glow. They dwarfed him, their mere gaze sending an unbearable pressure crashing down upon him. The chains around his body rattled violently, as if terrified.
"You have been cast away, abandoned."
The voice came not from the eyes, but from everywhere at once. It was deep, resonant, seeping into his very bones.
"You don't need to remind me," Ryojin muttered, clenching his fists.
The golden chains cracked.
The entity chuckled, a low, rumbling sound that made the void itself tremble.
"You are strong, but you are still bound. These gods you defy-they fear what you could become. Shall I tell you why?"
Ryojin remained silent.
The Abyss did not wait for an answer.
"Because you are like me."
The void twisted.
For a brief moment, Ryojin saw it-a massive, draconic form coiled within the darkness, its body shifting between solid and immaterial, its wings stretching endlessly.
The Abyssal Dragon.
An entity feared by even the gods. A being that had been locked away in this prison long before Ryojin's birth.
It grinned, revealing fangs large enough to devour stars.
"And now, you have a choice, Ryojin Kurohane."
The golden chains shattered completely.
Ryojin fell.
Down, down, deeper into the Abyss.
And the whispers welcomed him.