The sky wept.
Cold raindrops struck Kael's bruised face as he knelt in chains before the execution platform. The city square, once a place of celebration, now bore witness to his downfall. A sea of faces stared at him—some with pity, others with scorn.
"Kael Ardyn, former heir of House Ardyn," the High Inquisitor's voice rang out, amplified by magic. "For the crime of treason against the Empire, you are hereby sentenced to the Abyss."
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. The Abyss—a cursed chasm at the world's edge, where the unworthy were cast into eternal darkness. No one had ever returned.
Kael lifted his head, his silver eyes burning with defiance despite the pain. He had been stripped of his noble attire, his body beaten, but his will remained unbroken. He searched the crowd and found Darius Velmire, his closest friend—the man he had trusted above all.
And the one who had betrayed him.
Darius stood beside the Emperor, clad in Kael's rightful armor, the symbol of his house now adorning another.
"You should have stayed loyal, Kael," Darius murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. "You were in the way."
Rage boiled within him, but the enchanted chains around his wrists burned at the slightest resistance.
"Do you have any last words, traitor?" the High Inquisitor sneered.
Kael exhaled slowly. He could curse them. He could beg. But neither would change his fate.
Instead, he smirked.
"You should have killed me properly."
The Inquisitor scowled and motioned to the guards. "Throw him in."
The platform beneath Kael's feet gave way.
And he fell.
---
The Abyss
Darkness consumed him. The wind roared in his ears as he plunged into the endless void, his body weightless against the abyssal pull. He had heard stories—tales of the Abyss devouring men, their screams lost in the void.
But the Abyss was not silent.
It whispered.
Are you afraid?
Kael's eyes widened. The voice was neither human nor beast. It was ancient, deep, and infinite.
Forsaken one… do you seek vengeance?
His mind throbbed. The pressure of something immense loomed over him, its presence crushing yet… inviting.
"I don't fear the dark," Kael whispered, his voice barely audible against the void.
Then embrace it.
Suddenly, the abyssal shadows surged toward him, wrapping around his body like living tendrils. The pain was excruciating, searing through his soul as if rewriting his very existence.
His heart stopped.
His old self died.
And in that moment, Kael Ardyn was reborn.
As the Abyssborn.