Liam and Riven strolled down the vacant streets with a resolve.
The lower district was an abandoned district—ruined structures, broken windows, and gangrene-filled streets. It was a district one did not visit by preference.
And in the middle of it stood the cathedral.
A towering spire of darkened stone, its great doors standing ajar. Red smears disfigured the once-pristine walls, and the shattered stained-glass windows hung overhead like empty eyes, staring.
Noctis' words remained still in Liam's mind. "Be careful. I have the feeling. something's amiss."
Liam breathed slowly, his fingers wrapped around the lip of the door. And then he entered.
---
The air was thick.
An oppressive, unearthly pressure bore down upon Liam's chest the moment he crossed the threshold.
The cathedral was vast, its high ceilings vanishing into the darkness above. Rows of ancient pews stretched toward the altar, their wood rotting, warped by time.
Faint whispers drifted through the air—like the voices of the long dead.
Riven tensed beside him. "This place is wrong."
Liam's silver eyes scanned the shadows. "Then we're in the right place."
As they moved deeper inside, they saw them.
Cages.
Dozens of black iron cages, lined along the cathedral walls. Some were empty. Others…
Liam's own breath stopped.
In a cage at the front, a figure shuddered. A young man—no more than a year or two older than Liam—his body scarred with deep cuts, his gasps raw.
His eyes were what stunned Liam.
They glowed.
Not like his own silver light, or Noctis' abyssal energy.
But something corrupted.
"Shadowborn," Riven whispered, eyes wide.
Liam stepped up to the cage, wrapping his fingers around the bars. "Hey." His tone was harsh. "We're removing you from here."
The man winced, his eyes darting towards Liam.
Then—
A mocking laugh rang out from the altar.
Liam's posture stiffened at once.
They were not alone.
---
One form stood at the altar, draped in a robe of swirling darkness.
Their face was covered by a smooth obsidian mask, but they could not be ignored.
An older member of the Abyss Order.
"Liam Vaelthorne," the masked one whispered, their voice unnatural.
Liam's shadows naturally fell around him. "You know my name."
The figure raised an eyebrow. "Of course we do. You are. special."
Liam's jaw tensed. "Not interested in your riddles."
The masked figure laughed. "You get it wrong. This is no riddle. It is merely the truth."
They advanced slowly, and the shadows in the cathedral moved.
"I will offer you an option, Shadowborn," the figure stated, its voice oddly serene.
"Leave now, and I will not recall you were ever here."
Their head tilted slightly. "Stay… and you will see what becomes of those who do not accept the Abyss."
Liam's silver eyes opened wide.
He was staying exactly where he was.
Noctis' voice in his mind. "Be ready. This one is powerful."
Liam let out a breath. "I'm getting them out of here."
The masked man sighed. "A shame."
Then, they extended a hand.
And the darkness attacked.
---
---
Liam had only just been able to shift.
Shadows danced like tendrils of living darkness, cutting directly at his chest. He whirled about, sidestepping by inches, the impact of the blow shattering the stone he'd been against.
Riven sprang after him, daggers flashing—but the masked warrior was gone.
Liam's reflexes yowled in warning.
"Behind you!" Noctis bellowed.
Liam whirled as a blade of black swished through the air at his throat.
His shadows leapt up to defend, hardly impeding the attack. Sparks erupted as Liam was thrown back, his feet slapping against marble.
The figure moved quickly.
Liam struck back at once, his shadows rolling into a saw-edged spear.
He struck, stabbing at the figure's heart—
And his sword went right through them.
Liam's jaw went slack. "What—?"
The figure smiled gently. "Did you think you were striking me?"
Liam's stomach fell.
The figure flicked a hand
And out of the cathedral shadows, something else.
A monster.
Deformed. Un-human.
A vile mass of contorting black tendrils, flowing and shifting like a living creature, its four empty eyes burning like extinguished stars.
The cathedral trembled as the creature's great body unfolded.
Liam sensed it coming crash into his mind—a hunger with no end.
Riven's voice was a dagger. "Liam, MOVE!"
The monster charged.
Liam dodged it barely as the monster's huge arm came crashing down, shattering the stone floor to splinters beneath him.
The masked figure's voice was on the verge of amusement.
"Meet the true form of a failed Shadowborn."
Liam's blood ran cold.
The monster was more than an Abyssal beast.
It was something that had been like him, once.
----
The beast let out a soundless scream—a howl that rattled Liam's skull.
Its massive claws tore at the cathedral's destroyed pews, rushing towards him with spine-tingling speed.
Liam shifted in reflex, shadows turning into a shield before him—
But the creature tore them apart like paper.
Liam was knocked back, slamming into a pillar with a harsh gasp.
Pain burst through his ribs.
This creature was powerful.
Noctis' voice was frantic. "Liam, you can't fight this creature the normal way!"
Liam dragged himself to his feet, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Then what do you propose?"
The creature attacked again.
Liam replied.
His shadows reconfigured, jagged blades around his arms. He ducked under the creature's blow, then punched upwards.
His blows sank into its bulk—but the monster barely flinched.
Rather, curls of its form curled over his arm.
Liam's wind ceased—the cold hit him at once.
A clinging, cavernous hollowness spread up his skin.
It was attempting to swallow him.
Riven's blades seemed to flash as she dove forward, cutting the tendrils asunder. "Don't let it touch you!"
Liam withdrew, scrubbing off the remaining numbness.
The masked stranger's voice was nearly. disgruntled.
"Do you understand now, Liam Vaelthorne?"
The monster growled, about to strike again.
"This is what you get when you tussle with the Abyss."
Liam's eyes flashed silver.
He was not going to turn into this.
His shadows hissed, vibrating in his very aura.
Noctis' words were soothing. "Then let's give them a taste of why you're different."
Liam's smile grew, one that was raw and unwholesome.
"Let's."
And with that, he struck.