Rael stood at the precipice of the chasm, where the city of Velrath had once stood in proud defiance of time. Now, it was nothing more than a broken monument, the bones of an ancient civilization crumbling beneath the weight of an awakened evil. The whispers had not stopped since the collapse of the seal, filling his mind like a thousand distant voices clawing at his consciousness.
The wind howled through the ruins, and the ground beneath his feet trembled. Mira and Darius, their expressions hardened, stood a few paces behind him, both unwilling to get too close to the edge. They knew the danger. They had felt it—the palpable sense that the abyss was no longer a far-off threat but something far more immediate, far more personal.
"What now?" Mira's voice cut through the silence, her tone sharp, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of uncertainty. "The seal is broken. Velrath's fall wasn't just an accident."
Rael's gaze never wavered from the abyss below. The Whispering One had promised him power—had told him that he was "chosen." But Rael knew now that this power came at a price. He could feel the weight of that price pressing down on him, urging him to descend into the darkness below. To embrace the call of the abyss and wield its terrifying might.
But he hesitated.
"We need to move," Darius said, his voice firm, even though there was a hint of hesitation beneath it. "We can't stay here. This place… it's not just cursed. It's alive."
Rael's hand clenched into a fist, his nails digging into his palm as the whispers grew louder, more insistent. Come to me, Rael. Descend into the depths and claim your birthright.
The words echoed in his mind, like a song of temptation. The abyss wanted him, needed him. But Rael knew the cost. He had seen what happened to those who gave in to the abyss—their souls consumed, their bodies twisted beyond recognition.
"We can't let it take us," Rael muttered under his breath, though the whispers told him otherwise. You will be mine, Rael Veyne. You have always been mine.
The force of the voice almost pushed him to the edge, but Mira's hand on his shoulder steadied him. "Rael, listen to me. This isn't you. You're not some vessel for their darkness."
He turned to her, his eyes filled with a mixture of pain and determination. "I don't know who I am anymore, Mira. I don't know if I can fight this." The abyss inside him stirred, its hunger insatiable.
Mira's grip tightened. "Then let me help you. Let us help you. You don't have to face this alone."
For a moment, Rael looked into her eyes, and in them, he saw the unwavering resolve of someone who refused to give up on him. It was the same look she had given him when they first faced the horrors of Greystone. The same look she had given him after the destruction of Velrath. The same look that made him believe, for a fleeting moment, that he could overcome the darkness.
Rael took a deep breath, pulling away from the edge. "We need to get back to the Bastion Wall. The Order will know what to do."
Darius nodded in agreement. "And we'll be ready for whatever comes next."
As they turned to leave the ruins behind, the ground trembled once more. Rael's heart skipped a beat. The whispering had not stopped, but something else had joined in—a low, guttural sound that vibrated through the earth.
The Whispering One is not done with you yet, Rael. It will never be.
The darkness was patient, waiting for its moment to claim him. And Rael knew, deep down, that the battle for his soul had only just begun.