He walked alone in the endless abyss.
A guy with long black hair was roaming through an endless void — a plane empty to its core, a place with darkness strong enough to crush any light and hope. It seemed like he had lost his path. His face wasn't visible, concealed beneath a black cloak. His eyes were vacant. As far as his vision could reach, it was only darkness.
Suddenly, a radiant figure appeared before him — out of nowhere.
He looked like a human, but not quite. He seemed too perfect to be one. Large golden wings spread wide from his back, a floating crest hovered behind his head, and in one hand he held a spear — a spear strong enough to eradicate any enemy in its path. His aura was bright and warm, yet cold at the same time. That divine golden glow... it felt like the presence of something far above mortal beings.
His face was unbelievably perfect — beautiful enough to change the thoughts and actions of a being just by presence alone. So perfect, that anyone who caught a glimpse would remember it for the rest of their life.
Without warning, the golden being raised his spear and declared,
"You have no right to live. Consider yourself blessed that you got the opportunity to be killed by my spear."
His voice was calm, soothing, and commanding at the same time — powerful enough to change the minds of many. But it failed to shake the cloaked man.
Before he could even respond, the golden being attacked with his spear. The weapon emitted a golden light — a light bright enough to illuminate a chunk of the abyss.
It seemed like the end for the cloaked man... but in that critical moment, a pitch-black bow appeared from nothingness in his hands. The bow emitted a dark aura with red and blue stripes across its limbs. The man was shocked — How did I summon this bow out of nothing? — but he had no time to hesitate. Acting on instinct, he pulled the string back and began chanting incantations in a forgotten, ancient language.
The divine being's expression twisted — fear now visible in his eyes.
"How did he summon a weapon of that caliber?" his voice trembled.
"And how is he speaking the language of the beings above divine?"
An arrow appeared, nocked in the cloaked man's bow. He released it.
The arrow first erased the light from the divine spear, and then pierced it entirely — destroying the weapon and tearing through the golden being. He screamed in agony as the arrow struck him, and the abyss lit up with the divine light pouring from his shattered body. His remains faded into the void.
The cloaked man sighed in relief.
How did I do that? How did I know that language? That chant? That power...?
Suddenly, pain erupted in his chest.
He looked down — a spear had pierced straight through him. Blood spilled from his mouth. In disbelief, he turned.
The divine being — still alive — stood emotionless. Then, without a word, he kicked the man into the abyss. The man fell, endlessly, into the void below. As he lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was the divine being's empty face — saying something, but the words were muted by the abyss.
He fell — endlessly — until all went dark.
When he opened his eyes, he was lying on solid ground. A real place — not the void.
He was stunned.
Was there a world below the abyss...?
He looked up and startled — before him stood the statue of a lion. It resembled a real lion perfectly, except for its colossal size. The man was only as large as its nail. The statue looked as if it could awaken at any moment and devour him. Though the surroundings were old and covered in moss, not a single patch tainted the statue itself.
It felt strange... ancient. The man was drawn to it.
He reached forward and touched its paw — and in an instant, his surroundings shifted. His consciousness was pulled into another plane — one resembling the abyss, but warmer... older... sacred.
There, he saw it again.
The lion.
Alive, this time.
It walked towards him with thunder in its steps, its mane swirling with stardust. Yet the boy wasn't afraid — something told him the lion wouldn't attack.
He was right. It stopped just in front of him.
His arm lifted on its own. It reached to touch the lion.
But before he could — a scream echoed through the air.
A young maiden's cry.
Suddenly, he was back before the statue — returned from that otherworldly plane. He looked around and spotted her — a young girl, surrounded by strange beasts. They were not animals. Not monsters. Something... else.
They were massive — as tall as a grown man. Red-skinned, thick-hided, fanged like sabers, claws like reaper's scythes. Crawling on all fours, their breath misted in the black air.
The boy charged without thinking, driven only by the instinct to protect her.
The beasts charged toward him — but stopped. Something in their memory held them back. They began trembling, like they were gazing at the end itself standing before them.
Am I seeing things... or are they actually trembling? the boy wondered.
Then, one of the monsters spoke. The tongue was not human — something ancient — yet the boy understood it.
"Antambha..."
The word echoed through his mind.
Antambha? What is that...? Why does it sound so familiar...?
Suddenly, the ground beneath them tore open.
The boy reacted instantly — grabbing the girl and leaping aside.
From the depths rose a being — half pure white, half pitch black — split perfectly down the middle. It walked like a man, but it was not human. It looked at the beasts, then giggled like a child.
With a snap of its fingers — boom! — all the beasts vanished, erased as if they never existed.
Then, it turned to the cloaked man. In that same ancient demonic tongue, it whispered:
"Now that the Antambha has awakened... why don't we test him?"
"I don't want to kill someone so weak and pathetic."
It giggled again — dark, menacing.
Then it leapt into the portal it came from and snapped again. This time, it created more of the beasts — all their eyes now filled with pure bloodlust.
"We'll meet again — if you survive this," it said playfully.
"And if you do, I'll kill you myself."
Its voice dropped — cold, serious.
One of the beasts lunged at the man.
His body tensed. His arms moved — reaching back for a bow that wasn't there.
Then he froze.
"Why did I do that again?"
"Who... am I?"
As he questioned his own instincts — death came closer.