The Abyss no longer feared him.
It whispered to him now. Not in malice—but in reverence.
Every beast that once hunted Kael now cowered in the black. His Shadowflame Core pulsed stronger each day, mutating, learning, devouring. Magic was no longer something he used.
It was something he commanded.
---
Selene walked beside him in silence, her braid swinging behind her like a shadowed banner. Once a killer with no leash, now she moved like a blade that knew its sheath.
"This part of the Abyss wasn't mapped in any guild scrolls," she murmured. "These markings… they're from the Old War."
Kael nodded, his fingers brushing ancient runes carved into the stone walls. Bloodstains had turned black with age. Bones lay beneath their boots like gravel.
"This was a battlefield," he said. "Something powerful died here."
And something remained.
The scent of iron and ash grew thicker as they approached the end of the corridor—where the Abyss widened into a vast, open war chamber. Statues of old gods lined the walls, cracked and scorched. A throne sat at the far end, broken, empty.
But not for long.
---
She stood there—alone—beside the broken throne, her eyes fixed on Kael the moment he entered.
Her armor was crimson, dulled by time and blood. Her cape was ragged. Her blade was still sheathed, but her posture was unmistakable:
A warrior. A commander.
A Queen of the Battlefield, even in exile.
"You're not one of them," she said, voice rough like stone grinding steel. "You don't crawl. You walk."
Kael's gaze sharpened.
"You must be the Crimson Widow."
Her lip curled.
"Haven't heard that name in years."
"Thalaria Vex," he said. "General of the Emperor's Iron Host. Banished for refusing to burn a surrendering city. They called you a traitor."
"And yet I'm still alive," she said, drawing her sword slowly, the metal hissing. "I assume you didn't come here to reminisce."
"I came to take what's mine," Kael replied.
They clashed like storms.
No magic—just steel, grit, and flame-hardened muscle.
Kael blocked her overhead swing, sparks flying. She moved like a veteran of a hundred wars, hammering him with strikes that would break normal men in seconds. But Kael wasn't normal.
He grinned.
And pushed her back.
The floor cracked beneath her boots as she slid, but she held her stance.
"You're strong," she spat, breathing heavy. "Too strong for your age."
"I was born in fire," Kael said. "Now I make others burn."
---
Their blades met again. But this time, Kael's free hand unleashed a controlled burst of Shadowflame—not to kill, but to sever her aura.
She gasped as the flame coiled around her sword, draining its enchantments. Her knees buckled. For the first time, she looked… shaken.
Kael stepped in close, grabbing her by the throat—not to crush, but to dominate.
"Kneel," he growled.
She stared up at him—breathing hard, face flushed with rage… and something else.
"I don't kneel," she hissed.
"Then I'll make you remember what it means to be conquered."
His hand released. He turned his back on her.
"Or you can keep pretending that throne is still yours."
The silence stretched.
Then—
Clang.
Her sword hit the ground.
When Kael turned, she was on one knee.
Not broken.
Not begging.
But yielding.
"I'll follow you," she said. "Not because I'm weak. But because I see what you're building. And I want to burn the world that exiled us together."
Kael extended his hand.
"Then rise, General Thalaria Vex, First Blade of the Reign."
That Night...
In the ruined throne room, lit by black flame and bloodstained banners, Kael sat on a makeshift stone seat. Selene leaned against a pillar nearby, cleaning her daggers.
Thalaria stood behind him now—no longer just a war general.
Now, his.
"What do we do next?" she asked.
Kael looked to the ceiling—where a crack revealed the faint shimmer of the surface world, high above.
"We climb."
"To where?"
Kael smirked, eyes dark with hunger.
"To the world that betrayed me. To their kingdoms, their towers, their kings... and their wives."
Selene raised a brow.
"You plan to seduce empires now?"
"No," Kael said.
"I plan to take them."
---
End of Chapter 3