ARC II — "THE FALL OF THE FALSE GODS"
Kurotsume collapsed onto the jagged ground, blood mixing with rain. His breaths came in shallow, ragged gasps. The generals circled him, sensing victory. Vorak hovered above, calm as ever, watching his pawn nearly broken.
Siel ran to his side. "Kurotsume! You can't stay down!"
The demon hissed inside him, panicked.
"He's done for… we're done!"
But deep inside Kurotsume, something stirred — a presence, faint and cold, like a shadow behind his consciousness. He couldn't control it yet; he didn't understand it fully. It wasn't awake — not entirely — but it responded to his desperation.
A faint pulse of silver light spread from his chest. It flowed into his arms, his legs, giving him just enough strength to lift himself off the ground. His wounds remained, his body was battered, but he felt an edge returning, sharper, colder.
"Not enough to awaken fully… yet," the presence whispered.
"Just enough… to survive."
Kurotsume's eyes opened, dimly glowing. He rose, aura flickering, still wounded.
The generals hesitated. Even battered, he radiated something unfamiliar, something dangerous.
"You… you're still standing?"* Kaelith whispered, fear creeping into his voice.*
Kurotsume smirked faintly, blood dripping from his lips.
"Did you expect me to die so easily?"
Vorak's voice cut through the storm.
"You shouldn't be alive. You were supposed to be broken!"*
Kurotsume's hand twitched. Aura coalesced slightly — just a hint of the fragment's power, shimmering like silver fire along his limbs. His movements became faster, sharper, more precise.
He didn't attack immediately. He weaved through the generals' strikes, dodging with effortless precision despite his injuries. The small boost from the fragment allowed him to endure their overwhelming force long enough to retaliate.
One by one, he struck — not fully unleashing power, but enough to turn the tide. Blows that should have killed him were now redirected, opponents thrown off balance, gaps opening in the army.
Siel watched, awe-struck.
"It's… like he's… stronger than he should be…"
The demon's voice was awed, reverent.
"It's giving him strength… but only a taste. The real awakening… hasn't come yet."
Kurotsume moved forward, smirk still faint but cold. Every step left craters, cracks in the ground, warping the air subtly. He wasn't invincible, not yet — he still bled, he still hurt — but he had enough to finish the generals and bring the fight to a temporary halt.
Vorak's eyes narrowed. He realized that the fragment inside Kurotsume was a hidden variable he hadn't accounted for.
Kurotsume didn't speak further. He simply walked forward, aura flickering, injuries evident, but a faint, terrifying energy pulsing beneath the surface.
The generals fell back, battered, exhausted, afraid. For the first time, they sensed the legend that was coming, even if they didn't know its name.
Siel whispered, almost to herself.
"What… what is he hiding?"
And in the corner of Kurotsume's vision, faint silver threads pulsed — a reminder of the power lying dormant, waiting for the right moment.
The chapter ends with Kurotsume barely standing, victorious against overwhelming odds, but the Abyssal Revenant itself remains asleep, teasing the true apocalypse to come.