The black rift stretched across the sky like a wound in reality.
No stars could be seen through it.
No light.
Only darkness.
Kael stood before the rift, completely still.
He had recovered all of his memories.
He knew the truth about the Sovereign.
He knew about Eclipse.
He knew why Aetherion had helped him.
But one question remained.
**His mother.**
The voice from beyond the Abyss had been unmistakable.
Kael turned toward Aetherion.
"You knew."
Aetherion didn't answer.
Kael's eyes hardened.
"You knew she was alive."
Aetherion finally nodded.
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
"Beyond the Abyss."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you weren't ready."
Kael laughed bitterly.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Seraphine stepped beside him.
"Kael..."
He looked at her.
"I'm going."
She nodded.
"We know."
Lyra stepped forward.
"I'm coming too."
Kael frowned.
"The Abyss may be more dangerous than anything we've faced."
Lyra smiled.
"Then you'll need someone watching your back."
Kael couldn't argue with that.
Eclipse climbed onto his shoulder.
**"And me."**
Kael smiled.
"Of course."
### Entering the Abyss
Aetherion opened a golden portal.
"Once you enter, I cannot guarantee that I can follow."
Kael looked at him.
"Then stay here."
Aetherion raised an eyebrow.
"You trust me?"
"No."
Kael smiled.
"But I trust the memories I recovered."
Aetherion laughed.
"Fair enough."
Kael stepped toward the rift.
Before entering, Seraphine grabbed his hand.
Kael looked at her.
She hesitated.
"Don't disappear again."
Kael understood what she meant.
Ten thousand years ago, he had sacrificed himself.
She had spent ten thousand years waiting.
Kael gently squeezed her hand.
"I won't."
Together, they entered.
The world changed instantly.
There was no ground.
No sky.
No sense of direction.
They floated through an endless ocean of darkness.
Yet Kael could see.
His Sovereign Eye revealed countless fragments of broken worlds drifting around them.
Ruined cities.
Dead planets.
Fragments of ancient civilizations.
Lyra stared in disbelief.
"What is this place?"
Kael answered quietly.
"The remains of worlds consumed by the Abyss."
Seraphine looked around.
"And they're still here?"
"Parts of them."
Eclipse suddenly lifted its head.
**"Something is watching us."**
Kael stopped.
His Sovereign Sense expanded.
Nothing.
Then—
a voice whispered:
**"Kael."**
He turned.
"Mother?"
Silence.
Then the voice came again.
**"Don't trust the woman beside you."**
Kael froze.
Seraphine's expression changed.
Lyra looked confused.
"Who is she talking about?"
Kael looked at Seraphine.
The voice continued.
**"She was the one who sealed you."**
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Seraphine stepped forward.
"Kael, listen to me."
He didn't move.
"You sealed me?"
Seraphine's eyes filled with pain.
"Yes."
The answer shocked everyone.
Lyra looked at her.
"Why?"
Seraphine lowered her head.
"Because he asked me to."
Kael's memories suddenly returned.
The final battlefield.
His dying body.
Seraphine holding him.
Kael's voice:
*"When the Abyss takes me..."*
*"You must seal my soul."*
Seraphine crying.
*"I can't."*
*"You have to."*
The memory ended.
Kael closed his eyes.
He remembered.
She hadn't betrayed him.
She had obeyed his final command.
The voice from the darkness spoke again.
**"She lied to you."**
Kael opened his eyes.
"You aren't my mother."
The darkness went silent.
Seraphine looked surprised.
Kael continued:
"My mother never called Seraphine a liar."
"She trusted her."
"And she would never try to turn me against her."
A low laugh echoed through the Abyss.
**"Very good."**
The darkness began forming into a gigantic humanoid figure.
Two enormous red eyes appeared.
"You've become much smarter."
Kael raised his sword.
"Who are you?"
The figure smiled.
**"The first thing your mother sacrificed herself to stop."**
The system appeared.
> **[Unknown Entity Detected.]**
>
> **[Analysis failed.]**
>
> **[Warning: Entity predates recorded existence.]**
>
> **[Threat level: Beyond measurement.]**
Kael's expression became serious.
The entity continued:
**"The Primordials called me the Devourer."**
"Your gods called me the Abyss."
"But names are meaningless."
It extended one enormous hand.
"All things eventually return to me."
Kael stepped forward.
"You've been using my mother's voice."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you came looking for her."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Where is she?"
The entity smiled.
"Closer than you think."
Suddenly, a small light appeared behind it.
A woman emerged.
Long black hair.
Silver eyes.
A familiar face.
Kael stopped breathing.
"Mother..."
The woman smiled.
"Kael."
He took a step forward.
Seraphine immediately grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
Kael stopped.
The woman looked at Seraphine.
Her expression was cold.
"You always were protective."
Seraphine stared at her.
"You're not her."
The woman smiled.
"How certain are you?"
Kael activated his Sovereign Eye.
The world changed.
He saw the woman surrounded by countless black threads.
Not human.
Not divine.
Something else.
Kael's sword appeared in his hand.
"You copied her appearance."
The false mother smiled.
"Correct."
Kael raised his sword.
"Then where is the real one?"
The creature pointed deeper into the Abyss.
"At the center."
Kael looked into the darkness.
"Take me to her."
The creature laughed.
"You still don't understand."
"What?"
"There is no center."
The Abyss suddenly began collapsing around them.
World fragments were pulled into the darkness.
Lyra grabbed Kael's arm.
"Kael!"
Eclipse's body expanded, transforming into a massive black beast.
**"MASTER!"**
Kael raised his hand.
"Sovereign Barrier!"
A silver-black dome formed around them.
The pressure intensified.
The false mother disappeared.
Her final words echoed through the darkness:
**"If you truly want your mother..."**
**"Find the world she created."**
Kael stared into the Abyss.
A new location appeared on his system.
> **[Hidden Realm Discovered.]**
>
> ### **The World Beyond the Abyss**
>
> **Origin:** Unknown
>
> **Creator:** Unknown
>
> **
Connection:** Kael Ardyn
>
> **Status:** Sealed
>
> **Key required:** Mother's Soul Fragment
Kael slowly smiled.
"So that's where you've been."
He turned toward his companions.
"We're going deeper."
Lyra nodded.
Seraphine drew her sword.
Eclipse roared.
And Kael stepped into the darkness.
Far beyond the Abyss, something ancient opened its eyes.
Something that had been waiting for the Sovereign since before the birth of Heaven.
**To be continued...**