The wind lashed my face like icy blades as I stood at the cliff's edge. Below, the abyss consumed everything—light, sound, hope itself. The air carried the scent of damp, ancient earth, laced with the distant growls of beasts lurking in the forest shadows. My fingers brushed the rough stone, but my eyes remained fixed on that black void, as though it might somehow return what I'd lost.
"They almost killed me there," I thought, the memory striking me like a blow to the chest. "Almost."
"What are you looking at, Nael?" Elowen's voice drifted from behind, gentle yet tinged with that familiar edge—she needed to understand.
I didn't reply at once. Silence swelled between us, thick and heavy as the chasm below.
"Where it all began," I murmured, my words so soft the wind nearly stole them away.
She stepped closer. Her boots crunched against the stone—deliberate yet tentative. Her warmth brushed against me, a quiet contrast to the cold that wrapped around my bones.
"Aren't you going to seek revenge?" she asked, her voice quivering faintly, as if the question itself frightened her.
I stood still. Her words lingered in the air, fragile against the vastness of what churned inside me.
"Why?" My voice emerged dry, cutting.
Elowen's brow furrowed—I caught it from the corner of my eye.
"Because they tried to kill you, Nael," she said, the words sharp, almost spat out. "And they nearly succeeded."
"Almost," I thought again, and a faint, crooked smile slipped onto my lips—bitter as the wind.
"Almost," I echoed aloud, turning slowly to face her.
Her eyes blazed with anger and bewilderment. Mine were cold, sharp as the ice riding the gusts.
"How?" she whispered, her voice softening.
"They almost killed me," I said, stepping toward her, my tone steady and solid as the stone beneath us. "But they didn't."
She swallowed hard. Her gaze held mine, but I saw her hands tremble.
"And that's enough for you?" she pressed, daring me to feel more.
The wind surged, whipping her hair across her face. I turned back to the abyss, its pull as relentless as ever.
"Death isn't the worst fate, Elowen," I said, my voice dipping low, nearly lost to the melancholy I kept buried.
She crossed her arms, her eyes flashing. "Then what is?"
I met her stare. For a fleeting moment, I let my guard slip—something raw, maybe pain, flickered in my eyes before I sealed it away.
"Being empty," I answered, gesturing slowly toward the abyss. "Empty like that down there."
Elowen fell silent. Her gaze followed mine, peering into the nothingness below. Words felt pointless.
We stood there, side by side, the wind howling through the space between us. Her quiet was louder than any sound. After a time, she spoke again, her voice hesitant.
"But still… they almost killed you. Aren't you going to do anything?"
"Yes," I replied, flat and unfeeling.
She tilted her head, puzzled. "Why?"
"Why not?" I shot back, facing her fully.
"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head.
"She'll never grasp it," I thought, but it didn't shake me.
"It's straightforward," I began, my voice even, free of anger. "Thanks to them, I awakened my consciousness." I paused, letting the weight settle. "I uncovered a tomb even gods would trade their souls to glimpse. I gained techniques that surpass universal mastery. A storage treasure vast as a whole dimension."
Her eyes widened, her breath catching as she wrestled with the magnitude of my words.
"Do you think I lost anything?" I asked, calm as ever.
She shook her head, reluctant but certain. "No."
I smiled again—a thin, hollow curve that never reached my eyes.
"Then you see. I owe them a favor."
"Favor?" She blinked, thrown. "What do you mean… favor?"
"Because they tried to kill me, I ended up here," I explained, each word dropping slow and deliberate, like stones sinking into a well. "Why would I crave revenge?"
Elowen went quiet, her gaze drifting back to the abyss. She seemed to search its depths for answers, but I knew she'd find none.
"But…" she started, only for her voice to fade.
I rested a hand on her shoulder—light, yet firm.
"Life's more than revenge, Elowen," I said, locking eyes with her. "It's about what we build from the pieces left behind."
She held my gaze, and something shifted in hers—softness, perhaps, or the dawn of understanding.
"I… I think so," she murmured.
I nodded, casting one final glance at the abyss.
"Good. Because I won't waste my days on hate. I've got better plans."
A small, wistful smile touched her lips, threaded with hope. "Like what?"
I looked at her, and for the first time, warmth sparked in my eyes—resolve, life.
"Like living."
I turned from the cliff and started walking. The abyss faded behind me, its whispers carried off by the wind, echoes of a self I'd shed. Elowen followed, her footsteps ringing against the stone, and for the first time in ages, the void within me felt a fraction lighter.
Elowen parted her lips, but the sound snagged in her throat. Her eyes flickered with confusion, as if chasing a thought that slipped through her grasp. The wind wailed around us, sharp and cold, stirring dust that danced like phantoms in the air.
I drew a slow breath, the chill searing my lungs. "Revenge just breeds more revenge, Elowen." My voice was low, nearly swallowed by the emptiness before us, but each word bore the weight of a truth I'd carried too long. "Kill one, and the father steps in. Kill the father, and the ancestor hunts you. Kill the ancestor, and the whole clan comes running. It's a cycle—a pit with no bottom."
She hugged her arms close, shrinking against the cold—or maybe my words. "But don't you feel anything?" Her voice was a fragile thread, almost pleading. "No anger? No call for justice?"
"Feel?" A dry, brittle laugh escaped me, faint as if it pained me to let it out. "I felt it all. Rage that burned. Pain that ripped me open. Hate that devoured me. But that… it's done."
"Done?" She edged closer, her tone cracking, her eyes scouring me for a shred of what I'd lost.
"Yes." I turned my face to the abyss. It stared back, dark and mute, a mirror to what I'd become. "Those things change nothing. They don't heal. They don't save."
Silence crashed down between us. Her shallow, shaky breaths were the only sound, as if she held back tears that refused to fall. Her eyes bored into me, desperate for a spark of the humanity I'd left behind.
"And now? What's your next move?" she asked, her voice softer, almost resigned.
"Keep going," I said, my gaze still lost in the void. "I don't need revenge—just the next step."
She let out a long, weary sigh. "You're impossible, Nael."
"Maybe." I shrugged, the word dangling in the air, weightless. Nothing touched me anymore—nothing but that abyss, beckoning like an old companion.
"Let's walk," I said, turning to her. "I want to feel the forest for a while." My voice was steady, firm—an offer she couldn't refuse.
Elowen hesitated, then nodded. Her steps echoed mine as we plunged into the green heart of the woods. Dry leaves snapped beneath our feet, blending with the rustle of branches and the faint song of a stream. The air smelled of wet earth, crisp and alive, cloaking us like a second skin.
Sunlight struggled through the towering canopy, casting shadows that stretched across the ground like grasping fingers. It felt like another realm, far removed from the cliff's stark edge. As we moved, my mind wandered. "I can't shake what I went through in my domain," I thought, the past weeks pressing down on me. I'd pushed myself to the brink, training my body to recall what it meant to fight for survival. Every strike, every bead of sweat, was a step toward whatever lay ahead.
Elowen halted abruptly, her eyes narrowing. "Do you feel something… strange?" Her whisper was taut with unease.
"Strange how?" I turned to her, searching her face.
"The disturbances in time," she said, glancing around as if the trees held secrets. "I sense it in the threads of fate. Like the natural flow's being twisted."
I let out a short breath. "In my domain, time runs faster," I said, matter-of-fact. "One day here is nearly four there. That's all it is."
"I see." She nodded, but her restless eyes kept darting to the shadows.
Then the path curved, and the world froze. A colossal creature loomed before us, barring the way. A demonic beast from the Lower Holy Domain, battered and broken. Its scarred body oozed dark blood that dripped to the earth, reeking of rust and rot. Its wild eyes glowed, a volatile mix of fury and agony fixed on us.
Elowen eased back a step. "It's wounded, but not dead," she murmured, wary.
I stood still, hands loose at my sides. "This isn't random," I thought, senses honed. "It didn't stumble here by chance," I said aloud, my voice slicing through the air. "Something—or someone—dragged it here."
The beast let out a guttural roar, the ground quaking beneath it. Its muscles coiled, poised to lunge despite its frailty. One wrong move, and it'd be on us.
"Fight or pass?" Elowen asked, her voice hushed, almost a plea.
"It's not my call," I said, my eyes flicking to hers, then back to the creature. "It's his." I stepped forward, meeting the fiery glare head-on.
The forest held its breath for a heartbeat—until the beast reared up again. That same Lower Holy, its torn flesh and jagged scars a testament to battles lost. Its ember-like eyes locked onto me. "What a pitiful thing," I thought, but kept silent. I glanced at Elowen, waiting—for her, for the beast, for whatever fate had in store.
The wind sliced through the trees, carrying the sour tang of blood and decay. The demonic beast towered over us, a mangled heap of twisted flesh, its red eyes burning with a living scorn. Even in its broken state, it loomed large—a grotesque silhouette against the forest's gray sky.
"Look what we have here…" Its voice scraped like gravel, each word dripping with venom. "Two cute little things."
Silence. Nael and I stood motionless, two quiet shapes among the dark trees. It didn't deserve a reply.
The creature tilted its head, its gaze slithering between us, ravenous and twisted. "How adorable. I'll use his flesh and blood to heal myself." It licked its cracked lips, eyes locked on Nael, lust seeping like poison. "And this human beauty… with such a… delicious scent."
Revulsion churned in my gut, hot and bitter, but I didn't flinch. I held my ground, staring it down.
It lumbered forward with a heavy thud, the air humming with its arrogance. "From now on, you'll follow me." Its gaze pinned me, hard and grasping. "I'll make you my slave forever."
Before it could bask in its delusions, Nael's voice cut through like a blade. "Why is it talking so much… and still alive?" His tone was pure frost, unyielding, his face a mask of indifference. But I knew—his patience was fraying.
The beast faltered, its eyes flaring wide for a split second, caught off guard by Nael's nerve. Then rage erupted. "How dare you, insect?!" it bellowed, its battered frame tensing, claws glinting as it readied to pounce.
I stepped back, a wry smile tugging at my lips. A dark amusement bubbled up, too sharp to ignore. I leaned toward Nael. "Your words are my command, oh Supremium." My voice dripped with mock reverence, though the title was no jest—he was beyond lords or kings. He was Nael. "What do you wish your humble servant to do?"
He didn't blink. A fleeting glance my way, then his focus snapped back to the beast.