The void folded around Ryojin as he reemerged far from the battlefield.

  He stood atop a crumbling temple, its stone worn by time, its inscriptions faded beyond recognition. The night sky stretched endlessly above him, untouched by stars or moonlight. The remnants of his power still crackled in the air, distorting reality itself.

  He clenched his fist. The sensation was… different.

  Before the Abyss, his strength had been bound by limits—human limits, celestial limits. Now, he was something else entirely. He had not just gained power. He had become a force beyond definition.

  But he wasn’t alone.

  A flicker of movement.

  Ryojin’s eyes darted to the temple’s entrance, where a lone figure stood watching him.

  She stepped forward, the dim light revealing her form—a woman clad in black and silver robes, her piercing crimson eyes glowing with a mix of caution and curiosity.

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  He recognized her.

  Elyria Noctis- a former member of the Abyssal Clan.

  A shadowbinder, a rogue sorceress once hunted by both the Celestial Order and the Abyssal Clans - after she quit. She was neither enemy nor ally—at least, not yet.

  She tilted her head, studying him. “You should be dead.”

  Ryojin smirked. “ And you should be running."

  Elyria stepped closer, her boots making no sound against the temple stone. “I felt the shift in the world. The Abyssal energy radiating from your body is like none, what happened?"

  He met her gaze, unshaken. “I was reborn.”

  She paused, as if considering his words. Then, her lips curled into a sly smile. “Perhaps."

  Ryojin exhaled, his grip tightening on his katana. “ for the first time in my existence I feel free ,free from the Abyssal Clan and free from fear."

  A gust of wind passed between them. The silence that followed was heavy, filled with unspoken tension.

  Elyria’s eyes flickered with amusement. “You’re not the only one who’s changed, Ryojin.” She turned away, her form dissolving into the shadows. “The gods are stirring. The abyssal clans are restless. And you? You are the crack in the foundation of this world.”

  Her voice lingered as she vanished.

  “Be careful, or you might find yourself devoured by the very power you wield.”

  Ryojin remained still, staring at the space where she had stood.

  The world was shifting. The gods would come. The Abyssal Clans would not remain silent. The Celestial Order would prepare for war.

  And him?

  He would cut through all of them.

  For the first time in his life, he was unbound.

  And nothing would stand in his way.