"Absolute Void."
The words rolled out low, steady, and final.
In the dark, millions of eyes opened, each fixed on them. Their shapes lost to the black, their presence felt only in the weight pressing down—heavy enough to squeeze a man's chest tight. No one could see another, only the sound of their breathing and the voice cutting through it all.
Kael's voice.
"Be glad I'm kind enough to give you a quick death," he said, stepping forward. The darkness shifted with him, swallowing what little space there was. "But in the Underworld, you will suffer for life."
His tone softened—but it wasn't kindness. Just truth.
"Being a demigod is no blessing. It's a curse. You're nothing but tools for the gods."
He paused, adjusting his grip on the hilt. The faint scrape of steel against steel marked the change.
"All things return to nothing," he said, calm as stone.
The clang of his sword broke the dark. Shadows surged in a rush, and his next words fell like judgment—
"The Absolute Null."
