A deafening shockwave tore through the Trial Hall as Aeron's blade clashed against the beast's energy blast.
BOOM!
The explosion ripped apart the stone walls, sending massive chunks collapsing into the abyss. The pressure was suffocating, like standing at the center of a storm fueled by raw destruction.
For a moment, everything was white-hot energy, searing through the darkness.
Then
Silence.
Dust swirled in the air. The dungeon trembled, groaning under the force of their battle.
Aeron gasped for breath, his legs barely holding him upright. His vision blurred, and he staggered forward, his blade cracked but still in hand.
The beast… was gone.
Or rather—what was left of it was disintegrating, its formless body collapsing in on itself. The countless eyes that once glowed with malevolence flickered… then faded into nothingness.
He had won.
"Hah… It's over."
But as soon as relief washed over him, a sharp pain stabbed through his skull.
Nyxus's voice echoed in his mind, low and amused.
"You think it's over?"
Aeron's body tensed.
Something was wrong.
His instincts screamed, but before he could react
A surge of energy erupted from the beast's remains. A final, desperate attack.
Aeron barely had time to register it before his vision turned black.
Moments Later…
Pain.
Distant voices. A cold breeze.
Aeron's consciousness swam between the void and reality. His body felt heavy, like he was sinking into the abyss.
Then
A voice, clear and sharp.
"You really don't know when to stay dead, do you?"
His eyes snapped open.
Aeron's first sight was the dark sky above—a sky that shouldn't have been there.
The Trial Hall was gone.
He was somewhere else.
Slowly, he pushed himself up, ignoring the searing pain in his ribs. His surroundings were… strange. The air felt denser, charged with a power that made his skin tingle.
"Where the hell am I?"
Footsteps echoed.
A figure emerged from the shadows—a man clad in black, his silver eyes gleaming under the faint light. He carried himself with unshaken confidence, a blade resting casually on his shoulder.
Aeron narrowed his gaze.
Kael.
"You look like hell," Kael remarked, crossing his arms. "Figured you'd be too stubborn to die."
Aeron exhaled sharply, gripping his blade.
"You followed me?"
Kael shrugged. "More like you nearly got yourself killed, and now we have a problem."
Aeron's eyes flickered with caution.
"What kind of problem?"
Kael's smirk faded. He pointed behind Aeron.
Aeron turned.
And his breath caught.
Beyond the ruins of the dungeon…
A massive, ancient gate stood, pulsing with an eerie golden glow.
It wasn't supposed to be there.
And yet it called to him.
Nyxus's voice echoed in his mind, softer this time.
"That… is something you were never meant to find."
Aeron clenched his fists.
"Then I have to know what's inside."
The massive gate loomed before Aeron, its golden glow casting eerie shadows across the ruins. Each pulse of light sent a wave of energy rippling through the air, making his skin crawl.
Kael stood beside him, his expression unreadable.
"You feel it too, don't you?" Aeron muttered.
Kael nodded. "That thing isn't normal. And if it's here, then it means we're already in deeper than we should be."
Aeron frowned. He knew Kael was right. This place—this hidden layer of the dungeon was something even the guild hadn't mentioned.
Which meant whoever had built it hadn't wanted it to be found.
"Nyxus," Aeron called out in his mind. "What the hell is this?"
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, the fallen war god's voice rumbled.
"A door that should have remained sealed."
Aeron stiffened.
"You sound nervous."
Nyxus chuckled, but there was no amusement in his tone.
"Caution is not fear, mortal. But some doors are locked for a reason."
Aeron exhaled slowly. His instincts screamed at him to proceed carefully, but there was no turning back. If this place held any answers—if it had something that could help his sister—he had to see it through.
"We go in," he said, stepping toward the gate.
Kael didn't argue. He simply unsheathed his blade and followed.
Aeron reached out, pressing his hand against the gate's surface.
The moment his fingers made contact, a deep hum filled the air, followed by a loud click. The ground rumbled. The golden glow flared
And the doors began to open.
A gust of ancient, cold air rushed out, carrying whispers from something long forgotten.
Aeron clenched his fists.
"No turning back now."
Together, he and Kael stepped into the unknown.
Inside the sealed chamber
The moment Aeron crossed the threshold, a wave of dizziness hit him. His body felt heavier, like he had stepped into a different reality altogether.
The chamber was vast—an endless void of black stone and shifting shadows. Strange symbols flickered along the walls, ancient scripts Aeron couldn't decipher.
But at the center of the room, something was waiting.
A pedestal.
And on top of it
A blade.
It was unlike any weapon Aeron had ever seen. The hilt was wrapped in obsidian leather, the blade itself pulsing with dark energy.
And as he stepped closer, a voice filled the chamber.
"Who dares awaken the Trial of the Abyss?"
The temperature dropped instantly. The shadows around them shifted, forming into a towering figure
An armored warrior, his eyes burning with spectral blue fire.
Kael tightened his grip on his weapon. "Looks like we found something interesting."
Aeron took a deep breath, his gaze locking onto the warrior.
"And now we fight."
The armored warrior loomed over them, his spectral blue eyes locked onto Aeron. The pressure in the chamber intensified, thick with an ancient power that sent chills through his spine. This wasn't just some dungeon boss—this was something far older.
"Who are you?" Aeron asked, keeping his stance firm.
The warrior's voice was like a thousand whispers layered together.
"I am the Keeper of the Abyss. The final guardian of what should not be claimed."
Kael scoffed, his grip tightening on his blade. "You sound dramatic for a dead guy."
The Keeper's glowing gaze snapped to Kael, and in an instant, he moved.
A flash of dark energy, and Kael barely had time to raise his sword before he was sent flying across the chamber. He crashed against the black stone, coughing as dust rose around him.
"Fast," Aeron noted.
He activated Shadow Step, his body dissolving into a blur of movement just as the Keeper's blade came slashing down at him. The impact cracked the ground where he had just been standing.
Nyxus' voice rumbled in his mind.
"You are outmatched. You need to use the contract's power."
Aeron didn't hesitate. He clenched his fist, calling on the war god's strength. A surge of dark energy flowed through his veins, sharpening his reflexes, enhancing his speed. His body felt like it was on fire but he had no time to care.
The Keeper struck again.
This time, Aeron met the attack head-on. His blade clashed against the Keeper's, the impact sending a shockwave through the chamber. Sparks of energy crackled as their weapons locked.
"Good," Nyxus muttered. "Now show him what you've learned."
Aeron twisted his blade, redirecting the Keeper's strength and forcing the towering warrior to stumble back a step. Without hesitation, he dashed forward, driving his knee into the Keeper's chest.
The armored warrior did not react—instead, he vanished.
Aeron's eyes widened.
"Teleportation"
The next second, he felt cold steel against his back.
Aeron barely twisted in time, bringing his blade up to block the incoming strike. The force behind it sent him skidding backward, his boots scraping against the dark stone.
The Keeper was already attacking again.
"Damn it." Aeron growled, moving on instinct. He dodged left, shadows flickering at his feet as he avoided a deadly downward slash.
Kael rejoined the fight, his blade clashing against the Keeper's from the other side. The force of their combined attacks finally forced the ancient warrior to halt for a brief moment.
"He's not invincible," Kael smirked, spinning his weapon. "Just really, really annoying."
The Keeper lifted his head slightly.
"You are persistent. Perhaps you are worthy after all."
Before either of them could react, the shadows in the chamber converged, swirling into a massive vortex.
The Trial was not over.
It was just beginning.
Aeron gritted his teeth as the vortex of shadows expanded, engulfing the entire chamber in darkness. It was suffocating, a weight pressing down on his body, restricting movement. Even his enhanced senses struggled to pierce through the abyss.
Kael cursed beside him, gripping his blade tighter. "I hate this magic crap."
The Keeper's voice echoed from within the void.
"You seek power, yet you do not understand the cost."
A flicker of movement—Aeron turned just in time to parry a strike from the darkness.
CLANG!
The impact sent a jolt through his arm, but the real danger came from the second attack. A phantom blade materialized behind him, aimed directly at his spine.
"Damn"
Before he could react, Kael intercepted, his sword deflecting the incoming attack at the last second.
"You owe me one," Kael muttered.
Aeron exhaled sharply. "We're even."
The Keeper emerged from the shadows once more, his armor shifting like liquid night, as if he had become one with the darkness itself. His movements were even faster now impossible to track.
Nyxus' voice rumbled in Aeron's mind.
"This is not a battle of strength. This is a battle of control."
Aeron closed his eyes for just a fraction of a second, trusting his instincts. He felt the ebb and flow of the shadows, the way they moved like waves in an ocean. He let his body move with them not fighting against the darkness, but embracing it.
The next time the Keeper struck, Aeron was ready.
He stepped into the shadows and vanished.
Kael's eyes widened. "What the"
Aeron reappeared behind the Keeper, his sword already descending in a powerful arc.
SLASH!
The blade met resistance but it wasn't solid. The Keeper shifted like mist, reforming just a few feet away, completely untouched.
"You begin to understand," the warrior said. "But you are still far from worthy."
The shadows around them surged again, twisting into countless spectral warriors.
Dozens of them. Each an echo of the Keeper.
Kael tensed. "Of course it wouldn't be that easy."
Aeron didn't hesitate. He lifted his sword, eyes burning with determination. "Then we'll just have to cut through all of them."
The fight was far from over.