Chapter 33: THE HEART OF THE ABYSS
Kaito's heart pounded as the weight of his sister's words reverberated through his mind.
The Abyss was not something he could simply fight. It was not just an external force, a physical manifestation of darkness. It was a part of him, a shadow that had been cast long before he had ever set foot in this cursed world.
The landscape around him twisted, and the blackness seemed to grow thicker, as though the Abyss was responding to his inner turmoil. He could feel it, pulling at the very core of his being, urging him to give in, to allow himself to be consumed by the shadow.
But Kaito knew, now more than ever, that to succumb was to lose everything. The Abyss would swallow him whole, devour his soul, and he would never emerge again.
But how could he fight something that was as much a part of him as his breath?
He stood alone on the edge of the chasm, the ground beneath him crumbling away as though the earth itself was giving way to the ever-expanding darkness.
The wind howled through the barren landscape, its shrill scream cutting through the stillness like a knife. Kaito's golden light flickered weakly in his chest, but it was barely a match for the encroaching void.
It was a cruel irony. The light he had wielded so freely, the very essence of hope, had been born from the same Abyss that sought to destroy him. The light was his only weapon, yet it was also his greatest weakness.
If the Abyss was a part of him, then so too was the light. They were inseparable, two sides of the same coin. And the Abyss knew it.
As the wind howled louder, Kaito could hear the whispers again, distant yet all-encompassing. They came from every direction, clawing at his mind, seeping into his thoughts like poison.
Kaito...