Chapter 25: When the Abyss Replies
’I... lost.’
The thought echoed in Aziz’s mind like a muffled thunderclap—impossible to ignore. Still lying on the floor of the training arena, he blinked slowly, not fully understanding how he’d ended up in that situation.
For as long as he could remember—and even in fragments of his previous life—he had won everything he competed in. Not out of vanity. Not out of arrogance. But as a simple fact. He had always been the best. Period.
Even if victory, for him, often tasted like nothing.
But now... there he was. His body pressed against the ground, and the curved, lethal blade of Sofia’s scythe resting against his neck. Cold. Sharp. Final.
He couldn’t move. Not out of fear—but pure existential disarray. As if something inside him had cracked, and the emptiness that had always dwelled in his chest now seeped through the edges.
Eyes fixed on the ceiling of the training dome, he remained there, motionless. To anyone watching, he was just a tired boy. But anyone daring to look closely into the silvery-blue gleam of his eyes would see something deeper.
A flicker held back.
Almost imperceptible.
The silent promise of something on the verge of awakening.
"Aziz... are you okay?" — Sofia asked, panting but alert. Her voice cut through the silence like a gentle breeze.