Samuel's POV
The spiraling staircase seemed to stretch into eternity. My footsteps echoed—each one carrying the weight of battle, blood, and purpose. The air grew thicker the deeper I went, saturated with sulfur, old magic, and something older… something watching.
My gauntlets—now fully awakened as the Gauntlets of the Demon—clinked against the walls occasionally. I wasn't trying to be stealthy. Not now. Whatever was down here… it already knew I was coming.
After what felt like hours—but could've been seconds in this warped space—I reached the bottom.
The chamber was massive, carved from obsidian and old bone. Ancient murals glowed faintly with crimson script, whispering stories in languages long since erased from the surface. In the center stood a monolithic seal, pulsing with eerie light and bound by seven black chains. And then—
CRACK
One of the chains shattered with a scream, not mechanical—but living. A sound that rattled my skull.
---
[System Notification]
WARNING: The Final Seal has been weakened.
Entity Classification: Primordial-Class Threat Detected
Name: Khareth-Zul
Title: The World-Scourge, Devourer of Pantheons
Origin: Unknown (Pre-System Era)
Status: Dormant… waking…
---
I read the name once. Twice.
"Khareth-Zul… This must be what Vardaal was hiding," I muttered.
Another chain cracked. Then another. My instincts screamed, but my pride—and my hunger for battle—screamed louder.
I walked to the platform and summoned my Voidblade with a sharp hiss of energy. "If you're waking up… then I'll be your alarm clock."
And then—
The seal exploded.
From within rose a titanic figure, cloaked in smoke, draped in tendrils of corrupted time and voidfire. Its face was obscured, a helm shaped like a screaming world, its hands ending in claws that radiated null-energy. A voice, deep and jagged, echoed directly into my mind.
"You… dare… walk… into my Grave?"
I raised my blade. "No. I'm here to make it permanent."
---
[System Notification]
Final Dungeon Boss Battle Initiated: Khareth-Zul, the World-Scourge
---
He lunged.
I sidestepped barely, Voidstepping midair, my blade slashing across one of his limbs. He howled, the sound fracturing the runes on the walls. I responded with Astral Rend, the tear in space ripping into his shoulder—but it healed instantly.
I was already on the defensive. Every swing of his shattered the ground. Every roar shattered my eardrums.
But I'd fought Gods before.
And I wasn't about to lose now.
I roared and charged.
________________________________________
Samuel's POV – Battle Against Khareth-Zul, the Abyssal Crown
The sky above Graveforge Citadel was bruised with stormfire—bolts of black lightning dancing across the crimson clouds. The winds carried screams. Not of men, but of the realm itself, writhing under the weight of what was about to unfold.
Khareth-Zul stood before me—an abomination of bone, void-metal, and forgotten sorrow. Ten feet tall, crowned with a jagged halo of thorns and obsidian flame. His presence warped the ground beneath him, each step leaving trails of decayed reality.
I could feel the pressure of his essence, like the weight of a dying star.
I cracked my neck and tightened my gauntlets—now the Gauntlets of Demon, pulsing with demonic sigils and molten rage.
"This ends here," I muttered, my voice low.
Khareth-Zul's six void-eyes blinked in unison. His voice echoed like thunder trapped in a tomb:
"You carry the scent of broken timelines… You are not the Samuel I remember. But you will die like he did."
I smiled grimly. "Guess I'll just have to remind you that I'm not like the rest."
Then I launched forward.
---
The Opening Clash
I moved with Voidstep—my body fracturing into streaks of black light. Khareth-Zul raised a limb, and from his clawed hand erupted a wave of gravity, threatening to crush the air itself.
I weaved through it, my Gauntlets of Demon igniting with Fangfire Overdrive. I slammed both fists into his ribcage, shattering through his necrotic armor. He howled—not in pain, but in amusement.
"You strike well, Dark Knight… But I am the END."
His counterattack was immediate—he snapped two of his arms, sending out chains of bleeding darkness. One lashed around my waist, another around my neck, trying to crush my spine. I roared, channeling Reality Sever, and with a swipe of my hand, cut the damn void-chains clean from the universe.
"Try harder," I spat, launching myself upward with Astral Rend, a vertical fist uppercut that carried us both into the sky.
We shattered the clouds.
---
Midair Battle
In the sky, we became comets colliding.
His claws tore across my chestplate, drawing sparks and blood. I retaliated by grabbing two of his limbs and slamming my head into his jaw—once, twice, a third time. The last one cracked his faceplate open, revealing shifting skulls beneath.
"I have devoured gods, Samuel Gebb. I have bathed in the collapse of galaxies."
I raised my fist, energy gathering.
"Good," I growled. "I'm starving too."
I punched him so hard the wind behind me screamed. He plummeted into the ground, slamming into the broken plaza of the Citadel.
I descended like a meteor.
---
Ground Collapse – Final Phase Initiated
We crashed. The force shattered the battlefield, rupturing the foundations of Graveforge. The arena became a crater, spiraling downward into an ancient catacomb beneath the surface.
Khareth-Zul rose again—wings of black flame erupting from his back.
His voice was no longer words. It was madness. Whispered sins. Forgotten regrets.
He chanted in a forgotten tongue. And the sky above tore open—releasing a rain of screaming souls.
I activated Soul Echo: Wrathforge.
Ghostly versions of myself stepped out—echoes from alternate timelines. Each one charged with me.
We were a storm of Samuels. A legion of vengeance.
Khareth-Zul met us with a tidal wave of entropy.
---
Chaos Unleashed
Blades made of starlight clashed with claws older than death.
I activated Blade Tempest – Chaos Variant—spinning in a wild, controlled fury. My strikes tore through space itself, and my echoes mirrored me.
One of my soul echoes was caught and devoured. Another sacrificed itself to absorb a blast of necrotic flame.
We reached the heart of the catacomb.
Khareth-Zul's form was fraying—his armor broken, leaking darkness.
But mine wasn't better. My gauntlets were cracked. Blood ran down my jaw. My lungs burned.
"Admit it," I panted, "you're not unstoppable."
His laughter was sickening.
"Neither are you."
---
Final Exchange
Khareth-Zul summoned the Crown of the Abyss. It hovered above his head—dripping black stars. A symbol of dominion over ruin.
"Bow," he hissed, "and I will grant you death without pain."
I raised my fist, the Crownbearer's Dominion skill igniting with pure, divine fury.
"I'm no one's subject."
With all I had, I surged forward.
Fist met crown.
My gauntlet shattered—fingers twisted and broken—but the Crown split in two.
And in that moment, I summoned Unbroken Form.
My body roared with mythic power. Flesh repaired. Bones reforged. I was reborn in the middle of war.
With a final scream, I grabbed Khareth-Zul's skull—
—and tore it clean from his body.
Silence
The ruins fell still. The rain of souls ended.
The catacomb trembled—collapsing slowly around me.
I dropped his skull. Ash consumed it.
"System," I rasped, barely standing. "Confirm kill."
A golden prompt appeared.
---
[Boss Defeated: Khareth-Zul, Abyssal Crown]
—Unique Drop: Abyssal Core of Ruin
—Reward: +50 Levels
—Title Unlocked: Kingbreaker
—New Passive Skill Gained: Entropy Rejection (Legendary)
---
I exhaled.
Blood. Dust. Victory.
"I'm not done yet," I said, looking at the darkness beyond the catacomb. "Send me the next Forgotten One. I'm just getting started."
And with that, I walked through the smoke.
Unbroken.
Undying.
Unstoppable.