Redfall was in ruins again.
But this time, it bled power.
Ash still floated in the air, glowing embers dancing around Kael as he stood over the unconscious Seraph, wings broken, armor cracked.
[Seraph Elandriel – Status: Corrupted | Bound | Emotion: Unknown][Soul Link Possible: 1% Established]
Lira lay on a cot nearby, skin pale but breathing steady. Zar patrolled the fractured perimeter, still twitching from residual flame magic.
And Kael?
He descended deeper.
Beneath Redfall – Forbidden Depths
The dungeon had opened a new path after the Seraph fell.
A crimson crack split the Trial Crypt floor, whispering voices pouring out like smoke. Not speech. Not thought.
Just... hunger.
"SAGE: Alert – Uncatalogued entity detected. Warning: Below lies the Root of Dread."
Kael said nothing. He walked down anyway.
Each step made the air heavier.
The walls bled black ichor.
The torches screamed as they burned.
Then he reached it.
A hollow chamber with no ceiling, no floor — just a black spire floating midair, tethered by chains made of bone and shadow.
[Location: The Abyssal Root][Warning: Dormant Entity Detected – "The First Dread"][Name: Nullus | Status: Sleeping | Rank: ???][Option Available: Attempt Communion]
Kael stepped forward.
His voice echoed.
"I don't fear you."
The Root pulsed.
And something answered.
Vision Sequence – ??? Reality
He saw himself, older, taller, wearing a crown of twisting horns and a cloak woven from dead stars.
He stood over kingdoms in flames. Gods broken at his feet. Followers in the millions.
But also…
He saw himself, alone. Crown shattered. Blade buried in his own chest. Betrayed. Lost.
"This is your path, King of Nothing.""All rise. All fall. What you become will unmake the world or save it."
Kael staggered back.
[Connection Made: Nullus – Dormant Pact Formed][New Title: Whisper-Touched][New Ability Acquired: Abyssal Echo – Chance to activate "Echo" of future self at critical moment][Unlock Progress: 1% of Nullus' Power]
Back at Redfall, Lira gasped awake.
Zar turned sharply. "What is it?"
She looked to the south.
Eyes wide.
"They're coming. Not soldiers. Not angels. Something else."
Elsewhere – Edge of the World
Deep beneath the surface, in a city made of bone and silence, ancient beasts began to wake.
One opened its eye — slit, red, wide.
"The Abyssborn touched the Root.""Nullus stirs.""The pact begins."
[Global Threat Shift: The Lower World Begins to Rise][New Forces Unlocked: Deep Abyss – Leviathans, Crawlers, Wyrm Priests][Redfall Upgrade Option: Abyss Gate – Allows recruitment of Deepborn entities]
Kael returned to the surface as the sun rose.
Zar knelt. Lira stood.
Even the broken Seraph Elandriel opened one eye.
Kael looked beyond the hills, into the rising light.
"Now the world below wants a piece of me too?"
He smirked.
"Let them come."
[Kael – Rank: D++][New Trait: Whisper-Touched][Special Link: Nullus – Root of Dread: 1%][Redfall Status: Recovering / Evolvable][World State: Abyss Stirring]