The abyss pulsed beneath Kael's feet, its unseen currents threading through the air in waves of unnatural movement. The Drifting Sanctum had always felt alive, but tonight, it whispered with greater urgency—an invitation, a warning.
Alyss Vren stood at the edge of the ruined cliffs, her presence bending the Abyssal Flow around her like a quiet storm. She had given Kael a choice: stay and be hunted, or follow the call of the Sanctuary of Echoes, a place no living wielder had seen in centuries.
Kael exhaled slowly. He didn't believe in fate—but he knew when the Abyss was speaking to him.
"I'll go," he said, his voice steady.
Alyss didn't react immediately. She simply studied him, the flickering energy in her irises shifting as though weighing his resolve.
"Then you need to be prepared," she finally said. "Jorin Malvek knows you're unstable. He won't wait for the right moment—he'll come the second he senses an anomaly in the Flow."
Kael knew that. The Abyss Hunters had been watching him since his exile. It was only a matter of time before Jorin made his move.
"I can handle him."
Alyss gave a wry smile. "That's what they all say before the Abyss takes them." She turned, walking toward the chasm where the ground crumbled into the unknown. "Come. If we're going to reach the Sanctuary, you need to survive the Abyssal Surge first."
Kael frowned. The Abyssal Surge—a violent compression of Flow density—was one of the most dangerous phenomena within the Sanctum. It ripped apart reality itself, erasing those too weak to withstand its force.
They descended into the depths. The air thickened with energy, humming through Kael's Void Anchor. The path ahead shimmered, the very fabric of space twisting as the Flow became volatile.
Then it hit.
A rupture in the abyss tore open. Tendrils of raw energy lashed out, destabilizing the ground beneath them. Kael barely had time to react before the Abyssal Surge crashed over them.
His instincts took over. He let his body shift, merging with the currents rather than resisting them. The world blurred, the sensation both weightless and suffocating as his Void Anchor struggled to maintain balance.
Alyss moved with effortless precision, riding the surge like a phantom. "Don't fight it," she called. "Let it shape around you—bend with the tide!"
Kael gritted his teeth, adjusting his stance. He could feel it now—the ebb and flow of the energy, like breathing. He matched its rhythm, allowing the storm to pass through him instead of against him.
Then, suddenly, everything stilled. The surge faded, leaving only the abyssal silence behind.
Alyss studied him, nodding in approval. "You learn fast."
Kael exhaled, steadying himself. "What now?"
She turned toward the abyss, where the remnants of the Flow coalesced into shifting patterns of light. "Now we follow it," she murmured.
Kael watched the glow in the distance. The Sanctuary of Echoes was real. And it was waiting for him.