The skies wept crimson.
Ash rained from the heavens like snow, the land ruptured and shattered, and the air trembled beneath the weight of divine might. Towers once proud now lay in ruins, their bones jutting like spears from the broken earth. The people Cain had sworn to protect… scattered, slaughtered, or consumed by the wrath of gods.
He stood amidst the ruin, blood-soaked and trembling, the edges of his crimson cloak charred to cinders. His blade which was once a relic capable of channeling the magic of a hundred thousand Ether Crystals was now snapped in half, buried in the blackened chest of a winged beast that had dared to strike the last bastion of resistance.
And yet, that wasn't what broke him.
"You…" he choked, staring at the three figures standing before him—each bearing the mark of Zeus carved onto their flesh, glowing with golden light.
His friends.
His companions.
Talia, the priestess whose life he had saved in the siege of Velwyn, now bathed in holy aura that reeked of Divine grace.
Ren, the mage who had sworn eternal brotherhood with him, now wielding a staff brimming with god-given power.
And Korin, his blood-brother… the man who once said they'd die side-by-side before kneeling to tyranny. Now standing tall, spear raised, and eyes hollow.
"I gave everything," Cain whispered, voice hoarse. "I defied Zeus. I led the rebellion. I saved you all!"
"You defied a god," Talia said, her voice eerily calm. "There was no victory down that path, Cain. Only ashes. Zeus… offered us salvation."
Ren averted his gaze. "He said you'd never submit. That you'd rather damn the world than bend the knee."
Korin took a step forward, spear trembling slightly. "We had no choice, Cain. He showed us what you would become. You're already cursed."
"I was cursed the moment I trusted you," Cain snarled.
Lightning cracked across the sky. The heavens opened, and with a sound like reality fracturing, a divine gaze descended. Though Zeus did not speak, Cain felt him... He was watching from high above, silent, amused.
Mocking.
Cain coughed, blood spilling from his lips, but still, he stood. "You think you've chosen salvation. All you've done is trade freedom for golden chains."
Talia stepped back. "It's over, Cain. Lay down your defiance."
But he only laughed, his tone bitter and broken.
"Over? No… not yet." His eyes began to glow... not with holy light, but with void-black fury. He reached into his chest and tore free the last of his life force, shaping it into a curse not born from magic, but from pure will.
"I swear," he bellowed, voice echoing across the heavens, "by soul, by blood, by the very ruins of this world—I will not die as a man. I will return as the storm that ends gods."
The curse ignited, a torrent of black fire erupting from his body, fueled by a spark that came from beyond comprehension. The golden light of Zeus recoiled, and even the divine-backed traitors were forced to shield their eyes.
Cain collapsed to one knee, bones cracking, soul unraveling.
"I'll become the abyss," he whispered, "if that's what it takes…"
And then—he died.
But death did not come gently.
The light faded. The world vanished.
There was no sky. No earth. No time. No self.
Only the fall.
Cain's soul plummeted through darkness colder than eternity, spiraling through a realm without name or god. And yet, something stirred in that endless void. A presence. A pull.
Like gravity.
Like destiny.
He could not see it, but he felt it: a heartbeat in the abyss. A relic so ancient, its very presence sundered reality. Its call wasn't warm or comforting.
It was cruel.
Devouring.
Void.
And still… Cain reached toward it.
The presence responded.
In the void, a gem awoke.
Its surface was jagged, pulsating with unnatural hues: black, violet, gray, and deep crimson. It was alive. It was waiting. And when Cain's soul touched it, it drank his curse, his fury, his grief and fed him something in return.
Power.
No, not power. Purpose.
He didn't understand what it was. Didn't know its name. But he felt its promise:
You will have your revenge.
Chains shattered.
Flesh unraveled.
Soul remade.
And then… Cain began to rise.