Chapter 28: The Awakening in Ruins

A cold gust of wind swept across Ren’s face as he gasped awake, his body aching as if torn apart and stitched back together. He struggled to his feet, eyes widening at the world before him.

The sky, once bright with the glow of twin moons, was now a crimson wasteland. Towering spires of black stone jutted from the ruined earth, their jagged forms twisted in unnatural shapes. The air reeked of decay and something worse—a presence.

Ren’s breath came in ragged gasps. The last thing he remembered…
Nyx. The battle. The crushing force of the Abyss Warden’s power.
And then—nothing.

"Where am I?" His voice was hoarse. He clenched his fists. His body felt different. His strength wasn’t gone, but it was… muted. Suppressed, as if something had forcefully sealed his abilities.

A sudden noise. Footsteps.

Ren turned sharply. From the fog, a cloaked figure emerged.

“You shouldn’t be awake yet,” the voice was calm, but laced with urgency. The figure pulled back their hood, revealing piercing golden eyes beneath a mess of white hair. “You were meant to sleep longer.”

Ren’s instincts screamed at him—this person was dangerous. His fingers twitched toward his weapon, but his blade was gone.

“Who the hell are you?” Ren growled.

The figure sighed. “You should be asking something else.” They gestured to the ruined landscape. “Like why the world looks like this.”

Ren’s jaw tightened.

“How long has it been?”

The figure hesitated.

“…Seven years.”

Ren’s heart stopped.

Seven. Years.

And in those seven years, Nyx had won. The Abyss had claimed everything.

The realization burned hotter than any wound he had ever suffered.

“You’re lying,” Ren whispered. “This isn’t real.”

But the weight of the silence—the ruined cities, the dead sky, the cold in his bones—told him otherwise.

The figure turned. “If you want to live, follow me. This world is not the one you knew.”

Ren clenched his fists. His power was gone. The world had fallen. Nyx sat on the throne that should have been his.

No.

He refused to accept this.

He would rise again.