Chapter 30 – Awakening the Sealed Power

The temple walls trembled as the abyssal creatures closed in. Ren could hear the sickening, guttural growls echoing through the shattered corridors. Whatever was out there wasn’t human.

Sylas swore under their breath. “We don’t have time for this—”

But Ren wasn’t listening.

His fingers curled around the dagger, and a twisted smirk played on his lips. For seven years, the world had moved on without him. Seven years of the Abyss ruling unchecked. Seven years of Nyx’s victory.

Enough.

Ren stepped toward the temple’s entrance, his footsteps slow but steady.

The first creature came into view—a hulking, misshapen horror of the Abyss. Its body was a grotesque blend of shadow and flesh, pulsating with abyssal energy. It snarled, crimson eyes locked onto him.

Ren exhaled. His power was still sealed. His strength was nothing compared to before.

But so what?

He lifted the dagger. “Come on, then.”

The monster lunged.

BOOM!

Ren sidestepped at the last second, the creature’s claws missing him by inches. In one fluid motion, he spun the dagger in his palm and drove it straight into the beast’s throat.

The blade sliced clean. Black, smoking blood sprayed across the temple floor. The creature howled, staggering back—

But it didn’t fall. Instead, its wounds sealed instantly, and its body mutated further, growing jagged, blade-like appendages from its spine.

Sylas clicked their tongue. “Tch. Abyssal Guardians. You can’t kill them with normal attacks—”

Ren didn’t wait for an explanation. He charged again, this time aiming for the head. He ducked under a wild swipe and lashed out—

But the dagger shattered against the creature’s hardened skull.

Ren’s eyes widened. Shit.

A split second later, the monster retaliated. A claw smashed into Ren’s chest, sending him hurtling across the room. He crashed through a pillar, blood spilling from his mouth.

His body screamed in pain.

Sylas cursed. “Damn it! I told you to run!”

Ren coughed, slowly pushing himself up. His vision blurred, but his mind remained sharp. He could feel it now.

Something inside him.

Something waiting to be unleashed.

His power hadn’t just been sealed. It had been repressed. Suppressed by something far stronger than him.

Ren’s breath hitched. No—not stronger.

Something that feared him.

The shadows around him flickered, drawn toward his battered body. The air crackled with a strange energy, the space around him warping.

Sylas’ eyes widened. “What the hell…?”

Ren grinned through the blood.

The monster lunged again—

And this time, the shadows answered.

A pulse of darkness erupted from Ren’s body. Abyssal energy— but not like Nyx’s. This was different. Purer. Deadlier.

The moment the creature touched him, its body began to disintegrate.

It recoiled in agony, its abyssal form corroding as if being devoured from the inside out.

Ren’s eyes burned with black flames. He lifted his hand, and the shadows coiled around his fingers like living entities.

This… This power…

A system notification suddenly flashed before him.

[Sealed Monarch Authority Detected.]
[Restrictions Lifting…]
[Void Monarch System: Reinitializing.]

Ren’s heart pounded.

The creature screeched, writhing as the abyss itself consumed it. And for the first time in seven years, Ren felt it—

His true power.

Sylas took a step back. “No way…”

Ren clenched his fist, the abyssal energy swirling at his command. His smirk widened.

“This is gonna be fun.”