The Awakening of the Ancient Darkness

The battlefield was silent.

The dust slowly settled.
The golden light slowly faded.
The heroes stood together, breathing heavily, tired but relieved.

The Demon King… was gone.

Completely erased by Hero Kemp’s final attack.

Ayon fell to his knees, laughing softly in pure relief.

Ayon:
“Finally… it’s over. We actually won…”

Sumit clapped a hand on Kemp’s shoulder.

Sumit:
“You crazy guy… you scared the life out of me. But you did it.”

Jirsong smirked proudly.

Jirsong:
“Well, that was one hell of a fight. Didn’t think we’d survive it.”

Alir smiled with soft eyes.

Alir:
“Kemp… Buddhist… thank you.”

Serdihun sisters hugged each other tightly.

Serdihun 1:
“We’re alive… we really are!”

Serdihun 2:
“And the world is saved!”

Ajmal Borbhuyan, the High Rank Magician X, stood proudly.

Ajmal:
“The Demon King’s energy has vanished. His soul has been erased. The world can finally breathe again.”

Everyone finally felt peace.

After the endless fear…
After the brutal battles…
After all the pain…

It was ending.

Or so they thought.

Because suddenly—

THUUUUM…

The ground trembled.

Ayon looked up.

Ayon:
“Huh…?”

Another tremor.

THUUUUM… THUUUUM…

Even stronger.

The wind stopped.
The clouds froze.
The air became unnaturally heavy.

Kemp slowly tightened his grip on his spear.

Kemp:
“…Something’s wrong.”

Ajmal’s face darkened.

Ajmal:
“This feeling… this pressure… it’s not from the Demon King.”

Sumit stepped back nervously.

Sumit:
“Bro… don’t tell me another demon is coming.”

The ground cracked.

A black fissure opened, stretching across the battlefield like a giant scar.

CRAAAAAAACK—!!

A horizontal line of pure darkness glowed beneath them.

Jirsong shouted:

Jirsong:
“EVERYONE! MOVE BACK!! NOW!!”

They all jumped away from the cracking ground.

Ayon stumbled, but Kemp caught him.

Ayon:
“T-Thanks…”

Ajmal raised his staff, sensing the energy.

Ajmal:
“No… this is impossible.
This energy… it’s ancient.
Older than the Demon King.
Older than the demons’ world.
This… is something else.”

The crack widened, glowing brighter.

A cold whisper leaked out.

A voice—deep, echoing, impossible to understand.

The heroes felt chills run down their spines.

Alir:
“I-I can’t breathe… this aura is terrifying…”

Serdihun 1:
“I-It feels like someone pushing on my chest…”

Serdihun 2:
“Who… who is coming out…?”

Kemp stared at the darkness, eyes narrowed.

Buddhist inside him whispered:

Buddhist:
“…This aura… I’ve felt it somewhere… inside the Demon King’s memories.”

Ayon:
“Y-You mean… something stronger than him?!”

Before Kemp could answer—

BOOOOOMMM!!!

A giant pillar of dark energy shot upward from the crack.

The sky split open like glass.

Black lightning cracked across the heavens.

All the heroes shielded their faces.

Sumit:
“WHAT IS THIS?!!”

Ajmal whispered trembling:

Ajmal:
“This darkness… it is not living.
Not dead.
Not demon.
Not human.
Not magical.”

He swallowed hard.

Ajmal:
“This is the Primordial Darkness.
The origin of all evil.”

Kemp felt Buddhist inside his chest freeze.

Buddhist:
“Primordial Darkness… the Demon King was nothing compared to this…”

Ayon’s voice shook.

Ayon:
“W-Why now?! Why appear now?!”

Because…

A voice suddenly whispered across the land.

Deep.

Cold.

Ancient.

“Because the Demon King has fallen.”

Everyone froze.

A figure slowly rose from the crack.

A tall, thin silhouette wrapped in liquid darkness.
A mask with no face.
A body made of shifting shadows.
Eyes that glowed like dying stars.

Every hero trembled.

Even Kemp.

Even Ajmal.

Even Buddhist inside Kemp.

The being floated above the ground, radiating pressure so powerful that rocks shattered around him.

It spoke again.

Primordial Darkness:
“I am the one who created the Demon King.”

The heroes gasped.

Sumit:
“WHAT—?!”

Ayon:
“So that thing… is the original source of demons?!”

Ajmal shook his head in disbelief.

Ajmal:
“No… demons came from the Demon World.
But this thing… it existed before it.
It is older than worlds.”

The being tilted its head slightly, as if observing them.

Primordial Darkness:
“The Demon King was a tool.
A seed of my power.
I gave him shadows.
I gave him life.
I gave him purpose.”

Kemp pointed his spear.

Kemp:
“Who are you?”

The darkness slowly spread its long arms.

Primordial Darkness:
“I am Narkaal.
The First Shadow.
The Eternal Darkness.
The Being that lives before creation.”

The heroes felt their hearts freeze.

It wasn’t shouting.

It wasn’t angry.

Its voice was calm.

Too calm.

Ajmal whispered:

Ajmal:
“…we can’t beat this.”

Ayon:
“What?! Ajmal-wh—”

Ajmal stepped forward, sweat running down his face.

Ajmal:
“Kemp… his energy is too high. He is not a physical being. He is pure darkness. Our attacks cannot touch him.”

The being—Narkaal—looked at the group.

Its emotionless voice echoed again.

Narkaal:
“You destroyed my vessel… the Demon King.”

Kemp did not lower his weapon.

Kemp:
“We destroyed him to protect this world.”

Narkaal:
“Yes.
And because of that… I must consume your world as punishment.”

The heroes gasped in fear.

Ayon:
“Punishment?! We didn’t do anything wrong!”

Narkaal:
“That world was my experiment.
My creation.
And you took it away.
So I will take your world.”

A tornado of shadows rose behind Narkaal—large enough to swallow mountains.

Serdihun 1 cried out:

Serdihun 1:
“No, no, no—this can’t be happening!”

Serdihun 2:
“We can’t fight this thing!!”

Alir:
“Kemp… what do we do…?”

Kemp stared at Narkaal.

Though his heart was shaking, he did not step back.

Kemp:
“We fight.”

Ajmal spoke quickly:

Ajmal:
“No! Listen carefully—I can sense it.
Narkaal’s body is not fully here.
He is half-manifested.
That means—”

Kemp:
“We still have a chance.”

Ajmal nodded.

Ajmal:
“Yes.
But if he fully enters our world…
everything… will die.”

The ground cracked again.

The sky turned completely black.

Narkaal stretched out one hand.

Narkaal:
“Let me show you the beginning of your world’s end.”

A ball of darkness formed in his palm.

A tiny sphere.

But its gravity was so strong that even stones, trees, dust, and broken buildings began sliding toward it.

Ayon:
“IT’S SUCKING EVERYTHING IN!”

Sumit screamed:

Sumit:
“EVERYONE HOLD ONTO SOMETHING!!”

Jirsong grabbed onto a broken pillar.

Serdihun sisters clung to each other.

Alir tried to anchor herself with magic.

Ajmal created magical shields to resist the pull.

But the force kept growing stronger and stronger.

Kemp slid toward the black sphere.

He dug his spear into the ground, barely stopping.

Kemp:
“I… won’t… lose… again…!!”

Narkaal tilted his head.

Narkaal:
“Your resistance is meaningless.”

Ayon shouted:

Ayon:
“KEMP!! WHAT DO WE DO?!”

Kemp’s eyes blazed with gold.

He looked back at his friends—

Sumit screaming.
Alir crying.
Ajmal fighting the pull.
Jirsong holding on with bleeding hands.
Serdihun sisters terrified.
Ayon reaching toward him desperately.

Kemp shouted:

Kemp:
“WE FIGHT TOGETHER!!
IF THIS IS A GOD—
THEN WE STAND AGAINST A GOD!!”

Light exploded from Kemp’s body.

The trembling earth stopped.

Everyone stared.

Sumit:
“He’s glowing again—!”

Ajmal gasped.

Ajmal:
“He’s forcing the darkness back?!”

The golden light pushed the pull of the black sphere.

Kemp roared.

Kemp:
“NARKAAL!!
IF YOU WANT THIS WORLD—
YOU’LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ALL OF US!!!”

Narkaal’s empty mask turned toward him.

The air froze.

Narkaal:
“Then let the true battle… begin.”

Black and gold collided—

And the world shook again.