Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 421

Chapter 421: Abyssal IX

Aiden stared at the images, his heart pounding. “And if I fail to choose?”

“The Abyss will consume you,” the figure said simply. “Your body, your mind, your soul—it will all become fuel for the endless cycle. And the seal… will shatter.”

Aiden’s breath hitched. He could feel the weight of the decision pressing down on him, the enormity of what was at stake. “How do I choose? How do I find balance?”

“To find balance,” the figure said, “you must first confront the Abyss within yourself. Face the shadows of your past, your fears, your desires. Only by understanding the darkness can you hope to wield its power without succumbing to it.”

The figure extended its hand once more, and the sphere of light began to dissolve, its energy flowing into Aiden’s chest. He gasped as a surge of power coursed through him, and the void around him seemed to collapse inward. For a brief moment, he felt weightless, suspended in a sea of endless possibilities.

When he opened his eyes, he was back in the Luminaris Expanse, standing before the crystal archway. His companions were beside him, their expressions filled with concern and curiosity.

“Aiden,” Myne said softly. “What happened?”

Aiden touched the seal on his chest, which now glowed faintly, its energy steady and calm for the first time in what felt like an eternity. “I know what I have to do,” he said, his voice firm. “The Abyss isn’t just my burden. It’s my path.”

Lila stepped forward, her brow furrowed. “And what does that mean for us? For the mission?”

“It means,” Aiden said, turning to face them, “we keep moving forward. But from here on out… things are going to change.”

As he spoke, the crystal archway shimmered, and a new path revealed itself—a bridge of light leading deeper into the Sanctum. Aiden took the first step, his companions close behind, as the echoes of the figure’s words lingered in his mind.

The shimmering bridge of light stretched out before them, pulsing faintly with a rhythm that mirrored Aiden’s own heartbeat. As they stepped onto it, the space around them seemed to ripple, the crystalline expanse of the Sanctum dissolving into a swirling tapestry of colors and shadows. The air grew heavy with an ethereal energy, each breath they took filled with the raw potency of creation and destruction.

Myne glanced at Aiden, her gaze sharp. “That mark on your chest—it’s different now. It’s… steadier. What happened back there?”

Aiden didn’t respond immediately. His hand lingered over the Abyssal Seal, which no longer burned or ached but thrummed with a quiet, contained power. “I met… something. Or someone. It wasn’t clear. But they told me what I needed to do. The Abyss isn’t just a curse—it’s a part of me. If I don’t understand it, it’ll destroy me.”

“And understanding it means what?” Nexus pressed, his tone a mix of curiosity and concern. “Diving headfirst into that madness?”

“It means balance,” Aiden said firmly. “Facing everything I’ve avoided. My fears, my failures, the parts of me I’ve buried. If I don’t, this seal will break—and when it does, the Abyss will consume everything.”

Silence followed his words, the weight of them settling over the group like a heavy fog. Even Lila, who often found a quip or remark to lighten the mood, was uncharacteristically quiet.

The path ahead shifted suddenly, the light bridge splitting into three distinct trails. Each glowed with a different hue—one golden, one crimson, and one pitch black. Above them, faint symbols hovered, ancient and indecipherable.

“What now?” Lila asked, her voice tight. “Is this another test?”

Aiden stepped closer to the three trails, his Spirit Sense reaching out to the symbols above each path. They pulsed faintly, resonating with his presence, and he could feel the distinct energies they emanated.

“The golden path…” he began, “feels like order. Stability. A place where everything has its place, its purpose.”

“The crimson one,” Myne added, stepping beside him, “is chaos. Raw, unrestrained power. It’s dangerous, but there’s strength there.”

“And the black one?” Nexus asked, his arms crossed.

Aiden hesitated. The black path was different. It didn’t just emanate energy—it pulled at him, a relentless, consuming force that felt like it was trying to drag him in. Yet, beneath the overwhelming darkness, there was something else—a faint, elusive thread of understanding.

“It’s the Abyss,” Aiden said finally. “The heart of it. If I want to face this power, that’s the path I need to take.”

“You’re sure?” Myne asked, her voice steady but edged with concern. “If you’re wrong—”

“I’m not wrong,” Aiden said, meeting her gaze. “This is my choice.”

The group exchanged uneasy glances, but none of them argued. They had followed Aiden this far, through trials that would have broken most, and they weren’t about to abandon him now.

“Then let’s do this,” Lila said, stepping up beside him. “But if you get yourself killed, I’m dragging your soul back just to yell at you.”

Aiden smirked faintly. “Noted.”

Together, they stepped onto the black path. The moment their feet touched it, the world around them dissolved into darkness. The bridge, the symbols, even the faint light of the Sanctum disappeared, leaving them suspended in a void so absolute it felt as though it could swallow their very existence.

For a moment, there was nothing—no sound, no movement, no sense of time. And then, the whispers began.

They came from every direction, a cacophony of voices layered upon one another. Some were angry, others sorrowful, and a few were eerily calm, as if recounting the end of the world as a simple fact.

Aiden clenched his fists, his Spirit Sense flaring to life. The whispers weren’t just sounds—they were memories, fragments of lives touched or destroyed by the Abyss. They clawed at his mind, trying to pull him under, but he held firm.

“Focus!” Myne’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and commanding. “Whatever this is, it’s trying to break us. Stay together!”

The others formed a tight circle, their energies intertwining to create a faint barrier against the oppressive darkness. Aiden stood at the center, the Abyssal Seal on his chest glowing brighter with each passing moment.