Chapter 8: The Return of the King
The shadows that poured from the rift twisted and congealed, forming a shape - a monstrous figure that towered over them, its form flickering like a mirage, but unmistakably the king's. He was no longer a man. He was a creature of pure darkness, a being forged from the Abyss itself, and his presence made the very air around them crackle with oppressive power.
"You were fools to come here," the king growled, his voice booming with a terrifying echo. "I am beyond your reach. I am eternal."
Elara's heart raced, but she forced herself to focus. She remembered the journal, the last pages she had read - there had to be a way to stop him. There had to be a way to close the rift, to send the king back to the depths of the Abyss where he belonged.
But Dorian wasn't done yet. He stepped forward, his eyes wide with hunger. "This is my victory, Elara," he sneered. "The curse is my legacy now."
The darkness surrounding them surged, a tidal wave of power that threatened to engulf everything in its path. The king's form seemed to expand, becoming more grotesque by the second. He reached out with long, skeletal arms, and Elara could feel the cold touch of his fingers brushing against her soul.
Kael and Lira stood ready, but they knew the odds were against them. The king's power was immense, and Dorian - now an agent of that power - was more dangerous than ever. The rift pulsed in rhythm with the king's heart, its edges crackling with raw energy.
But Elara refused to back down. She couldn't. Not after everything that had happened. Not after everything she had learned.
With a scream, Elara plunged her hands into the rift, her fingers closing around the cursed blade that Dorian had once wielded. It was the key. The artifact that had opened the door to the Abyss. And now, it would close it forever