—So… you stayed.
The goddess's voice was neither warm nor cold; it was something worse, something that did not need emotion to impose itself. Every word fell with uncomfortable precision, as if she were not speaking, but stating a truth that already existed before being said.
—Demon King… or rather… you are no longer one —she continued, slightly tilting her head as she swirled the tea in her cup—. Now you are just a common man, one among millions. Am I wrong, Kael?
Her eyes did not leave him. They did not blink. They did not hesitate.
Kael held her gaze, though something inside him tightened.
—You're not wrong —he finally replied, with a calm he did not fully feel—. From this moment on, I am not a king… I am nobody.
He paused briefly, barely noticeable, but enough to reveal the weight of his own words.
—I was never special. I was just in the wrong place… with a title I did not understand.
Zelmira smiled faintly, as if hearing something she had already known from the beginning.
—How curious —she murmured—. Someone who led the Seven Sins… speaking as if he were insignificant.
She gently set the cup down on the table, without looking away.
—Then tell me, Kael… if you are not a king, if you are not important… what do you have left?
Silence stretched between them, not as a pause, but as pressure.
Kael lowered his gaze for a moment, as if searching for an answer in something that was not in front of him.
—I… —he murmured.
The words did not come immediately.
But this time it was not emptiness.
It was conflict.
—I don't know.
His fingers slowly tightened.
—But I can't leave either.
He lifted his gaze again.
—There is something here. Not in this place… inside me.
His voice grew firmer, though his breathing became uneven.
—My mind, my body… even my soul… everything is screaming.
Zelmira did not interrupt him.
—I'm afraid —Kael continued—. A fear I don't understand. But even so… I know I have to do something.
Silence returned, but this time it was different.
Heavier.
More meaningful.
And then, Zelmira smiled.
Not like before.
This time, there was something else behind it.
—Now you're being honest.
She leaned slightly toward him, resting her elbow on the table.
—And because of that… I have a proposal for you.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
—A proposal?
—A pact.
The word was not said with emphasis.
But the atmosphere changed.
—A pact… with a goddess? —Kael asked, not looking away.
—That's right —she replied naturally—. One where both of us will benefit.
Kael did not respond immediately.
—Speak.
Zelmira tilted her head, watching him with more evident interest.
—It's simple —she said—. There is something I want.
Her eyes glowed faintly.
—I want you to break the barrier that keeps the gods imprisoned in this place… and to begin a new war.
The silence was immediate.
Heavy.
It was not a suggestion.
It was a declaration.
—You want to start a war —Kael said, with no apparent emotion.
—No —she corrected gently—. I want you to start it.
She leaned a little closer.
—And in return… you will recover all your memories.
Kael felt something run through his body.
It was not fear.
It was… recognition.
—All of them…?
—Every single one —Zelmira answered without hesitation—. What you were, what you did, what you lost… everything that defines you.
She paused briefly.
—But there is a small inconvenience.
Kael did not look away.
—Your mind is not prepared to handle it all at once. You could break. Lose your sanity. Become something you would not even understand.
The air felt heavier.
—Or you could understand everything.
Silence.
—So tell me, Kael… is it worth it?
Kael lowered his gaze.
There was no doubt.
Only decision.
—I don't care.
Zelmira slightly raised an eyebrow.
—I want to know who I am —Kael continued—. Not who they say I am… but who I truly was.
He looked up.
—And why I was brought to this world.
The goddess watched him for a few more seconds.
And then she extended her hand.
—Then we have an agreement.
Kael did not hesitate.
He extended his own.
And when their hands met, a cold sensation ran through his body, as if something invisible closed around his soul.
It was not pain.
It was a bond.
Something that could not be broken.
The pact was sealed.
—Good —murmured Zelmira—. Now comes the complicated part.
Kael frowned.
—What does that mean?
The goddess's smile changed.
It grew deeper.
Darker.
—It means… that now you must fall.
The ground beneath his feet opened without warning.
A black hole, deep, silent, formed right below him.
—What…?
There was no time to react.
Gravity vanished.
And his body was dragged downward.
—What is this?!
Zelmira did not move.
—It is the beginning —she said calmly—. To find yourself… you must first lose yourself.
Kael tried to grab onto something.
There was nothing.
Only emptiness.
—Wait!
—From here on… everything will depend on you.
Her voice was already fading away.
—Ah… and I almost forgot.
Kael kept falling.
Faster and faster.
—There is a sword.
The darkness began to surround him.
—A relic that should not exist. Its name is Crimson Eclipse.
A pause.
—Though it also responds to the name Elyndra.
Her voice distorted.
—When you awaken… you will find it.
The void consumed everything.
—If it accepts you… a part of its memories will be yours.
Silence.
—And then you will know how to use it.
Her voice became barely a whisper.
—Or you will die trying.
And then…
Nothing.
Kael fell.
And fell.
And kept falling.
There was no ground.
No direction.
No time.
The abyss was not just a place.
It was a feeling.
A presence.
A space that seemed to expand as he descended, as if it were feeding on him.
Far above, a small light marked the point of entry.
But that light…
Was fading.
Slowly.
Without resistance.
Kael tried to move.
He couldn't.
There was nothing to hold onto.
No air.
No sound.
No warmth.
Only darkness.
But it was not an empty darkness.
It was a darkness that watched.
That pressed.
That invaded.
His thoughts began to fragment.
Images.
Fragments.
Memories he could not understand.
A room.
Blood.
A voice.
A white mask.
Pain.
A pain so intense it pierced his mind like a blade.
—…gh…
His body reacted, even though there was no ground.
His breathing became irregular.
The abyss was not only consuming him.
It was dismantling him.
Because that was its true purpose.
Not to destroy him.
But to break him.
So it could rebuild him.
Because in that place…
You do not survive by being who you were.
You survive by changing.
Adapting.
Losing parts of yourself.
And Kael understood it.
Not with words.
But with something deeper.
If he kept falling…
If he reached the bottom…
He would no longer be the same.
And even so…
He did not resist.
Because deep down…
That was exactly what he was looking for.
The light disappeared completely.
And the abyss claimed him.
Leaving nothing behind.