The battlefield was silent—**too silent.** Sai could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears, a steady rhythm that contrasted the stillness around him. The **golden-eyed figure** at the edge of the ruins stood motionless, watching, waiting.
Lena's breathing was shallow. She didn't speak, but Sai could feel her unease radiating off her.
This thing—**whoever or whatever it was—was different.**
Not like the Abyssal King.
Not like the Forgotten Echoes.
This was sothing **older.** Sothing that **had been watching them all along.**
Then, it **moved.**
Not like a human. Not even like a predator.
**One mont it was far away. The next, it was just a few steps in front of them.**
Lena sucked in a sharp breath. "Sai—"
"I know," he said quickly, shifting his stance, his daggers **glowing faintly with abyssal energy.**
The figure—**tall, shrouded in shadows, its face obscured by mist except for those burning golden eyes—tilted its head.**
Then it spoke.
**"You were not ant to reach this place."**
Its voice was **layered**, like a hundred voices speaking at once, so whispering, so deep and ancient.
Sai forced himself to stand firm. "Yeah, well, I have a habit of breaking the rules."
The figure didn't react imdiately. Then, it chuckled—a sound that sent a **cold shiver down Sai's spine.**
**"A mortal, tainted by the Abyss, standing before and calling it defiance."**
Sai clenched his fists. "Who are you?"
The figure's eyes **narrowed slightly.**
**"I am the Watcher. Keeper of the Forgotten Threshold. Guardian of the Last Lock."**
Lena exhaled sharply. "That doesn't sound good."
Sai's system finally reacted, flashing an alert.
**[Entity Identified: Abyssal Watcher]**
**[Status: Unknown]**
**[Threat Level: ???]**
Sai's stomach tightened.
**Even the system didn't know how strong it was.**
The Watcher took a slow step forward, the shadows around it **shifting unnaturally.**
**"You have broken the First Lock. Do you even understand what you have done?"**
Sai swallowed hard. "Why don't you tell ?"
The Watcher **lifted a hand,** and suddenly—the world **shifted.**
---
### **A Glimpse into the Past**
Sai was no longer standing in the ruins.
He was **sowhere else.**
A city. **Massive, grand, untouched by ti.** Towering spires reached into the sky, their surfaces engraved with glowing abyssal runes. The streets were **filled with people**, warriors clad in black and silver armor, their eyes **burning with power.**
This was no ordinary civilization.
Sai **recognized it imdiately.**
**This was the Abyss... before it fell.**
The vision **pulled him forward.** He wasn't just watching—**he was inside it.**
At the heart of the city stood **a throne**, and before it, a group of warriors knelt.
And standing above them was—
**The Abyssal King.**
Not the broken warrior Sai had seen before.
This version was **younger, unscarred, draped in regal armor, his presence undeniable.**
Then, **the sky darkened.**
A rift **tore open above the city.**
And through it ca **sothing monstrous.**
**Not creatures. Not invaders.**
**A force.**
A writhing, twisting mass of darkness that stretched across the sky, its presence alone **cracking reality.**
The people scread. The warriors **raised their weapons.**
And the Abyssal King...
**Stepped forward.**
His voice **echoed through the city.**
*"We will not fall. Stand with !"*
The warriors **rallied.**
The city **beca a battlefield.**
Sai watched, frozen, as the Abyssal King and his people fought—not against **creatures**, not against **gods**, but against **sothing far worse.**
Sothing that **wasn't supposed to exist.**
And then—**everything collapsed.**
The city **fell into darkness.**
The vision **snapped back to the present.**
---
### **The Truth of the Locks**
Sai **staggered**, gasping for breath as he returned to reality. His body felt heavy, like he had just lived through **centuries of history in seconds.**
The Watcher's gaze bore into him.
**"Now, do you understand?"**
Lena looked between them, confused. "Understand what? Sai, what did you see?"
Sai's hands trembled slightly.
**"The Abyss wasn't always like this,"** he said slowly. "It was a civilization. A kingdom. And it didn't fall because of war."
He lifted his gaze to et the Watcher's golden eyes.
"It fell because it tried to stop sothing. And it lost."
The Watcher nodded. "The First Betrayer."
Sai's system **flashed violently.**
**[New Record Unlocked: The Betrayer of the Abyss]**
Sai took a slow breath. "The locks. They weren't ant to keep sothing in."
The Watcher's voice was **calm but final.**
**"They were ant to keep sothing out."**
Lena whispered, "Oh, we are so screwed."
---
### **A Choice Must Be Made**
The Watcher straightened. "Now, mortal. You stand before the final lock. The Last Threshold. If you take another step, there will be no turning back."
Sai's heart pounded. He had spent so long chasing the Lost Gate, trying to **uncover the truth.**
Now, he had it.
And the truth was **worse than anything he had imagined.**
Lena grabbed his arm. "Sai... are we really doing this?"
Sai looked at the Watcher. "If I break the last lock, what happens?"
The shadows around the Watcher **shifted.**
**"The Abyss will return to what it was."**
Sai hesitated. "And what about the thing that destroyed it?"
The Watcher was silent for a long mont.
Then, it said sothing that **froze Sai's blood.**
**"It will notice."**
Lena exhaled sharply. "Sai. No. No way. I know that look. You're actually considering it."
Sai's mind was **racing.**
He had seen the vision. He knew the Abyssal King and his people **had tried to stop this force once before.**
And they had **failed.**
If Sai continued...
He might **wake sothing up that should have stayed buried.**
But if he didn't—
Then the Abyss would remain broken.
And the cycle would never end.
His fingers tightened around his daggers.
"I ca this far," he muttered.
Lena groaned. "Oh, for—Fine. But if we die, I'm haunting you."
Sai turned to the Watcher. "How do I break the final lock?"
The Watcher's eyes **flashed.**
**"Step forward, Keybearer. And take what was left behind."**
Sai took a deep breath.
And then, **he stepped toward the Last Lock.**
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