Chapter 8: The Blade That Refused to Kneel

The training chamber deep within the Abyss Order base echoed with the clash of steel.

A storm of blades danced through the air—each strike precise, lethal, and executed with almost supernatural grace. The source: a lone warrior wrapped in tattered crimson, her silver hair tied back, eyes burning like embers.

Kael stood at the edge of the chamber, arms folded, observing.

“She doesn’t stop,” Lyra whispered beside him. “Four hours. No breaks.”

Kael’s HUD tracked her movements—lightning-fast feints, unpredictable angles, unorthodox footwork. “That’s not standard martial technique.”

“She’s not standard anything,” Lyra said. “Name’s Selene Graves. Former captain of Darkveil’s elite enforcers. They tried to make her kill a village of defectors. She refused. Slaughtered the entire squad sent to execute her.”

Kael’s gaze sharpened. “A rebel.”

“A monster,” Lyra corrected. “One they couldn’t tame.”

Kael stepped into the chamber.

Selene halted mid-swing, her blade resting just above her shoulder. She turned slowly, sizing him up.

“You’re the abyss everyone’s whispering about,” she said flatly.

Kael nodded. “And you’re the sword that doesn’t bend.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You want me to kneel?”

“No,” he replied. “I want you to stand beside me.”

She chuckled, a sharp sound. “I don’t take orders. Not anymore.”

Kael stepped closer, letting his armor shift, revealing the raw, dark energy pulsing beneath.

“I’m not offering orders. I’m offering purpose.”

Selene’s eyes narrowed. “What kind?”

“The kind that lets you burn the world that turned its back on you,” Kael said. “And build one where we answer to no one.”

A silence passed.

Then—she lunged.

Steel screamed. She moved faster than most magic-users could blink.

But Kael was ready.

They clashed in a storm of sparks and shadow—Selene’s blade meeting Kael’s abyss-forged gauntlet. She twisted mid-air, aiming for his throat. He ducked, countered with a blast of force, only for her to vanish and reappear behind him.

Her blade stopped just inches from his neck.

Kael didn’t flinch.

“Impressive,” he said calmly. “Most would have died by now.”

Selene sheathed her sword. “Most aren’t worth the effort.”

She turned her back on him—but not out of arrogance. It was a test of trust.

Kael didn’t strike.

She smirked. “Maybe you are.”

Later, in the war chamber…

Selene stood beside Kael, arms crossed.

“We’ll need scouts, saboteurs, and elite hitters,” she said. “If we want to survive what’s coming.”

“We’re not surviving,” Kael said. “We’re conquering.”

Behind him, the abyssal map of Arcanis shifted—three factions glowing in crimson, silver, and black.

The Abyss Order was growing. And now, it had its blade.