Chapter 70: The Road to Ruin


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    A storm churned over the horizon.


    Black clouds swirled above the desecrated land ahead, pulsing with abyssal energy.


    Even from miles away, I could feel it.


    The ritual was already underway.


    Time was running out.


    And if we didn’t reach the Black Spire before it was complete—


    I wouldn’t be me anymore.


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    The Gathering Storm


    I stood at the edge of our stronghold, staring into the twisting wastes where the Black Gull had set their ritual.


    My team gathered behind me, tense, focused.


    "This is a trap," Darius said, voice like carved stone.


    "Of course it is," Zephyr grinned, twirling a dagger. "But that just makes it more fun."


    Iris tightened her grip on her swords. "We hit them fast. Hard. No hesitation."


    Raika cracked her knuckles. "If they wanna rewrite Tatsuya, they’ll have to get through all of us first."


    Purn’s golden eyes gleamed. "This is no mere hunt. This is war."


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    Lilith purred, draping herself against my back. "Oh, darling, I do love it when you march toward destruction with such confidence~."


    I ignored her.


    Because I could feel the abyss pulling at me.


    The Black Gull wasn’t just trying to erase me.


    They were trying to reshape me.


    Into something else.


    Something… the abyss wanted.


    And I refused to let that happen.


    I clenched my fists, feeling the power of Living Abyss Forgemaster hum through my veins.


    "We’re stopping this. Tonight."


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    Through the Riftlands


    The Black Spire loomed in the distance, jagged and unnatural against the bleeding sky.


    The land around it was wrong—twisted trees, shifting ground, shadows that moved when they shouldn’t.


    The closer we got, the worse it felt.


    At some point, the wind stopped.


    Not slowed.


    Stopped.


    Like the world itself was holding its breath.


    Then—


    A whisper.


    A voice, not from one place, but from all around us.


    "He is coming."


    I froze.


    Iris snapped her head toward me. "You heard that too?"


    Darius gritted his teeth. "They know we’re here."


    I exhaled slowly, then pressed forward. "Let them know."


    Because I wasn’t running.


    Not this time.


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    The Gates of the Black Spire


    We reached the base of the Spire, a fortress of obsidian stone and pulsing Rift energy.


    The entrance was sealed, a massive gate marked with abyssal runes, swirling and shifting like they were alive.


    Then—


    It opened on its own.


    A single figure stepped out from the darkness.


    Tall. Cloaked in black, their face hidden by a golden mask etched with eldritch symbols.


    And when they spoke, their voice echoed like a chorus of the damned.


    "You are too late, Forge."


    The ground shook.


    The abyss stirred.


    And I realized—


    The ritual had already begun.