Chapter five : The cracked seal
968 Words
Deep.
Far beyond the mortal world—beyond skies, beyond stars, beyond even the reach of magic itself—there existed a realm that had long been abandoned by reason.
A realm of fire and brimstone.
Flames roared endlessly across a shattered landscape, swallowing everything in their path. Yet they did not destroy. They did not consume.
They only burned.
Entities writhed within the inferno—twisted figures without form or name—wailing in pain that never ended.
Their voices overlapped into a chorus of despair, rising and falling like a cursed symphony.
But none of them died.
They could not.
Because this place was not meant for death.
Only suffering.
The flames poured through them—into their bodies, through their very existence—again and again, without pause, without mercy.
And yet…
Beneath that hell—
There was something worse.
A place of absolute darkness.
No light.
No warmth.
Not even the concept of movement seemed to exist.
The temperature was not merely cold—it was absence. A void where even heat had never been born.
Entities stood frozen in place, suspended like statues carved from despair itself. Their forms were locked mid-motion, as though time had abandoned them entirely.
Then—
Something moved.
Thin, solid spikes of blackened ice drifted silently through the darkness.
They pierced through the bodies of the frozen entities… again and again.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
No blood spilled.
No screams followed.
But the pain remained.
An eternal agony trapped in stillness.
And yet—
Beneath even that—
There was a pit.
A bottomless abyss.
No light reached it.
No sound escaped it.
Even existence itself seemed to hesitate at its edge.
Something was falling.
No—
It had been falling for a very, very long time.
An entity.
Not a man.
Not a beast.
Not even something that could be called a monster.
It had three heads—each twisted differently, each bearing an expression that no language could describe.
Seven broken horns curved from its skulls.
Seven arms hung from its body, bound and restrained.
Eleven eyes were scattered across its form…
all open.
All awake.
All aware.
It was not given a name.
Because nothing worthy could describe it.
It was only ever called—
An Abomination.
Chains wrapped around it.
Not ordinary chains.
Twenty-four bindings, forged from something older than creation itself, tightened around its limbs.
Seven yokes pressed against its body, suppressing its very essence.
And layered upon all of it—
Three seals.
Each one glowing faintly with a power that did not belong to this realm.
They did not merely restrain.
They erased.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Relentlessly.
The Abomination continued to fall.
Endlessly.
Silently.
Until—
Something changed.
A sound.
Soft.
Almost nonexistent.
But in a place where nothing ever changed…
It was deafening.
Crack.
It did not come from the chains.
Nor the bindings.
Not even the yokes.
It came from something that was never meant to break.
One of the three seals—
Cracked.
The Abomination did not struggle.
It did not move.
There was no need.
Slowly…
One of its mouths curved upward.
A smile.
Ancient.
Mad.
Patient.
“…How long… has it been…?”
Its voice did not echo. The abyss swallowed it whole.
It did not wait for an answer.
“…No matter…”
One of its eleven eyes flickered.
“…I can smell it…”
A pause.
“…Freedom.”
Far above.
Beyond realms of suffering and silence—
Above even the mortal skies—
There existed a throne.
Forged from clouds.
Radiant. Untouched. Divine.
Upon it sat a figure cloaked in golden light.
A crown rested upon its head, shimmering with authority. Its armor, crafted from something resembling heavenly jade, reflected a brilliance that could blind lesser beings.
Beside it floated a staff.
Simple in appearance.
But the power it emitted was anything but.
Pure.
Golden.
Absolute.
The figure exhaled slowly, tilting its head with visible boredom.
“It looks like those geezers have truly abandoned this world…”
Its voice carried lazily through the heavens as it shrank the staff, casually using it to clean its ear.
“They’re far too obsessed with that… blue world.”
It sighed.
“They won’t even let me go near it…”
It paused.
Mid-sentence.
“…Hm?”
Its golden eyes sharpened.
For the first time in ages—
Interest.
“…That’s… impossible.”
It leaned forward slightly.
“A seal… broke?”
A grin spread across its face.
Slow.
Excited.
“Well now… that gives me a reason, doesn’t it?”
In an instant, it rose from the throne.
Energy rippled across the sky.
“Let’s go… I suppose I should inform the others first.”
A chuckle escaped its lips.
“…Finally. Something worth moving for.”
And just like that—
The heavens stirred.
Far below.
Beneath the mortal realm—
Something else had noticed.
A figure stood in silence.
Once—
It had been beautiful.
Seven wings once stretched from its back, each representing a virtue long forgotten.
Now—
Those wings were gone.
In their place—
Nine tails.
Each one darker than the last.
Each one carrying something far more sinister.
Its eyes glowed crimson.
No longer pure.
No longer divine.
It smiled.
But not kindly.
Never kindly.
“…So…”
Its gaze pierced downward.
Not at the ground—
But beyond it.
Into the abyss.
“…They’ve finally grown careless.”
A soft laugh escaped.
Low.
Dangerous.
“I only hope…”
Its smile widened.
“…they realize too late.”
Its laughter echoed into the darkness.
Because something had changed.
Something forbidden.
Something inevitable.
And for the first time in ages—
The world — no…. all reams was about to remember…
Why the Forgotten Path was erased.
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