He towered over them, his form shrouded in swirling darkness. The air was heavy with his malevolent presence, and every breath Alex Mercer took burned like ash in his lungs. Tendrils of shadow writhed around the monster, slashing at the scorched earth and sending cracks rippling across the ground.Lucifer's golden eyes shone like an unsettling spotlight. He stepped beside Alex, his smirk flattened into a hard line."This isn't a fragment," he muttered. "This is the Abyss incarnate."Helena gripped her sword, white-knuckling it. "Fantastic. So what's the plan?"Lucifer smiled humorlessly. "Don't die."The abyssal beast let out a roar, sound echoing through the battlefield like an aftershock. The momentum of it carried Alex back on his heels before he caught himself, his boots sinking into cracked earth."We've faced worse," Alex said, though not even he really believed that statement."Sure you have, Mercer," Lucifer said with an easy smile as shadows curled and uncurled around his fin

The cavern's walls trembled, chunks of rock crumbling into the abyss below. Rivers of molten lava hissed and churned, illuminating the chaos with a hellish glow. Alex Mercer gritted his teeth as he steadied himself against the shuddering ground.Helena was already moving, her blade slicing through the air as she charged toward the towering beast. Its form writhed with shadow and fire, each movement shaking the very earth."Helena! Wait!" Alex shouted, but his voice was lost in the cacophony.The creature reared back, its massive claws swiping at her with terrifying speed.Helena ducked and rolled, narrowly avoiding the lethal blow. Her sword found purchase in the beast's flank, black ichor spraying across the ground.The monster howled, its roar reverberating through the cavern.The air itself seemed to warp under the force of its rage."Nice hit," Alex muttered, sprinting to her side. Shadows coiled around his arms, pulsating with raw energy. The abyssal power within him was volatile

The scorched earth still shook beneath Alex Mercer's boots as he gazed across the horizon. Thick clouds churned overhead, streaked with crimson and obsidian, as if the sky itself had been rent apart by the mayhem below. The air smelled of ash and something far older a lingering malice that scratched at the peripheries of his senses.Helena stood beside him, her sword sheathed but her hand never far from the hilt. Her face was taut with worry, the faint light of the horizon casting shadows beneath her eyes.Lucifer, never bothered, straightened his spotless coat and let out a long, bored sigh. "Such theatrics," he murmured, eyeing the smoldering embers of the cavern they'd barely escaped. "Malakar certainly knows how to make an impression.""He's not done," Alex said, his voice low but determined. "None of them are."Helena's sharp eyes jumped to him. "What do you mean?"Alex's fists clenched as shadows curled around his fingertips. "When I was in the abyss, I felt. more than just Mala

The great warden roared, the guttural cry of its voice shaking down rocks from the cliffsides. The air seemed to tremble under the weight of its fury.Alex Mercer stood firm, shadows curling around him like living serpents. His chest heaved, every breath filled with acrid ash and void energy. The abyss inside him pulsed, ready to be let free.The warden charged, its massive claws tearing through the scorched earth. Each step sent shockwaves rippling through the ground, cracks spiderwebbing in its wake.Alex clenched his fists, hellfire igniting along his arms. "Come on," he growled. "Let's finish this."The creature lunged, claws as long as swords swiping through the air. Alex ducked, feeling the air above him slice through with lethal force. He countered with a blast of shadowfire that struck the warden's chest, searing through its abyssal flesh.The warden let out a howl, but it didn't stop. It brought back its hand in a wide, arcing swipe that Alex didn't see coming. It sent him fl

The Sanctuary trembled, its walls groaning in protest as the weight of what had emerged from the crack in the earth strained against it. Alex's breathing came in gasps, his head spinning and his hands shaking, not from the remaining resonance of the abyss but from this unearthly power now swirling around him. The golden light flickering about the obelisk died with each passing second.Helena's voice penetrated his daze. "Stay focused, Alex. We need to get out of here NOW!"Lucifer's normal act of arrogant arrogance was replaced by an edge of genuine fear. His golden eyes locked onto the figure that emerged from the crack in the earth. The being stood tall, its form radiating an overwhelming energy that seemed to twist the very air around it.Its skin was an iridescent silver, a liquid sheen that shifted in color with every movement. Its eyes, glowing with celestial fire, stared down at them with cold, unblinking judgment. The air around it crackled with divine power, each step it took