Varaxis's hand trembled slightly as he gripped the gemstone—but in his eyes, a fire had begun to burn. Wild. Unhinged.
He had no way back.
Without absolute power, the Empire would be torn apart in days.
No more hesitation.
Varaxis turned and bolted from the throne hall, heading straight for the forbidden core of the Nether Sea.
A place all living things avoided.
A place known only as a graveyard.
According to legend—
Anything that ventured near that cursed stretch of ocean would be dragged into the abyss by the ancient sea monster sleeping beneath the waves: the Kraken. Torn apart. Never seen again.
Varaxis had grown up hearing those stories.
Tales of a monstrous being slumbering in the deep, waiting to devour anything foolish enough to approach its domain.
He'd always scoffed at them.
Legends were for scaring children.
But the moment that blood-red gemstone landed in his palm, a cold, crushing resonance shot up his arm and pierced straight into his heart.
