Chapter — 19 The Sun That Burned the Abyss
The battlefield had become unrecognizable.
The once-living forest was now a shattered graveyard.
Trees had been ripped from the earth, the ground was carved into massive trenches, and the air was thick with smoke and ash.
The corpses of knights lay scattered across the broken earth.
Thousands of armored bodies.
Some crushed.
Some burned.
Some cut clean in half.
And standing in the center of the devastation…
Was one man.
Samuel.
The Knight Commander of the Eastern Empire.
Or what remained of him.
His armor had been completely destroyed.
The once proud black iron plates that symbolized imperial authority were now shattered fragments scattered across the battlefield.
His chest was exposed.
A massive scar burned across it.
Black flames crawled slowly along the wound, eating away at flesh and muscle.
Blood dripped steadily from his body, falling onto the cracked ground beneath his feet.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Yet despite the devastating injuries…
Samuel was still standing.
Across from him stood Draven.
But the man Samuel faced now was no longer the same person who had jumped into the battlefield earlier.
No.
The being standing there now…
Was something else entirely.
Dark shadows flowed around Draven like living liquid.
The evil god stigma on his back burned with a crimson glow, spreading terrifying energy across his entire body.
Shadow wings stretched behind him, shifting like living darkness.
His eyes shone with monstrous killing intent.
And his grin…
That wide, terrifying grin…
Had not faded even once.
Draven slowly extended his sword toward Samuel.
But the moment the blade moved—
CRACK.
The sword shattered.
Fragments of steel scattered across the battlefield.
The weapon had endured far more than it was ever meant to.
Even the strongest steel could not survive the power that had been flowing through Draven's hands.
Yet Draven didn't react.
Not even slightly.
He simply looked down at the broken fragments.
Then slowly raised his hand.
Shadow energy poured from his palm.
Like thick black liquid spilling from a wound.
The darkness twisted.
Condensed.
Solidified.
And within seconds…
A new blade formed.
A sword made entirely of shadow.
Glowing red runes slowly appeared along the length of the blade, pulsing with ancient and terrifying power.
Draven lifted the weapon.
And pointed it directly at Samuel.
Samuel took a slow breath.
His lungs burned.
Every movement felt like his body was tearing itself apart.
But his eyes remained steady.
Calm.
Focused.
Because he knew.
This would be the final strike.
The Knight's Memories
As Samuel tightened his grip on his sword…
Memories began flooding his mind.
He saw himself as a small boy again.
Six years old.
Standing in the ruins of his village.
The sky had been filled with smoke.
Houses burned everywhere.
People screamed.
Monsters roamed freely through the streets.
They slaughtered everything.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Even animals.
Samuel had watched his parents die in front of him.
A massive flying monster with a single enormous eye and six twisted arms descended toward him.
He remembered the terror.
The helplessness.
The certainty that he would die.
Then—
A sword flashed.
A knight clad in dark armor landed before him.
The knight moved like lightning.
His blade tore through the monster instantly.
Moments later, dozens of other knights descended from the sky.
The monsters were slaughtered within minutes.
Samuel never forgot that moment.
The knight who saved him.
The man known throughout the empire as The Black Knight.
That man took Samuel in.
Trained him.
Protected him.
He was Samuel's master.
But more than that…
He became Samuel's family.
A father.
A mother.
A teacher.
And the one person who believed Samuel could become great.
Samuel remembered his first day as a novice knight.
The countless battles he fought afterward.
The blood.
The sacrifices.
The victories.
And the day the Emperor himself placed a hand on his shoulder and declared:
"From this day forward… you are the Knight Commander of the Eastern Border."
Samuel opened his eyes again.
His aura exploded outward.
Blue light burst from his body like a raging ocean.
His voice roared across the battlefield.
"SIGNATURE TECHNIQUE!"
The ground trembled violently.
Samuel raised his sword high into the sky.
His aura surged even further.
Blue energy ignited along the blade.
The sword began to glow.
Brighter.
Brighter.
Until it looked like a miniature sun burning in his hands.
Cracks began spreading across the weapon.
The energy flowing through it was simply too much.
But Samuel didn't care.
This attack would decide everything.
His voice shook the entire forest.
"THE SUN BURNING THE ABYSS!"
Samuel swung his sword.
A massive wave of blazing energy tore across the battlefield.
At the same moment—
Draven moved.
His shadow wings exploded outward.
Black lightning began dancing across his blade.
Blood-red flames erupted along the edge of the shadow sword.
The sky darkened instantly.
Storm clouds formed above the battlefield.
Draven's grin widened even further.
Then he charged.
Two unstoppable forces collided.
The moment their attacks met—
The world exploded.
A shockwave blasted outward in every direction.
Mountains in the distance trembled.
The forest was flattened.
Rivers reversed direction.
The explosion illuminated the sky like a dying star.
The End of the Knight
When the light finally faded…
Only two figures remained standing.
Samuel.
And Draven.
Samuel's sword had shattered completely.
His chest had been pierced.
The wound burned with shadow flames.
Blood poured down his body.
He took one step forward.
Then another.
He looked directly at Draven.
And smiled faintly.
Not in fear.
Not in regret.
But in acceptance.
His final words were barely a whisper.
"Master… I did not shame your teachings."
Samuel collapsed.
The Knight Commander of the Eastern Empire fell to the ground.
And did not move again.
The Rain of Silence
For a few seconds…
Nothing happened.
Then the sky darkened.
Rain began falling slowly over the battlefield.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Draven remained standing for a moment longer.
His body trembled.
Blood ran down every part of his body.
His shadow wings slowly faded.
The red glow of the stigma dimmed.
Then suddenly—
His vision filled with notifications.
System messages flooded his sight.
New abilities.
New powers.
New evolutions.
High-tier skill acquired:
Necromancy
High-tier skill acquired:
Soul Manipulation
High-tier skill acquired:
Undead Creation
Countless other rewards continued appearing.
But Draven ignored them.
His body finally reached its limit.
He fell forward.
And lost consciousness.
The Arrival of the Puppets
Three figures appeared moments later.
A1.
B2.
C3.
All three were heavily damaged from their battle in the red zone.
But they had arrived.
They stood around Draven's unconscious body.
Silent guardians.
Protecting their master.
Then a final notification appeared in the system.
A message unlike the others.
A message that changed everything.
SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT
Territorial Authority Expanded
Host has defeated the invading army.
Host has eliminated Knight Commander Samuel.
Host has survived catastrophic combat event.
Domain Expansion Complete
The entire forest has now been claimed.
Green Zone — Controlled
Red Zone — Controlled
All creatures, terrain, and natural resources within the forest now fall under the host's absolute authority.
New Title Acquired:
Lord of the Abyssal Forest
The rain continued falling.
Washing the blood from the battlefield.
But the world had already changed.
Because in the heart of that forest…
A new calamity had been born.
TO BE CONTINUED.....