Chapter 24
The Abyss Where Nothing Breaks
The transition was instant.
One moment, the sound of waves still echoed faintly in the air—and the next, the beach was gone.
Space folded inward, reality compressing like a held breath, and when it released, everyone stood somewhere else entirely.
The Endless Abyss.
It was not darkness.
It was depth.
An infinite, hollow dimension stretched in every direction, layered with drifting shadows and slow-moving currents of raw energy. The ground beneath their feet was solid, yet it felt alive—etched with ancient fractures that glowed faintly, as if the Abyss itself remembered every battle it had ever witnessed.
Meera inhaled sharply.
"This place…" she whispered. "It feels like the world ends here."
Sam stood at the front, hands behind his back, completely at ease.
"This is a sealed dimension," he said calmly. "Nothing that happens here affects the outside. You can fight at full power. Destroy everything if you want."
His gaze swept across the generals.
"The Abyss won't break."
That single sentence sent a ripple of excitement through them.
Horny Valkyrie was the first to react.
She stepped closer to Sam, her movements deliberate, confident. One gloved hand rested lightly against his shoulder as she leaned in, voice playful.
"Master," she said, smiling boldly, "forget the explanations. Tell me—when is my match? You were supposed to prepare the match list, weren't you?"
Furnoss snorted, flames flickering in agreement.
"Yes, Master. Have the matches been decided?"
Sam didn't even blink.
"No," he replied.
That answer caught everyone off guard.
He turned slightly and gestured toward Ruhi, who stood beside Meera, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"I left that responsibility to someone more qualified," Sam said calmly.
"My little Ruhi."
Ruhi straightened instantly. "Yes, Papa."
Sage looked at her, surprised—though only slightly.
"Little Ruhi," he said, voice respectful, "have you already decided the matches?"
She nodded confidently.
"There are ten of you," Ruhi replied. "So I made five matches."
Sam looked down at her, curious despite himself.
"And who is fighting whom?"
Ruhi clasped her hands behind her back, clearly enjoying the attention.
"I thought about it very carefully," she said proudly.
"I wanted matches that would be fun to watch."
Sam felt an odd sense of unease.
"…Go on," he said.
Ruhi nodded once.
"First match," she announced,
"Sage Uncle versus Furnoss Uncle."
The air shifted.
Furnoss's flames flared sharply. Sage remained still.
"Second match," Ruhi continued, unfazed,
"Beast King versus Horny Valkyrie."
Beast King cracked his knuckles. Horny Valkyrie smiled wider.
"Third match,"
"Hydron versus Yaksh."
Both inclined their heads slightly—acknowledging the weight of the pairing.
"Fourth match," Ruhi said brightly,
"Dragon King versus Zingari."
Dragon King's wings twitched. Zingari stopped tuning her instrument.
"And the fifth match," Ruhi finished,
"Ghost Eye versus Season Seperant."
Silence followed.
Sam stared at her.
Not because the matches were random.
Because they weren't.
Too many fault lines had been drawn. Too many unresolved tensions placed directly against one another.
She put rivals together, Sam realized.
On purpose.
Meera noticed his expression and gently took his hand.
"Sam," she asked quietly, "when will the matches begin?"
"In a moment," he replied, eyes still on Ruhi. "Let them absorb it first."
Sam then turned and gestured forward.
The Abyss responded.
A colossal tournament ring rose from the depths, stone and energy shaping themselves into something beyond scale. The arena stretched kilometers wide, its boundaries reinforced by glowing sigils that pulsed rhythmically, layered upon layer to contain destruction.
At its center, an enormous circular platform hovered—cracked, ancient, and waiting.
Around it, vast terraces formed naturally, seats carved into nothingness itself.
Meera felt her breath catch.
"This place…" she said softly. "It feels like hell."
Sam corrected her calmly.
"No. Hell punishes. This place endures."
He stepped forward and his voice echoed across the Endless Abyss.
"Prepare yourselves."
The generals straightened.
"Each winner," Sam continued, "will receive a reward from my personal treasury."
Their attention sharpened instantly.
"And," he added, voice steady,
"the winner will stay at my home."
That did it.
Excitement surged through the arena like a living thing.
Low growls. Laughter. Cracking knuckles. Flared auras restrained by sheer will.
Sam raised his hand.
"Sit."
Immediately, Meera, Ruhi, and the generals took their places in the viewing area. The scale of the arena made even godlike beings look small.
Sam remained standing for a moment longer.
"Those assigned to the first match," he said,
"step forward."
Sage and Furnoss moved simultaneously.
They stopped at the edge of the ring.
Across the Endless Abyss, energy pulsed slowly—anticipating impact.
Ruhi leaned forward, eyes shining.
Meera held her breath.
Sam watched silently.
Not as a ruler.
Not as a judge.
But as someone who understood exactly what was about to be unleashed.
And the Abyss waited.
Sage vs Furnoss — When Fire Meets the Heart
The arena breathed.
Not metaphorically.
The Endless Abyss itself seemed to inhale as Sage and Furnoss stepped onto the ring.
The wind rose instantly—violent, sharp, cutting across the colossal platform like invisible blades. Dust and fragments of scorched stone lifted into the air, swirling in chaotic spirals.
Sage stood perfectly still.
His long black hair whipped violently behind him, strands cutting through the wind. The horns curving from his head gleamed like sharpened weapons, catching the aurora's glow in cold purple flashes.
Without ceremony, he drew his sword.
A blade of absolute black.
No shine.
No aura.
No mercy.
It looked less like metal and more like a hole in reality, swallowing light instead of reflecting it. Sage's grip was steady, emotionless.
Across from him, Furnoss did not move either.
Then—
Fire ignited in his eyes.
Not sparks.
Not flames.
Infernos.
In the span of a breath, his body transformed—flesh converting into roaring hellfire, his silhouette twisting into something demonic and ancient. He looked like a burning devil pulled straight from a forgotten hell.
Furnoss closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, a weapon formed in his hand.
A massive Hellfire Hunter, its blade dripping molten embers, flames screaming and clawing at the air as if alive.
He turned his head slightly toward Sam.
"One last confirmation, Master," Furnoss said, voice distorted by heat.
"No restraints. No mercy."
Sam met his gaze and nodded once.
That was all.
Furnoss vanished.
A sonic boom shattered the air as he reappeared directly in front of Sage, swinging the hunter at full force, the weapon howling as it cut through space.
Sage moved.
Calm.
Precise.
At the exact moment the blade was about to tear into him, Sage raised his black sword.
The weapons collided.
The impact detonated outward.
Fire exploded in all directions—yet instead of burning, it was absorbed. Sage's sword drank the flames greedily, the hellfire shrinking, dimming, screaming silently as if being devoured.
Sage slid backward several steps, boots carving trenches into the stone.
Furnoss smiled.
A savage, satisfied grin.
He surged forward again—faster, stronger—appearing in front of Sage in the blink of an eye and swinging once more.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each strike was brutal. Relentless. Designed to overwhelm through raw destruction.
And yet—
Sage remained composed.
This time, his horns flared with deep violet light.
The air shifted.
His sword resonated—not with power—but with emotion.
A pressure washed over the arena.
Not fear.
Not pain.
But something worse.
Unease.
The kind that settled deep in the chest. The kind that made the heart feel heavy, uncertain, exposed.
Sage struck.
Not harder.
Deeper.
His blade met the hunter mid-swing.
Furnoss froze.
For a fraction of a second, his flames flickered.
The fire weakened.
Furnoss was hurled backward, crashing across the ring, flames sputtering as he slammed into the ground.
Silence fell.
Furnoss rose slowly.
His eyes burned—not with fire this time, but rage.
"That… was disrespect," he snarled.
His flames darkened.
Black and blue fire surged violently across his body, his form expanding, growing taller, heavier, more monstrous. His hunter reshaped itself into a Hellfire Sword, the blade screaming with vengeful energy.
"This is my true form," Furnoss roared.
"Hellfire of Vengeance!"
The heat became unbearable.
Stone liquefied beneath his steps as he charged forward, every movement burning kilometers of the arena into molten ruin.
Sage stepped forward as well.
For the first time, his expression changed.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Brutality.
His eyes hardened.
He activated another layer of power.
Heart Sword intensified.
Then—
Sound Sword awakened.
A silent shockwave rippled outward, hitting even the spectators.
Meera gasped, clutching her chest. Ruhi felt dizzy.
Sam reacted instantly, erecting a barrier around them.
Inside the ring, chaos erupted.
Furnoss swung his blade downward.
Sage vanished.
He slipped between Furnoss's legs in a blur of motion and slashed upward across his back.
Lava erupted from the wound.
Sage's sword absorbed it instantly.
Furnoss roared in fury, swinging wildly, destruction tearing through the air in every direction.
Sage dodged effortlessly.
Step.
Shift.
Twist.
An opening appeared.
Sage raised his hand.
Darkness pooled in his palm—pure destruction, condensed and silent.
He struck.
Not a punch.
A palm strike to the chest.
The moment it landed—
Furnoss felt his soul rip free.
Blood exploded from his mouth as he collapsed, fire extinguishing violently as his massive body slammed into the arena.
Silence.
Sage stood there, breathing steadily.
His armor was gone—melted completely. One arm was burned black, flesh cracked and smoking.
But he stood.
Sam raised his hand.
"The winner of the first match," he announced calmly,
"Sage."
He looked at the fallen Furnoss and then at Sage.
"Both of you—withdraw and heal."
As they were taken away, Sam clenched his fist slightly.
If this continues, he thought grimly,
they won't stop at winning.
They'll kill each other.
And the tournament had only just begun.