The atmosphere inside the Black Archives was suffocating, a heavy silence draping over them as they stepped into the ancient halls.

The walls pulsed with a faint glow, veins of forgotten magic running through the stone like blood through a body.

Every breath felt thick, as if the air itself was imbued with the weight of history, of knowledge too dangerous to be spoken aloud.

Azrael’s wings remained tightly furled, the flickering light from his sword casting long shadows across the floor.

Seraphine moved beside him, her silver eyes scanning the rows of towering shelves filled with ancient scrolls and tomes.

Kael and Lirael stayed close, their expressions tense, understanding the gravity of what they were about to uncover.

“This place…” Kael murmured, his voice filled with awe and apprehension. “It feels alive.”

“The archives have always held power,” Lirael added softly. “But the deeper we go, the closer we get to the truth hidden from even the highest realms.”

Seraphine moved toward an altar at the center of the chamber, her fingers brushing over its cold surface.

Symbols carved into the stone glowed faintly under her touch, their shapes twisting in ways that seemed to shift as they were observed. “This is the key,” she whispered. “The heart of the Abyss is tied to something far older… far darker.”

Azrael approached, his gaze focused. “Then we open it.”

With a swift motion, Seraphine placed her palm on the altar. The symbols reacted immediately, flaring to life in a bright blaze.

A low rumble echoed through the chamber, and suddenly, the floor beneath them began to shift, opening to reveal a deep well of darkness.

From its depths, a cold wind rose, carrying with it whispers — fragments of forgotten voices.

They descended the stairs carved into the rock, moving deeper into the heart of the archives. The darkness seemed endless, but as they reached the bottom, a massive door came into view.

Its surface was etched with runes, pulsating with energy, as though it were alive.

At the center of the door was a single symbol — a mark none of them recognized but all instinctively feared.

Seraphine hesitated. “This is it. Beyond this door lies the truth.”

Azrael stepped forward, resolute. “We came here for answers. We can’t turn back now.”

With a nod, Seraphine pressed her hand to the mark. The door groaned and began to open, revealing a vast chamber filled with floating orbs of light.

Within each orb swirled images — fragments of events, battles, and ancient powers long lost to time.

At the center of the chamber, a massive stone pedestal stood, upon which rested a single black book, bound in leather that seemed to shift between shadow and substance.

Seraphine stepped forward cautiously, her eyes fixed on the book. “The Codex of the Abyss.”

As she reached for it, a voice echoed through the chamber, not from any of the orbs or the shadows, but from within the walls themselves.

It was deep, resonant, and filled with both sorrow and anger. "You seek the truth. But are you prepared to face it?"

Azrael’s heart pounded, but he kept his focus. “We are. Show us what the Abyss fears.”

The room trembled, and one of the orbs began to swell, its surface glowing with a dark light. Inside, images started to form — vivid, clear, and undeniable.

A vision of the Abyss itself, vast and all-consuming, rising from the depths of creation. But beyond the Abyss, a darker shadow loomed, an entity that made even the Abyss shrink in comparison.

“It’s not just the Abyss that threatens the realms,” Seraphine whispered, her eyes wide with the revelation. “There’s something more… something older.”

The image shifted, showing the birth of the Abyss — a void formed in response to this darker entity.

The Abyss was not a destroyer by nature, but a protector, a prison of sorts, meant to contain this unspeakable force. But over time, it had grown restless, corrupted by its own power and fear of what lay beyond its control.

“This… this is what the Abyss fears,” Kael murmured, his voice trembling. “A being of pure entropy, a force that exists beyond life and death, beyond creation itself.”

Seraphine’s hand clenched around the book, her heart racing. “It was never about the Abyss consuming everything. It was about the Abyss breaking, releasing what it was meant to hold.”

The vision intensified, showing this entity clawing at the walls of reality, trying to break free.

It was the source of the corruption in the Abyss, the force driving the war between realms.

The Celestial Realm, the Abyss, the mortal world — all were mere pieces in a larger game, one this entity had been playing since the dawn of time.

“We’re not fighting the Abyss,” Azrael said, his voice low and steady. “We’re fighting what’s imprisoned within it.”

The revelation sent chills through them all. The entity — the one force the Abyss itself feared — was awakening, its prison weakening.

And if it was unleashed, there would be no distinction between light and dark, good and evil. All would be devoured by chaos.

Seraphine’s mind raced as the weight of the truth settled upon her. “We have to stop this. We have to warn the others.”

Azrael nodded, his molten eyes hard with determination. “We’ll need every ally, every weapon. This changes everything.”

"Wait!" Lirael bellowed, "We can't be in such haste when we're finally getting to see the truth."

"But there is no time on our side, Lirael. We have to inform our allies." Kael spoke.

"I agree to that. But the Black Archives holds all the truth we need, we can't just leave without knowing what this entity is about," Lirael swept her gaze through the orbs, "We need at least a peek into what it is. There!" She pointed at an odd orb.

It was a completely distinct contrast to the others. It swirled with images that were filled with pitch darkness. It was difficult to make out what they were.

"What is that?" The others asked wide-eyed when they felt the malevolent energy that surged within the orb.

"Fragments of the Voidbringer." The voice within the walls echoed again.