The whispers grew louder as Adexander's hand brushed against the cold surface of the gate. It wasn't a voice of flesh and bone, but something deeper—something that reached into the very marrow of his being. A presence that was familiar, yet foreign.
> "Crimson... Come home."
The words were a beckoning. A summons. And they gnawed at his resolve, pulling at him with a weight that seemed to twist the air around him.
Adexander's lips curled into a silent snarl.
"I am home."
He was no stranger to the pull of ancient power. But this? This was different. The force behind those words... it wasn't a challenge. It was an invitation. An invitation to something dark and ancient, something that had lain dormant for far too long.
The runes on the gate pulsed brighter, and the chains binding it trembled. As he stepped closer, the air around him thickened. The temperature dropped, and for a fleeting moment, the very ground seemed to sigh beneath his boots.
From the shadows, unseen, the robed figure watched, its eyes gleaming with malice. Its grin widened, revealing sharp teeth beneath a veil of rotted silk.
The gate shuddered again, and a single stone fell from its edge, rolling into the silence of the catacombs.
> "So... the King rises again. Let's see how long he lasts... once the Sealed One wakes."
Adexander's gaze flickered to the shadows, but he saw nothing. No movement. Only the faintest trace of a presence that felt far too old to be of this world.
The door before him wasn't just a physical barrier—it was a prison. But for what?
The whispers grew louder, more insistent. They reverberated in his skull, scraping against the edges of his mind. The pressure was unbearable.
> "You seek power, but power comes with a price, Crimson King."
Adexander's fingers curled into a fist, his pulse quickening. He felt the stirrings of something ancient within him. It was as if the very blood in his veins responded to the call—a primal, dangerous hunger that surged beneath his skin.
The gate groaned in protest, as if sensing the force that churned within him. But it wasn't enough. Not yet.
"Power... power is a price I've already paid," Adexander murmured, his voice low and steady, yet tinged with something far more dangerous than mere conviction.
He raised his hand once more, his fingers stretching toward the chains. Each rune, each symbol, seemed to scream at him, warning him of what lay beyond. But Adexander had never been one to turn away from danger. Especially not now.
With a sharp, violent motion, he ripped the chains apart, breaking the bonds that had held the gate in place for centuries.
The moment the final chain snapped, the gate trembled, and the whispers ceased.
Then—silence.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then, a sound. A low, unsettling rumble from beyond the gate.
The stone walls vibrated, and the ground beneath Adexander's feet shifted. Something... massive, ancient, and malevolent stirred.
His breath caught in his throat as the air itself seemed to warp. The pressure around him intensified, pushing against his chest like a vice.
And then, it spoke.
> "Finally... the Crimson King returns. I've waited... so long."
Adexander stepped back, his eyes narrowing. The voice was no longer a whisper—it was the roar of an abyss. It filled the cavernous hall, vibrating the very bones in his body.
> "Who are you?" Adexander demanded, his tone sharp and cutting through the ominous voice.
The gate before him cracked, revealing nothing but darkness. But that darkness... it was alive. It was sentient. And it was watching him.
> "I am the Sealed One," the voice answered, sending a chill crawling up Adexander's spine. "I am the forgotten force, bound by chains forged by your ancestors. I am the truth that lies beneath your crown. The one who waits... for you to unlock the darkness."
With that, the gate shattered into a thousand pieces, the darkness rushing forward, swallowing the light from the crimson torches. And in the heart of that darkness, a figure emerged.
The Sealed One was tall, his form a shifting silhouette, a nightmare made flesh. His skin, or what passed for it, seemed to absorb the light, as though it were not truly part of the world.
A pair of glowing, golden eyes locked onto Adexander, and for a brief moment, the world fell away.
> "And now, King... you will awaken the true power within you."
Adexander's breath quickened. There was no fear in him—not yet. But there was uncertainty. This... this was something he had not anticipated.
The Sealed One's form flickered, its presence growing stronger by the second. Adexander could feel the weight of it pressing against him, trying to drown him in its abyssal power. But he stood firm, meeting the gaze of the creature that called itself his equal.
And then, the ground beneath them cracked, splitting open as if the world itself were rebelling.
Adexander's grip tightened on the hilt of his blade. He had not come here for answers—he had come for power.
And now, the true battle would begin.