Chapter 152: Before Reincarnation

THIRD PERSON POV

A few years ago…

This was the umpteenth time Beros had tried to get in to the abyss, but to no avail. Whenever he tried breaching the wall and the keeper of the abyss, he was spat back out angrily.

He had used everything in his arsenal, every power he had, he had tried to burn the wall of the abyss, it didn’t work. The magic guarding the abyss was older and stronger than the one inside of him. After all, the abyss was older than anything and had to be strong enough to hold the creatures inside of it.

Frustrated, he groaned, banging his head against the wall of the abyss. He had been doing this for almost three thousand years, chasing after the ghost of his love.

“I won’t give up” he whispered to himself.

“I won’t give up” he said louder this time.

“I will not give up” he yelled at the top of his voice, anger rolling off him.

“Tell me, what is it you want?” His voice echoed in the silence.

“What is it you want? Let me in and I will give it to you, tell me” he yelled again, eyes blazing as he shouted to no one in particular.

He only hoped something or someone was listening to him and would be able to give him what he wanted.

After waiting for a while without an answer, he prepared to attack the wall again. He had made up his mind, he would not relent.

As he braced himself to strike the barrier with every power in his arsenal, a voice spoke to him.

“Beros, don’t you think it’s high time you give up”

He turned sharply to where the voice had come from. It was Raina, the nature deity. Over the past years, she had come to seek him out, to dissuade him from this fool’s errand but he refused to budge.

“I already told you, she’s in there and I must get her back”

“But, you know she would have been devoured by now, she was not built to survive in the abyss, none of us were”.

“I don’t care, I will get her back, and this abyss will let me in” anger like venom dripped from his words as he surveyed the entrance to the abyss once again.

It was nothing more than a pair of old looking pillars with ancient signals engraved on them. Signals that glowed faintly in this dark world. The way to the gate of the abyss was simple.

A being with enough power simply had to create a portal to this world, because the abyss did not exist in the world of mortals, it existed beyond time and space.

The abyss usually always let people in, coming out was the issue, once in, if the abyss gauged your thoughts and your heart, you would never come out, you would be locked in there for life, so it was a wonder why Beros was refused entrance into the abyss. But he had gone past thinking that for these past years, he just wanted to get inside and retrieve her soul, whatever was left of it.

“If the abyss wanted you in, you would have gotten in by now” Raina said, walking up to Beros and placing a hand on his shoulder “it’s been almost 3000 years, I think it’s high time you forgot about –“

“Don’t tell me that” Beros shoved her hand away from his body, then turned to face her with a sharp gaze that made her stagger.

In his eyes, it was no longer Beros, he had been overridden by emotions, there was nothing Raina would do or say that would change his mind.

He turns towards the gate again.

“Keeper of the abyss” he raised his hands outward “tell me, what is it you want? Grant me entrance into your abyss, I need to save her. Tell me, tell me what you want” he yelled into the overwhelming darkness.

He wasn’t expecting a reply, but instead, a chill crept up his spine, something was coming. He turned to Raina, she had felt it too.

And suddenly, lightning struck the gates of the abyss, and black dust scattered everywhere. Beros strained his eyes to see, there was a figure in the middle of the black dust, but the dust did not seem to disperse, as if the figure clothed itself in the dust.

The air grew thicker around them. Something had appeared.

Beros watched the figure in the midst of the darkness rise slowly to its full height, easily towering over him.

Beros took a step back, he couldn’t fight this.

“You have disturbed me these 2000 years, war deity, why?” The voice that came out was cold and unforgiving, deep and echoing into the abyss.

Beros swallowed before giving it a reply.

“I have been refused entrance these 2000 years, I thought the abyss accepted all, why was I refused entrance?”

The creature leaned forward slowly, as if trying to get a closer look at Beros.

“Why have you disturbed us?” It pointed a dark shadowy finger towards him. “Why have you refused to desist from disturbing us?” The voice grew louder now, angrier.

Beros stood his ground, refusing to feel intimidated “because the one I love is in there, and I must get her back, by any means possible”

The creature retrieved its pointed hand and stretched back to his full height.

“Ahhhh, love it is. Such a fickle thing. You have disturbed us this past 2000 years for the one you love? How great must that love be?” The statement was more like a question directed at no one in particular.

“What is it you have to offer to gain entrance into the abyss?” The creature pointed a hand at Beros again.

Beros looked at his own hands, thinking of what to offer. He didn’t know what to offer, he had only mentioned it on a whim. Now faced with the decision, he was out of ideas.

He thought for a while before speaking up “My wolf, I will offer you my shifter, my wolf” he finally said.

“Too little” the creature scolded “what is it you have to offer?” It stretched its hand out towards Beros again.

Beros thought hard again “my fire” he lit his hands on fire showing the creature how powerful his fire was “I will offer you my fire, my element”

The creature laughed, a sickly choking groaning sound “your fire is irrelevant here, little one, the beings in here have no need for warmth. Again, what is it you offer?” The outstretched palm came out again, clothed in shadow.

“What is it you want from me?” Beros finally asked, having run out of options.

The feature straightener to its full length again.

“I will require your soul” Beros took in a deep breath, he hesitated but he said “done, it is done, now let me in”

“Beros” Raina gasped from the side, her hands on her mouth.

Beros turned to look at her “don’t wait out here. I don’t know how long I will be gone”

And with that, he followed the creature past the gates, this time it didn’t stop him. The abyss swallowed him whole.