RYOJIN KUROHANE; THE ABYSSAL MONARCH

Ryojin moved like a specter through the winding alleys of Solara.

The city was fully awake now—more

Sentinels flooded the streets, torches ignited in golden flames, divine wards flickered along the walls. The Celestial Order was mobilizing faster than expected.

But Ryojin was faster.

He vaulted over rooftops, his presence a whisper in the night. Every shadow welcomed him, every flicker of abyssal energy concealed him. The hunt was on, but he was not the prey.

He was the predator.

Yet something felt... wrong.

A presence. Faint, but undeniable. A cold

whisper in the back of his mind. He wasn't just being pursued by Sentinels.

Something else was watching him.

Ryojin landed silently on a high balcony, his eyes scanning the streets below. His instincts screamed at him.

Then—

A blur of motion.

He twisted, barely avoiding the blade aimed at his throat. The wind howled as steel met steel—his katana clashed against an assassin's dagger, sparks flying between them.

Ryojin's eyes locked onto his attacker.

A woman. Cloaked in black, her presence nearly undetectable. Her short silver hair glowed under the moonlight, and her crimson eyes burned with focus.

He recognized her instantly.

Seraphis, the Black Fang.

A legendary assassin. The Celestial Order's hidden blade.

She was not a soldier. Not a knight.

She was an executioner.

"You should have stayed in the Abyss, Ryojin." Her voice was calm, steady. "Now you die in the light."

She struck.

Ryojin blocked, but the force of her attack drove him back. The speed—the precision— she was unlike the Sentinels. She wasn't

weighed down by heavy armor, nor was she bound by divine law.

She fought to kill.

Ryojin smirked. "l didn't know the Order still had dogs willing to fight in the dark."

Seraphis said nothing.

She moved again—faster. A flurry of strikes, each one aimed at his vitals. Ryojin barely kept up, his blade weaving between her daggers, deflecting each lethal thrust.

But she was testing him.

He could feel it. The way she adjusted, how her movements shifted. She was reading him, adapting.

A true killer.

But so was he.

Seraphis lunged low—a feint. Her real attack came from the opposite hand, a hidden blade aiming for his ribs.

Ryojin reacted.

Instead of blocking, he stepped forward.

The blade cut into his side—but his own katana found her exposed shoulder.

A sharp gasp. A splash of crimson.

They separated, both injured, both watching.

Seraphis exhaled, pressing a hand to her wound. She stared at him with something new.

Not just calculation. Not just duty.

Respect.

"You're better than I expected," she admitted.

Ryojin chuckled, ignoring the sting in his side. "Disappointed?"

Seraphis twirled a dagger, her expression unreadable. "Not yet."

Then she vanished into the darkness.

Ryojin remained still, blood dripping from his wound. The city around him still burned with divine energy, but his thoughts lingered on Seraphis.

She had let him live.

For now.

But the next time they met... one of them wouldn't walk away.

Ryojin pressed a hand to his wound. The cut was deep, but not fatal. The pain was secondary—his body had endured worse.

What lingered was the encounter itself.

Seraphis was no ordinary opponent. She was a weapon honed for one purpose—to eliminate threats before they could grow into something uncontrollable.

And she let him live.

Not out of mercy. No, she was too precise for that. It was a message. A warning.

I know what you are.

Next time, I won't hold back.

Ryojin smirked. He wouldn't have it any other way.

A gust of wind swept through the city, carrying the distant echoes of alarm bells and marching boots. The hunt was still on. But something else gnawed at the edges of his mind.

The Celestial Order was moving too quickly.

This wasn't just a city responding to an intruder. This was preparedness. As if they had anticipated his return.

And that meant…

They weren't just hunting him.

They were waiting for something bigger.

Ryojin's violet eyes scanned the rooftops. He needed to move—fast. He had already torn through several Sentinels, shattered a divine barrier, and left a trail of abyssal energy in his wake.

The gods were watching now.

He could feel their gaze pressing down on him like an iron weight.

Yet, for all their divine power, they had not acted.

Why?

The answer came screaming from the heavens.

A golden light burst through the clouds, parting the night like a divine spear.

Ryojin shielded his eyes as a figure descended, carried by radiant wings of celestial flame.

The air trembled. The ground cracked beneath the sheer force of his arrival.

And then, standing before Ryojin, clad in shining white and gold armor, stood a man he had once called friend.

Darius vael

A sentinel of the highest order. The right hand of the gods themselves.

His golden eyes burned with righteous fury. "You should not exist."

Ryojin exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders. " Is that the way to greet an old friend betrayer?"

Darius didn't move. He didn't need to. His mere presence was overwhelming, radiating divine energy that made even the strongest warriors falter.

But Ryojin didn't falter.

Not anymore.

"Ryojin… I would have wept for you, if you had stayed dead."

Darius studied him, disappointment laced in his voice. " Don't blame me for doing the right thing, you became obsessed- during our time in the abyssal clans-with your anger against the gods that you were willing to sacrifice other people in order to obtain power to fight them."

Ryojin smirked. "You of all people knew how I hated the Abyssal Clans, we were supposed to use them to fight the gods then leave. That was our plan but you decided to betray me."

Darius's expression darkened. The light around him intensified.

No more words.

The time for talking was over.

The battle had begun.