Morning came with ash-gray skies and cold wind blowing through the slums. Rain had fallen all night, drenching the streets and burying the scent of blood under damp concrete.
Gabriel stood on a rooftop, still and silent, watching the sun rise behind a wall of storm clouds.
His katana Eclipse rested against his shoulder. His fourth shadow knelt behind him—Ravyr, once a monstrous brute, now refined into a humanoid warrior with plated arms and quiet discipline.
Gabriel's black coat swayed in the wind, his presence alone clearing the air of noise.
To the world, he looked like a calamity waiting to happen.
And he was.
[Status Window – Partial Display]Name: GabrielAge: 16Race: ???Trait: False MonarchUnique Ability: DOMAIN – SealedSword Art: Domain Edge – Level 4Shadow Count: 4/10Credits: 47,300System Sync: 29%Domain Radius: 6.5 meters
In the distance, high-rises pulsed with mana conduits. Above them, surveillance drones zig-zagged across the skyline. The city was growing tense—rumors of dungeon instability were spreading. Rift breaks were becoming frequent.
But the true break — the one Gabriel had read about — was only nine days away.
Nine days until this peaceful illusion shattered.
Nine days until the world bled.
Gabriel turned from the ledge and descended the fire escape.
He wasn't wasting time.
He needed more.
More power.More shadows.More control.
And before the world turned upside down, he needed a proper place to operate from.
A base.
Down in the lower city district, Aedan's shadow had already begun working.
With the credits they'd amassed from black-market artifact sales and unregistered dungeon cores, he'd quietly purchased an old, condemned tech company building — abandoned since a mana surge had destroyed part of its infrastructure.
The perfect cover.
The perfect fortress.
The building was six floors tall, made of dull gray alloy plating and reinforced concrete. On paper, it was marked as "unfit for habitation." No one asked questions.
Gabriel walked through its broken front door, the floor echoing under his boots.
Aedan's shadow stood by the main staircase, bowed low.
"Progress?" Gabriel asked.
The shadow spoke, its voice quiet and sharp. "Surveillance blind spots confirmed. First floor repurposed as cover operation. A shell IT firm using fake records and mana-dampening tech. No heat. No suspicion."
Gabriel nodded once. "Begin renovations. Floor two to be secured for armory and shadow transfer operations. Three and four for research. Five and six for me."
He passed through what used to be an office space. Dust clung to cracked monitors. Arcane residue flickered faintly across shattered mana conductors.
All of it would be rebuilt.
All of it would become part of his new dominion.
He wasn't just building strength.
He was building a future kingdom.
Later that evening, Gabriel walked to the outskirts of the city—into one of the unregistered industrial zones, where low-tier Awakeners illegally cleared dungeons for fast credit.
They called it "The Slaughter Ring."
Most didn't come back.
Gabriel walked through the entrance with no expression.
Inside, the dungeon was chaotic. Fragmented tunnels with jagged crystal growths and unstable mana flow. Spawning points were unpredictable. Creatures emerged at random — twisted, malformed beings with razor tendrils and acidic blood.
But Gabriel wasn't here to scavenge.
He was here to train.
His Domain pulsed faintly — still sealed, but growing more reactive with every encounter.
In these chaotic environments, he could feel it responding to him.
He fought like a storm.
Eclipse moved faster now, cutting mana-charged lines through enemies, each kill a calculated, efficient execution. Gabriel never hesitated. Never spoke. Never gave the enemy room to breathe.
The blade became part of him.
And every death whispered power back into his system.
[Shadow Eligible Corpse Detected]Convert? [Yes / No]
Gabriel tapped "No."
Not all monsters were worth turning.
He was patient. Selective.
He only wanted strength that could serve him.
He fought for hours.
His stamina pushed to its limits.
Ravyr guarded him during brief rest moments, while the other shadows gathered loot and monitored the dungeon's flow.
Eventually, deep in the tunnels, he encountered it — a mini-boss.
Not listed in the dungeon's registry.
A malformed chimera of bone, ash, and screaming skulls.
It charged him without warning, shrieking like a thousand voices in agony.
Gabriel didn't flinch.
The fight was a blur of death.
Spells rained. Acid blood hissed. The chimera shattered walls, forced him to retreat twice, nearly broke Eclipse with a single hammerfist.
But Gabriel was merciless.
He studied its patterns, wore it down, and finally lured it into a mana rupture that exploded from the ceiling.
He struck as it staggered.
A clean horizontal cut through its three throats.
[Shadow Acquired: Chimaera]Type: Hybrid-Class BerserkerAbilities: Bone Manipulation, Mana Echo, Multi-Target RoarShadow Count: 5/10
The thing stood, now humanoid, cloaked in black shadow, four arms folded neatly, expression hidden behind a cracked bone mask.
Gabriel smirked.
"You'll do."
He returned to the surface covered in dried blood, bruises, and half-healed cuts.
He passed through the Ring unnoticed. No one dared look at him.
That night, as rain began to fall again, Gabriel stood at the center of the abandoned office tower, surrounded by his five shadows — humanoid, powerful, silent.
They knelt as one.
He looked out at the storm.
Five more shadows to go.More training to survive.More secrets to uncover.
And soon…
The dungeon break would begin.
And Gabriel?
He'd be ready.