The darkness pressed against him like a living weight, thick and unyielding. Kael's eyes, adapting to the void, caught only faint glimmers of jagged crystals embedded in the cavern walls—pale, fractured light swallowed almost immediately by the surrounding shadows. Even the air felt alive, heavy with the metallic tang of decay and the faint, acrid scent of old blood. Somewhere in the distance, the faint echo of a creature's movement whispered across the rocks, a sound that raised every instinctual hair along his body.
He flexed his claws, testing the tension in his muscles. They felt foreign and familiar all at once, an odd mixture of predator and something more monstrous. Every movement hummed with latent power, remnants of a life that should have ended long ago. Kael's mind, ragged from regression, reminded him sharply: he was no longer human. Not in body, not in essence. He was something reborn—a fragment of his old dominion, tempered by instinct and anchored by the mysterious Sovereign Seed pulsing faintly within him.
The Seed was dormant. Almost imperceptible, yet present, whispering promises he could not fully comprehend. It hung like a heartbeat in his chest, demanding growth, craving dominance. Kael inhaled, tasting the thick air, letting the silence settle around him before it shattered.
A sound—a low growl—rose from the shadows. Eyes glinting red appeared from the darkness: a pack of Abyssal Wolves. Their forms were grotesque, twisted by mutation and hunger, their fangs jagged, saliva dripping from jagged jaws. The Hunger radiating from them was palpable, raw and violent.
Kael crouched, claws digging into the rough stone beneath him. Every instinct screamed fight, every instinct screamed survival. The Wolves lunged in unison, and Kael met the first with a surge of motion he had not felt in years. He pivoted, claws tearing into its side, muscles coiling and snapping as though guided by some ancient memory. The Wolf shrieked, a horrifying sound that echoed against the cavern walls. Another leapt, jaws snapping, but Kael sidestepped, driving his claws deep into its ribcage, feeling the rush of stolen vitality as the Devour skill flickered faintly in his consciousness.
The fight was chaotic, violent, and precise. Kael moved like a shadow, instinct guiding him. The Seed pulsed faintly, acknowledging the effort, feeding off his survival instinct, reinforcing his awareness. As the last Wolf fell, the cavern sank back into near silence, broken only by his ragged breathing and the distant drip of water from the stalactites above.
Status Screen flicker…
[Status Screen]
Name: Kael (Regressed)
Race: Abyssal Aberration (Unstable)
Stage: Iron – Tier 1 | Progression: 2%
HP: 120 / 120 | Vitality: 11 | Strength: 9 | Agility: 10 | Endurance: 8 | Mind: 7
Skills:
Claw Rend (Basic) – Tearing strikes (Lv. 1)
Abyssal Instinct (Passive) – Heightened combat awareness (Lv. 1)
Devour (Special) – Absorb essence of fallen foes (Lv. 1)
Unique Trait:
Sovereign Seed (Dormant) – Buried fragment of lost dominion. Feeds on growth; stagnation invites decay.
Kael exhaled slowly, feeling the faint warmth of the Seed against his chest. Even dormant, it pulsed with a promise of something greater, an unfulfilled potential clawing to awaken. His vision swept the cavern, catching every faint shadow, every glint of movement. Survival demanded more than strength—it demanded patience, awareness, and cunning.
He moved deeper into the cavern, each step echoing faintly, swallowed by the oppressive darkness. The walls seemed alive, shadows stretching and twisting as though watching, waiting. Every instinct in Kael's body hummed with alertness. He knew the Abyss was testing him, challenging him, measuring what remained of his skill and his will.
A faint scratching sound from above made him freeze. His claws dug deeper into the stone, muscles tensing. From the darkness descended a horde of crawling creatures, grotesque and malformed—half-insect, half-shadow, their limbs spindly and glinting like shards of glass. Kael's instincts surged. The fight was no longer just about survival; it was about dominance, about proving to the Seed that he could take what it demanded.
The first strike was precise and brutal. Claws tore through exoskeletons, limbs snapping as creatures hissed and shrieked. Kael moved fluidly, dodging venomous strikes, countering, ripping, devouring. The Devour skill responded, pulling fragments of essence, whispering faint glimpses of power into his mind. A fragment of a new skill, Lesser Shadow Meld, flickered in his awareness—a taste of what could come if he survived.
Time stretched. The fight seemed endless, a blur of motion and instinct. Each creature that fell sharpened his awareness, each instinctual dodge or rip feeding the Seed even as it lay dormant. When the last of the horde fell, silence returned, heavy and suffocating. Kael's chest heaved. His eyes, faintly glowing now, scanned the cavern. Every shadow felt alive, every sound amplified. The Abyss had recognized him.
And he had survived.
The Seed pulsed faintly, teasing at the edges of consciousness. A whisper, a pull toward deeper darkness, a promise of growth. Kael flexed his claws, feeling muscles still adapting, senses sharpening. This was only the beginning. The Abyss had many layers, each more dangerous than the last, and Kael would have to adapt, fight, and evolve to reclaim what had been stolen from him.
He moved forward, deeper into the black. The walls of the cavern narrowed, the air thickened, and the shadows grew longer. Somewhere below, something massive stirred, a presence that radiated power and hunger. Kael's teeth clenched. The thrill ran through him. Every instinct screamed that he was meant for this, that the Seed within demanded dominance and evolution.
Status Screen flicker…
[Status Screen]
Name: Kael (Regressed)
Race: Abyssal Aberration (Stabilizing)
Stage: Iron – Tier 2 | Progression: 14%
HP: 180 / 180 | Vitality: 15 | Strength: 13 | Agility: 12 | Endurance: 11 | Mind: 9
Skills:
Claw Rend → Abyssal Rend (Evolved) – Wounds inflict bleeding (Lv. 2)
Abyssal Instinct (Passive) – Heightened senses, faster reflexes (Lv. 2)
Devour (Special) – Greater absorption efficiency, fragments of foe's skill (Lv. 2)
Echo of Fear (Passive) – Lesser beings sense presence and waver (Lv. 1)
Unique Trait:
Sovereign Seed (Flickering) – Dormancy broken; growth linked to battle dominance.
The cavern's shadows seemed to pulse in rhythm with his heartbeat. Somewhere, deeper, something waited—older, larger, hungrier. Kael crouched, claws flexing, instincts sharp. Every evolution, every fragment of power, every instinct honed in this first layer of the Abyss brought him closer to reclaiming what had been lost, closer to awakening the dormant dominion within.
The Abyss whispered around him, alive and hungry. And Kael—predator reborn, Sovereign Seed flickering—was ready.