The air grew thicker as Kael descended, each step dragging him further into the heart of the Abyss. Shadows clung to him like living tendrils, wrapping around his senses, teasing his instincts. The flickering light of bioluminescent fungi offered only a faint glow, casting jagged patterns across the uneven stone floor. Every echo, every whisper of movement, amplified against the cavern walls. Kael's ears twitched; the Abyss had a language, and he had learned to listen.
Beneath his claws, the stone was slick with condensation, the scent of decay and death stronger here than above. He could feel the faint pulse of the Sovereign Seed, now more insistent, its hunger for growth tugging at his very essence. Dormant no longer, it flickered in response to every instinct, every heartbeat, every tiny triumph. It demanded evolution. And Kael was beginning to understand that survival alone would not satisfy it. Dominance was required.
A sound like cracking bone echoed from the darkness ahead. Kael's eyes narrowed, pupils widening, reflexes sharpening. He crouched low, muscles coiled, tail brushing lightly against the stone as a counterbalance. From the shadows emerged a creature far larger than the Abyssal Wolves he had faced before. Its body was an unnatural fusion of insect and reptile, armored in chitin that gleamed like black steel under the dim light. Its multiple limbs ended in hooked claws, and its mandibles clicked rhythmically as it smelled the air, sensing Kael's presence.
The creature froze, its many eyes locking onto him. Kael's claws flexed, instincts screaming. The Abyssal Seed pulsed violently, almost as if it recognized the challenge, teasing Kael with the promise of growth. He could feel his muscles adjusting mid-movement, every sinew coiling for the battle to come. Survival would not suffice; he had to dominate.
The first strike was sudden—a sweeping arc from the creature's massive limbs. Kael rolled aside, claws slashing through the air, grazing the chitin. Sparks of pain ran through him as the creature lashed again, faster this time, forcing him to leap backward. The Seed responded, a surge of energy that sharpened his senses. He landed silently, calculating, assessing, preparing.
Each attack from the predator tested Kael, probing for weaknesses, for hesitation. His claws slashed in precise arcs, rending flesh and tearing into jointed limbs. The Devour skill flickered, absorbing fragments of the creature's essence, whispering faint knowledge: a taste of a new skill, Predator's Reflex, began forming in the depths of his mind. The Seed pulsed again, its rhythm quickening, acknowledging his potential, coaxing him forward.
Minutes—or was it hours?—passed in a blur of movement and instinct. Kael dodged, struck, and adapted, his body evolving in real-time. The creature's strikes grew more desperate, and Kael's attacks more precise. A slash to the neck, a tear across a limb, a calculated feint—each move brought him closer to dominance. When the final strike landed, the predator's massive body collapsed in a heap, twitching as its life drained away.
Kael exhaled, his claws slick with black ichor. The creature's essence flowed into him, raw power mingling with the Sovereign Seed. The flicker of Predator's Reflex solidified in his mind, a nascent skill ready to be honed. The Abyss had acknowledged him, rewarding his dominance, signaling that growth was earned, not given.
Status Screen flicker…
[Status Screen]
Name: Kael (Regressed)
Race: Abyssal Aberration (Stabilizing)
Stage: Iron – Tier 3 | Progression: 27%
HP: 230 / 230 | Vitality: 20 | Strength: 18 | Agility: 16 | Endurance: 15 | Mind: 12
Skills:
Abyssal Rend → Ebon Talons (Advanced) – Condensed strikes of abyssal essence (Lv. 1)
Devour → Devourer's Maw – Doubled assimilation, chance to seize fragments of foe's abilities (Lv. 1)
Abyssal Instinct (Passive) – Sensory field upgraded, detects hostility preemptively (Lv. 3)
Echo of Fear → Dread Howl (Active) – Emits primal terror wave, disrupts weaker foes (Lv. 1)
Predator's Reflex (Passive) – Increases reaction time, anticipates attacks (Lv. 1)
Unique Trait:
Sovereign Seed (Flickering) – Awakened, pulse linked to dominance.
Kael's gaze swept across the cavern, muscles taut, senses attuned. The Abyss had many layers, and each was alive, a test waiting for him. The Seed pulsed, no longer subtle, a heartbeat of power and expectation. He understood that every fight, every adaptation, was a step toward reclaiming the dominion that had been stolen from him.
Further ahead, the cavern widened into a labyrinth of jagged cliffs and blackened stone bridges suspended over a bottomless chasm. The faint glow of fungi painted eerie patterns across the walls, revealing more predators lurking in the shadows. Their eyes glimmered like coals, watching, assessing. Kael crouched low, claws scraping lightly against stone as he moved silently, predator observing predator.
A low growl sounded from the darkness above. Kael's head snapped upward, muscles coiled. From the blackness, a swarm of Abyssal Raptors descended—swift, agile, their razor-edged claws glinting faintly. He tensed, instincts screaming, the Seed responding with a faint warmth that spread through his chest, urging him onward.
The first raptor lunged. Kael sidestepped, twisting midair, driving his claws through its neck. Another leapt, snapping jaws like steel traps. He countered, striking it down with precision, feeling the Seed pulse, faint whispers of power threading through his consciousness. Each kill honed his awareness, each instinct sharpened by necessity, by survival, and by the unspoken pull of dominance that the Seed demanded.
Minutes passed in a relentless storm of movement, attack, and adaptation. Kael's body moved like water, fluid and precise, every strike measured, every dodge instinctual. The Raptors fell one by one, and as the last dropped, he exhaled, senses still heightened.
The cavern was silent again. But Kael knew the Abyss did not forgive weakness. Something deeper waited—older, more powerful, hungrier. The Sovereign Seed pulsed in his chest, flickering with intent, whispering promises of growth, of dominion, of a power that transcended mere survival.
Kael crouched, claws flexing, eyes scanning the darkness. The journey had truly begun. Every layer, every predator, every fragment of power brought him closer to reclaiming what had been lost, closer to awakening the true dominion of the Sovereign Seed.
He would not falter. The Abyss had recognized him, and he would rise—not just to survive, but to dominate.