The forest was silent, save for the crunch of leaves beneath his feet.
It had been two days since the battlefield. Two days of hiding, scavenging, and avoiding the eyes of Gu Masters combing the area. His body was stronger than before, but the abyss gnawed at him constantly, whispering with a thousand hungry voices.
Feed. Feed. Feed.
Every step made it worse. His veins pulsed black when the hunger grew too sharp, his breath turning ragged as the abyss demanded blood.
He clenched his fists. "If I let this thing rule me, I'll be no better than a beast."
But to survive in this world, he had no choice but to use it.
That night, he found a clearing where spirit fireflies drifted in the dark. Small creatures skittered at the edges—wild foxes, boars, even a stray wolf. His body ached with hunger, and his patience broke.
"Fine," he muttered. "Let's see what you can do."
He stretched out his hand. The abyss answered instantly. Black liquid flowed over his arm, hardening into jagged armor that gleamed wetly in the moonlight. His fingers extended into claws, each sharp as steel.
A wolf snarled, rushing him. Instinct moved his body—the claws slashed once, splitting fur and flesh with ease. Blood sprayed, and the wolf's corpse twitched as tendrils sank into it, drinking.
Warmth spread through his chest. His vision sharpened. The hunger eased.
He exhaled slowly. "So… armor and claws."
The abyss pulsed again, restless. His back rippled as two black tendrils shot forth, lashing the ground like whips. He willed them to move, and they obeyed, coiling and snapping with deadly precision.
He closed his eyes, imagining more. The abyss shifted, flesh rearranging. For a moment, his muscles swelled grotesquely, mimicking the brute strength of that scavenger he killed days before. His skin shimmered with faint patterns, like a poor imitation of defensive Gu.
It worked—partially. But his body trembled, unstable. The mimicry dissolved within seconds, leaving him gasping.
The abyss whispered: We can copy them, child. But only with flesh. The more you consume, the more you can wear their strength.
He wiped blood from his lips, staring down at his claws. "So I can… imitate Gu abilities. But imperfectly."
A double-edged gift. Infinite potential—but tied to endless hunger.
By dawn, the clearing was a slaughterhouse. The wolf, the foxes, the boars—all reduced to husks, their essence drained. The MC sat among the corpses, his body covered in faint black armor that flexed and retracted with his will.
He felt stronger. Faster. Sharper. But not complete. Each kill fed him only for a while. Each ability copied faded eventually, like an unstable memory.
And worse—he knew Heaven was watching. That crushing pressure from before lingered at the edges of his senses, as if the world itself was waiting for him to grow too bold.
Still, as he flexed his armored hand, a small smile formed.
"In this world, Gu Masters fight with worms that chain them to weakness. But me?" He rose, tendrils writhing behind him. "I am the abyss. I am free."
The abyss purred, satisfied.
Yes. Free. Unchained. Eternal.
Yet even as he spoke the words, his stomach twisted again with hunger.
Power was his to wield. But it would never let him rest.