The silence of the abyss pressed down on Kael like a mountain. The only sound came from the faint crackle of heat still radiating from the cocoon of his Fire Spirit, whose faint embers glowed in the suffocating darkness. He sat beside it, leaning against a jagged wall of wet stone, drenched from the fall and bruised in more places than he could count. His breathing was shallow, but steady.
The system's faint chime resonated in his head, cold and indifferent.
[Level Up!][You have reached Level 5.]
Kael blinked, pulling himself upright despite the fatigue dragging at his limbs. His body felt… heavier, stronger too, though every movement reminded him of pain. He willed the system window to open.
Status - Level 5
Strength: 23 (+2)
Agility: 20 (+2)
Endurance: 23 (+2)
Intelligence: 17 (+1)
Free Attribute Points Available: 10
Summon Limit: 2 (doubled from 1)
Kael stared at the numbers, fingers twitching as he clenched them into fists. The natural stat growth from leveling filled him with a raw sense of progress. His muscles didn't just ache from the fall anymore; they thrummed with latent energy, as if begging to be used.
But it wasn't the numbers that made his chest tighten. It was that new line.
Summon Limit: 2.
His Fire Spirit—his partner, his shield—was still encased in its cocoon, fighting for evolution. Now, another slot sat open before him, empty, waiting. The system pulsed with the faint suggestion that he could bring forth another spirit, another ally.
But what should it be? Another elemental? A creature of defense? Something agile?
Kael exhaled sharply, shaking his head. No… not now. I can't summon recklessly. This abyss is hostile, and if I call something I can't support, it will just die. I need to wait… I need to think.
The Fire Spirit's cocoon pulsed faintly, absorbing the strange energy of the abyssal fragment he had forced into it earlier. Every glow of heat was like a heartbeat, reminding him that he wasn't alone—yet for these minutes, he might as well have been.
And his stomach…
It twisted painfully. Hunger gnawed at his insides, so sharp it made him feel sick. The fall, the fights, the endless strain—it had emptied him out. He pressed a hand against his abdomen, trying to ignore it, but his body didn't care for pride or disgust. It demanded fuel.
His eyes shifted toward the slain abyssal creature that lay sprawled across the stone not far away. Its body was twisted, alien, with bone-like protrusions jutting from its back and strange black ichor oozing where Kael's blade had pierced its skull. Its scent was foul, metallic, nauseating.
Kael gagged just looking at it. But the hunger clawed deeper.
If I don't eat… I won't last. I'll starve before I even make it past this floor. And if something else comes before the Fire Spirit wakes up… I'll die.
His hand trembled as he reached toward the corpse. The dagger at his waist, still slick with the monster's blood, gleamed faintly in the darkness. He gritted his teeth, forcing down bile, and used it to carve into the creature's side.
The flesh squelched under the blade. Steam rose faintly as he cut deeper, the smell enough to make his eyes water. It was nothing like food—closer to biting into poison.
He sliced free a chunk, black and pulpy, and held it in his hand. His chest heaved. His mind screamed no. Every fiber of his upbringing, every memory of home, rejected this act.
But his body… demanded otherwise.
"…For survival," he whispered hoarsely, eyes burning.
He forced the meat into his mouth and bit down.
The taste was worse than death. Metallic bitterness exploded across his tongue, the texture rubbery and stringy. He nearly vomited it back up, his throat convulsing, but with sheer willpower he swallowed. His stomach lurched violently, but when it settled… warmth spread faintly through his chest.
A strange, alien warmth.
[You have consumed an Abyssal Fragment.][Minor Vitality restored.][Traces of abyssal essence absorbed.]
Kael gasped, wiping the bile from his lips. His body, though revolted, felt stronger. Clearer. The gnawing ache of hunger dulled, though it did not vanish.
He cut off another piece. Then another. Each bite was torture, but with each one, his body steadied, his vision cleared, and the emptiness inside him eased.
When he finally stopped, Kael staggered backward, dropping the dagger beside him. His body shook—not from weakness, but from the horror of what he had just done. His hands wouldn't stop trembling.
I ate it… a monster…
But the Fire Spirit's cocoon pulsed brighter beside him, as though acknowledging his sacrifice. The fragment it had absorbed earlier was not enough; now, faint embers danced along its surface, reacting to the essence Kael had taken in himself.
Something unexpected was happening.
Kael narrowed his eyes, forcing himself to breathe. "…So even this filth can become strength. Then I'll use it. I'll use everything to survive."
He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms, grounding himself. The abyss would not break him—not hunger, not betrayal, not despair.
His gaze flicked back to the stat screen, to the waiting attribute points. Ten glowing fragments of potential hovered in his vision.
Before I move deeper… I'll need to decide how to use these. The abyss won't forgive hesitation.
But for now, his eyes fell to the cocoon again, its glow steady, stronger than before. The Fire Spirit was still fighting, still alive, still evolving. And Kael knew… when it emerged, it would not be the same common spirit that had once been mocked.
It would be reborn—just as he was being reborn in this abyss.