The abyss was unnervingly quiet after the clash with the Elite. A silence so heavy that even the faint drip of water felt intrusive. Kael stood, dusting off fragments of stone from his armor, his gaze fixed on the growing shadows curling along the edges of the battlefield.
His summons, Pyraflame and Aquara, hovered close—still tense, still ready for another fight. But Kael's mind was elsewhere.
Four slots. Two already filled. Two waiting.
He didn't hesitate. The path forward was clear.
"System," Kael whispered, voice low yet steady. "Initiate summon… Shadow."
The air shifted instantly. The abyss itself seemed to react, as if acknowledging the arrival of something familiar. Darkness bled from the cracks in the earth, threads of pitch-black coalescing into form. A hunched silhouette rose, lean and predatory, its body sculpted from writhing voidstuff, its eyes two burning slits of violet.
[Shadow Summon – Umbra whelp manifested. Level 1.]
It hissed, its body rippling like smoke, then darted forward to snatch a fragment of the slain Elite's flesh. The instant its form sank its fangs into the corrupted meat, its body pulsed with strength.
[Umbra whelp has leveled up! Level 1 → 3.][Skill Acquired: Consumption – Devours abyssal biomass to grow rapidly.]
Kael smirked. "Just as I hoped. You'll thrive down here."
But he wasn't finished. The abyss was filled with shadow, but there was another force it loathed. One that could pierce through corruption itself.
"System," Kael continued, his tone sharp with intent. "Summon… Light."
At once, a warmth unlike anything the abyss had ever known spilled across the battlefield. A radiant glow poured downward, coalescing into a form. Wings of translucent brilliance unfurled, and from the center emerged a being of pale silver—humanoid in outline, but luminous, featureless, with twin blades of light forming in its hands.
The air screamed in defiance as the light clashed with the abyss's oppressive dark. Shadows recoiled, hissing, curling back into cracks in the stone. Even Pyraflame and Aquara flinched at the raw brilliance that cut through the void.
[Light Summon – Luminara manifested. Level 1.][Passive Skill Acquired: Abyssbane – Deals bonus damage against abyssal creatures.]
Kael exhaled slowly. The battlefield felt different now. Balanced.
Shadow and Light. The eternal opposites. Yet here, they were his weapons.
He set about gathering the corpses of the fallen abyssals, dragging their grotesque bodies into a pile. The smell of decay was overwhelming, but Kael ignored it. "Eat," he commanded, his voice directed at the shadow summon.
Umbra obeyed greedily. Each bite of flesh dissolved into nothingness as it consumed, its body shuddering with growth.
[Umbra whelp has leveled up! Level 3 → 5.][New Skill: Shadowmeld – Temporarily vanish into surrounding darkness.]
It hissed softly, violet eyes burning brighter, its form more stable now.
Kael turned to the Light summon, his tone softer. "You don't need their flesh. You'll grow in battle. And the abyss will give you plenty to feed on."
Luminara pulsed faintly, as though acknowledging his words. Its glow dimmed slightly, enough to coexist with the others without searing them.
Kael leaned back against a stone wall, arms folded, watching his four companions. Fire, Water, Shadow, and Light. A balanced foundation, but not the end.
"Earth, Wind, Lightning," he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Those will come when my strength doubles again at Level 15. That will complete the elemental cycle."
But his thoughts didn't stop there. He felt a tug deep within him—an instinct whispering of something more. Something beyond mere elements. "The fourth set… won't be elemental. It'll be something different. Something stronger. Something unique."
His gaze hardened as the abyss around them stirred once again, the distant howls of more creatures echoing from unseen tunnels.
Kael rose, gripping his weapon, his summons forming up at his side—Pyraflame smoldering with hunger, Aquara pulsing with steady resolve, Umbra slipping into the shadows, and Luminara's glow cutting through the gloom.
For the first time, Kael felt not just like a survivor, but a commander.
And the abyss was his battlefield.
Kael wiped the last traces of abyssal ichor from his blade, his gaze falling back on the two newest summons. Both Umbra and Luminara stood beside him now—shadows shifting and light gleaming, uneasy twins bound by opposite natures.
The system pulsed again.
[Summon Evolution Requirements Detected]
A faint glow of runic script hovered before Kael, shifting into clarity.
Umbra – Shadow Summon
First Evolution Condition: Devour the corrupted flesh of 50 abyssal creatures.
Locked Conditions: [???], [???].
Luminara – Light Summon
First Evolution Condition: Purify abyssal energy by directly defeating 30 abyssal creatures in combat.
Locked Conditions: [???], [???].
Kael's eyes narrowed. "So, they each need the abyss to grow stronger… in their own way."
He studied them carefully. Umbra's restless hunger seemed almost instinctual, as though it understood exactly what it needed. Already, faint ripples of strength pulsed through its body from its first feeding. Luminara's glow, though flickering at times, had grown steadier after purging its first enemy.
But the other conditions remained shrouded, blurred out in the system window.
Kael clicked his tongue. "One step at a time, then. Feed Umbra. Let Luminara fight. The rest will reveal itself."
As if in response, Umbra sank back into the darkness, licking shadowy claws with a low growl, while Luminara lifted its radiant blade, light rippling as though acknowledging the path ahead.
Kael's hand tightened on his weapon. "The abyss wants me to play its game. Fine. I'll use its own pawns against it."
The system chimed again.
[Reminder: Abyssal creatures are the catalyst for growth. The surrounding energy ensures all progression paths remain tied to their extermination.]
Kael smirked faintly. "So everything comes back to the abyss, huh? Good. It means I'll never run out of targets."