The city had become a battlefield.
Buildings trembled as the Abyssal Vein above pulsed violently. Streets were littered with debris, overturned vehicles, and panicked civilians. Yet among the chaos, one figure moved with strange purpose.
Arman.
His shadow stretched and twisted, reaching toward the Vein like living tendrils. Every movement sent ripples of dark energy flowing across the ground. The Echoes swarmed, faster and sharper than before, sensing the surge in power radiating from him.
"Focus," the voice inside whispered. "Control it. Absorb. Become."
Arman's heart raced. He wasn't trained. He wasn't a Diver. And yet, for the first time, he didn't feel fear—only a pulse of connection to the Abyssal Vein above.
One Echo leapt at him from the rubble—a grotesque creature with limbs bending in impossible angles, its face a blur of shadow and screaming void.
Instinctively, Arman raised his hand. Shadows exploded outward like black lightning, wrapping the creature in thick coils. The Echo thrashed violently, but the energy pulsing through him stabilized it. Slowly, it disintegrated into fragments of darkness, absorbed entirely into his shadow.
He barely had time to catch his breath before more came—dozens of smaller Echoes, swarming like a tide.
"Enough!" Arman shouted, voice trembling with newfound power. Shadows erupted from every inch of his body, forming a barrier around him and the civilians nearby.
The crowd froze, staring in awe as his tendrils struck every incoming Echo with precision and speed no human could manage. Every strike drained them, feeding him, making him stronger.
It was terrifying.
And beautiful.
A sudden movement caught his eye. Across the street, a figure in Diver armor stepped into the chaos—a tall, lean woman with piercing eyes and a Resonance rifle. She scanned the battlefield and then froze.
Her gaze locked on him.
"What… what is that?" she whispered, almost to herself.
Arman felt it too—the pull of her presence. Divers could sense Veins, sense power, but this? She recognized something different inside him. Something the world hadn't seen before.
The Abyssal Vein pulsed again, and the Echoes surged higher. Arman clenched his fists. "I'm not going to run."
He thrust his hand forward. Shadows shot like whips, catching dozens of Echoes in one sweep. Energy flowed into him, forming a dense, living cloak around his body.
The Diver raised her rifle, but paused. She knew better than to attack… not yet.
A voice echoed inside Arman's mind. "Your first real trial begins now."
Above, the Abyssal Vein cracked, and a massive Echo—far larger, more twisted than anything he had seen—descended from the sky. Its body was a shifting storm of shadow and violet energy, eyes glowing like fractured stars.
"This is it," he whispered. "The real fight begins."
The ground trembled as the creature landed, sending debris flying in all directions. Its gaze locked onto Arman.
He raised both hands, shadows spiraling around him like living armor. For the first time, he felt not fear… but purpose.
The Abyssal Vein pulsed violently, responding to him. The voice whispered one final warning:
"Control it. Or be consumed."
Arman's eyes burned black as the shadow cloak flared. "I am not a Diver. I am something else."
The massive Echo lunged.
And Arman stepped forward. Into the heart of the storm.