Start of ARC 2.
[ System Status — Updated ]
[ Name: Shen Yan ]
[ Age: 18 ]
[ Bloodline: Abyss Seed ]
[ Rank: E-1 ]
[ Experience: 0 / 329,843 ]
[ Seed Growth: 137 ]
[ Root Integration: 1/9 ]
[ Taint: -100 ]
[ Authority: Abyss Evolution / Abyssal Silence ]
[ Unique Skill: False Genesis ]
[ Skills ]
— Origin —
• Void Eater (Origin)
— B Rank —
• Eternal Abyssflame (B)
— C Rank —
• Abyssal Resonance (C)
• Bone Rift (C)
• Abyssal Fang (C)
• Predator Sense (C)
• Abyssal Shift (C)
— F Rank —
• Crimson Dominion (F)
• Night Rend (F)
• Ground Splitter (F)
• Rampaging Rush (F)
• RockSkin (F)
• Foxfire Step (F)
• Thorn Bullet (F)
• Iron Fist (F)
[ Status: Stable ]
[ Stage: Resonant Echo ]
[ Condition: Perfect Synchronization — No Taint Detected ]
[ System Status — Updated ]
The blue screen flash in front of my eyes.
Guess we're doing this.
[ Name: Shen Yan ]
Still me.
Didn't change that yet.
Kinda surprised, honestly. Thought the System would rename me to "That Bastard Who Eats Everything."
[ Age: 18 ]
Yeah, right.
On paper maybe.
My joints crack like I'm eighty, and my back's been screaming at me since the last fight.
At this point, I don't even feel pain anymore.
I just am pain.
[ Bloodline: Abyss Seed ]
Ah yes, the parasite that moved into my chest rent-free and whispers bedtime stories about cleansing the world.
We get along great.
[ Rank: E-1 ]
Finally crawled out of F-rank hell.
Took… what, a few hundred kills? Maybe less.
I stopped counting somewhere between the screaming and the part where everything started looking the same.
Not like anyone's giving out medals anyway.
[ Experience: 0 / 329,843 ]
Big number.
Means nothing.
The moment I look away, it'll start filling again.
[ Seed Growth: 137 ]
Grows every time I devour something.
No sunlight, no fertilizer — just fear, blood, and trauma.
When it hits 500, another root grows and I get another fancy Authority.
Basically, evolution through murder.
Cute concept.
[ Root Integration: 1 / 9 ]
One root down. Eight to go.
No idea where the next one's going to sprout.
Kinda hoping it's not my face.
[ Taint: -100 ]
Negative.
Don't even know what that means anymore, but sure — let's call it "pure."
Maybe the System ran out of ways to measure how broken I am.
[ Authority: Abyss Evolution / Abyssal Silence ]
First one makes me evolve.
Second one makes the world shut up.
Honestly, best therapy I've ever had.
[ Unique Skill: False Genesis ]
Still figuring this one out.
From what I get, it lets me rewrite what's real — name, age, bloodline, rank, whatever.
Anyone tries to scan me, they see what I want them to.
Basically a walking lie.
Broken? Yeah.
Useful? Hell yes.
[ Skills ]
There's a list now.
Looks cool, until you realize every single one came from something I killed.
Guess that makes me a collector.
Origin — Void Eater. My favorite. Still works like a charm… or a black hole, depending on how you look at it.
Then there's Eternal Abyssflame. B-Rank now.
Burns nice and quiet — clean, soft, and permanent.
Doesn't go out until whatever it touches stops existing.
Pretty color too.
C-Ranks — that's where the fun starts.
Abyssal Resonance.
Used to be Resonance Drain. Now it hums on its own — ten meters around me, everything starts shaking till it breaks apart.
Their energy flows in, mine fills up.
Feels… steady.
Flip it, and their insides pop.
Efficient. Simple. Kinda poetic.
Bone Rift — bones that move when I tell them to.
I can raise walls, spikes, traps — six meters wide, eight seconds long.
When they break, they explode.
Even my own bones store impact now — take a hit, hit back twice as hard.
Ugly, brutal, perfect.
Abyssal Fang — venom grew smarter.
Now it melts nerves and flesh, and after six seconds, they relive their worst fear on loop.
Five stacks of hell.
Effective motivation.
Predator Sense — basically, paranoia turned into a superpower.
I can hear every damn heartbeat within a kilometer — even the ones pretending to be calm.
Fear sounds like a drum, lies buzz like mosquitoes, and killing intent? That one practically screams my name.
The best part? I can shut mine off. Go heartbeat ninja.
And if I tag someone, I don't lose them — doesn't matter where they hide.
Walls, trees, toilets — I'll still hear their heart trying not to explode.
Abyssal Shift — my personal "nope" button.
Something swings at me? I just blink out. Gone. Poof.
Nothing can touch me in there — not fire, not steel, not even someone's annoying inner monologue.
I can drop a ghost copy of myself too, in case I want to be dramatic and reappear behind them like, "Miss me?"
Two jumps max though — after that, space starts having a mental breakdown.
Feels like walking between heartbeats. Quiet. Cold. Perfect getaway for introverts.
The rest?
Crimson Dominion, Night Rend, Ground Splitter, Rampaging Rush, RockSkin, Foxfire Step, Thorn Bullet, Iron Fist.
Old toys.
Still hit hard, but they feel like training wheels after driving a tank.
I stared at the screen for a while.
"Nice list," I muttered.
The light blinked once, then faded out — like even the System got tired from all of my blah blah.
I sighed, stretched my neck till it popped, and stared into the dark.
"Guess that's the start of another chapter, huh?"
Then I laughed, quiet and low.
"Fine. Let's see how deep this abyss goes."
Then I heard it — a deep thump, followed by a flare shooting into the sky, painting the dark with red light.
I tilted my head, watching it flicker above the trees.
"…Huh," I muttered. "Guess that's it."
End of the test. End of the night that never ended.
I let out a slow breath. "Finally."
Time to go back.
Bet they're all waiting out there — instructors, scouts, some media creep dying to film the 'next generation.' Can't wait to disappoint them.
I wondered what they'd say when I walked out alive. Probably nothing nice.
I rubbed the back of my neck, half-grinning.
"Man… I'm tired."
For a second, I actually meant it.
Not the fake tired I use to skip talking to people — the real one. The kind that crawls into your bones and stays there.
"Once I get home," I muttered, "I'm diving into bed, not moving for days."
I smirked, wiping blood off my sleeve. "Don't care if I miss the university exam. Mental health comes first."
The words felt weird coming out of my mouth — like a joke told by someone who forgot what jokes are.
But still, it made me chuckle.
"Yeah," I said softly, starting to walk toward the fading red glow in the distance. "Let's go home."