The wind had changed.
It carried a strange rhythm now—an echo that seemed to come from beneath the earth, pulsing with a cadence older than the world itself. Nathan stood at the edge of the crater left by his clash with Kael. The ground was still cracked and bleeding mana, faintly glowing veins spreading outward like a map of corruption.
Selena stood behind him, her voice calm but firm. "You shouldn't go deeper. Even Zealand never charted past this point. The energy density will crush your body."
Nathan's eyes remained fixed on the fissure below. It glowed with that same violet hue that had once answered his call during the battle. "And yet something down there is calling me," he murmured.
Selena frowned. "A call like that is never innocent."
He looked back at her, half-smiling. "Neither am I."
Before she could reply, he stepped forward and vanished into the darkness.
The descent was immediate and brutal. Gravity bent unnaturally, air twisted, and shadows took form as if they were alive. Nathan fell through layers of energy—each denser, colder, heavier. The deeper he went, the less the world resembled anything human.
When he finally landed, it wasn't on solid ground. It was on shifting shadow—a semi-liquid surface that moved like smoke and light combined. Above him, no sky; below him, no ground. Just the constant hum of existence unraveling.
He exhaled slowly. "So this… is the Heart of the Abyss."
The place was beyond comprehension. Massive crystalline structures floated aimlessly, each one bleeding light and darkness in equal measure. Gigantic runes drifted like constellations in the void. The air—or whatever passed for it—carried whispers in a language that resonated inside his bones.
Nathan's steps left ripples across the surface, and every ripple shimmered with shadow energy. His power felt strangely balanced here—not surging out of control, but synchronized, like this place wanted him.
Then he heard it.
A voice. Faint. Echoing through every direction at once.
"Bearer of Shadow… you have come at last."
Nathan froze. His hand instinctively tightened around the dagger he had kept since his days as a low-ranked Hunter—a relic of a forgotten weakness. "Who's there?"
The shadows trembled. From the nearest crystal emerged a figure—vague, humanoid, but formed entirely of shifting black light. Its face was featureless except for two white slits for eyes.
"Long ago," it whispered, "we were the keepers of the balance between portals and worlds. When mankind tore open the rifts, our realm fractured. The Shadow Core was sealed… waiting for a vessel strong enough to reclaim its essence."
Nathan's pulse quickened. "And you think that's me?"
The figure tilted its head. "You are not chosen. You are the consequence."
The ground beneath Nathan shuddered violently. Shadows erupted like geysers, surrounding him in pillars of darkness. The figure's voice deepened, echoing across the void.
"To wield the Abyss, you must survive it."
Then the test began.
The surface beneath him dissolved into a storm of energy. Dozens of creatures emerged—monstrosities made of fragmented void and bone. Their forms twisted, shifting from humanoid to beast, each radiating power that rivaled a high-tier Hunter.
Nathan clenched his fists, shadows coiling around his arms like serpents. This isn't real. It's a trial.
The first creature lunged, its claw slicing the air. Nathan sidestepped and countered, a tendril of shadow impaling it through the chest. The creature dissolved into dust—but two more replaced it instantly.
They came in waves.
Each stronger, faster, more coordinated.
Nathan fought like a man possessed, his movements blending instinct and fury. The shadows moved with him—not as tools, but as extensions of his will. For every creature he destroyed, a new one rose from its remains.
His breath came sharp and ragged. If this keeps up… I'll burn out.
But something shifted.
The shadow figure's voice returned, quieter now. "You fight with anger. Not understanding. You consume the dark—but you do not listen to it."
Nathan gritted his teeth. "Then teach me."
The figure's eyes flared. "Feel it. Do not command it."
Nathan stopped. The next creature's strike came fast—but instead of dodging, he closed his eyes. The shadow inside him flared in recognition. It wasn't chaos. It was harmony waiting to be found.
He exhaled—and the shadows obeyed.
Every tendril, every ripple, every fragment of darkness around him surged inward, fusing into his body. His veins burned, but not with pain—with resonance. His aura expanded, bending the void itself.
When he opened his eyes again, they were no longer violet—they were obsidian, reflecting light like mirrors.
The beasts hesitated.
Nathan raised a hand slowly. The entire battlefield shifted. Shadows flowed outward in perfect synchronization, forming intricate patterns—runes, sigils, a language of power. The creatures were no longer enemies; they were instruments of his will.
In a single gesture, he dissolved them all.
Silence.
The figure approached, its shape now stabilizing into a clearer human outline. "You have done what even the SSS-ranked Hunters could not. You resonated with the Core."
Nathan's voice was low but steady. "Then give me what I came for."
The figure extended its hand, and from the void behind it emerged a small sphere—pure black, swirling with veins of silver light. It floated toward Nathan, radiating a calm, terrible beauty.
"The Shadow Core. The heart of our realm. It will obey you—but it will also test you every time you draw upon it. Abuse it, and it will consume your soul."
Nathan reached out and grasped it. The moment his fingers touched the sphere, a surge of energy exploded outward. His mind filled with images—cities burning, portals collapsing, gods falling. A universe of destruction and rebirth.
He screamed, but the sound was swallowed by the void.
Then silence again.
When he opened his eyes, he was kneeling at the edge of the fissure in the real world. The sky above him was burning orange, twilight bleeding across the horizon. Selena knelt beside him, her expression sharp with worry.
"You were gone for hours," she said. "What did you find?"
Nathan slowly opened his hand. The black sphere rested there, pulsing softly. "Power," he said simply. "And something worse."
Selena's gaze darkened. "Then you brought it back with you."
He looked toward the horizon, where faint lights flickered—the cities beyond the portal walls, unaware of what had been awakened.
"Selena," he said, his tone low, controlled. "Tell Kael something for me."
She tilted her head. "What?"
"Tell him the next time he sends scouts into a portal… they won't find monsters waiting." His shadow stirred, spreading slowly across the ground like ink. "They'll find me."
Selena exhaled, a strange mix of awe and concern in her eyes. "You're changing, Nathan. Be careful that the abyss you walk doesn't start walking with you."
Nathan turned away, the shadows already whispering under his boots. "It already has."
And with that, he vanished into the dark.