"A hundred years ago… the world broke."
The skies above the world of Erevos split open with rifts of light and shadow. From those wounds poured creatures that had no name—beasts woven from the primal chaos of existence. They came not from space, nor from time, but from the Essence Realms—dimensions of pure energy.
Humanity called that era The Great Collapse.
Entire cities vanished in a single night. Seas boiled under cosmic storms. The sun dimmed, devoured by unnatural mist.
And then… humans began to awaken.
The first Awakeners rose from despair. Within their bodies, a new power stirred—Essence, the energy that once belonged only to gods and monsters.
When a human resonated with an essence, their soul formed an Inner World, a reflection of their nature.
Fire essence birthed blazing citadels.
Water essence, endless seas.
Darkness, eternal nights filled with unseen eyes.
Each awakener became the lord of their own soul-realm—a microcosm of power.
Velum Arc—the last capital of humankind.
A sprawling city wrapped in translucent barriers of crystallized essence. Floating monoliths shimmered overhead, drawing energy from the Core Spire at the city's heart.
Awakeners patrolled the streets like nobles. Their eyes glowed faintly with the hue of their affinity—red for fire, azure for water, violet for lightning.
And amidst them walked those who could not awaken… the forgotten.
A boy in a fitted blue coat walked with his hands buried in his pockets. His short azure hair reflected the daylight, and his eyes—pale white, empty of color—stared ahead without emotion.
Drax Magna, age twenty.
Height: six feet.
Status: Failed Awakener.
He had no Inner World.
No affinity.
No essence compatibility.
The world called him Hollow.
"That's the Magna boy… the one who failed three awakening tests."
"They say he's cursed. His sister's still in a coma."
"Tsk. Waste of potential."
He heard it all, but didn't react. His face remained blank, unreadable.
Once, he would've looked down, apologized, maybe even laughed awkwardly.
Now, he just kept walking.
Two years ago, his father—Arden Magna, a C-rank guardian—died sealing a portal near the outskirts.
His mother, Lira, coughed blood every morning, her essence drained to near death from overusing her healing power.
His brother, Rein, tinkered with broken essence tools, dreaming of being useful.
And his little sister, Elis, lay asleep—trapped in an Essence Coma since the day their father fell.
Drax's every step was for her.
"Drax! Hey, over here!"
A familiar voice.
It was Jaren, one of his old classmates—an E-rank scout.
Jaren grinned, patting his shoulder. "You said you needed money, right? There's a low-tier gate opening near the outskirts. C-rank. My guild's short a member. Just come along. You'll get paid even if you just carry supplies."
Drax frowned. "You sure? I'm not… awakened."
Jaren waved it off. "Don't worry! They just need a headcount to register. The leader's a C-rank swordsman, Kane Veyr. Real pro. You'll be fine."
The hesitation in Drax's chest lingered, but the thought of Elis's pale face silenced it.
"…Alright."
The gate was a swirling vortex of violet energy, humming like a storm. Around it, the ten-man team prepared their weapons.
Drax stood at the edge, clutching a basic dagger that felt too light to matter.
Kane Veyr, tall and confident, smirked. "You the filler kid?"
Drax nodded quietly.
"Good. When we enter, you stick to the back. If anything goes wrong, you distract it. Got it?"
The words were meant as an order—but everyone knew what they truly meant.
Bait.
The moment they stepped through, the world bent.
Colors inverted. The ground pulsed like flesh. The air reeked of rot.
Sera Noll, the team's ice mage, cursed. "This doesn't feel like a C-rank dungeon."
The portal behind them turned black and sealed shut.
Kane's face went pale. "What the hell—?!"
Ren Tyel slammed his shield on the ground. "We're trapped!"
A sound echoed through the darkness.
A low, rhythmic hiss.
sssssshhhhhhhhhhh…
Its scales were blacker than shadow, its eyes glowing crimson. The Black Serpent of Decay—a beast that shouldn't exist in a C-rank gate.
Sera shouted, "Formation! Protect the core—!"
The serpent lunged. In one swing of its tail, two members shattered into blood mist.
Screams echoed.
"You! Get in front! Distract it!"
Drax's eyes widened. "What—?!"
"Move!"
Before he could resist, Kane shoved him forward.
The serpent's tongue flickered inches from his face.
Instinct screamed.
He ran.
His body hit the wall. Bones cracked. The dagger slipped from his bloodied hand.
He could barely breathe.
The world dimmed.
He watched as the others fought—and failed.
One by one, their screams turned to silence.
"…Weak… again," he muttered.
He could taste iron on his tongue.
He saw Kane fall, his chest pierced by the serpent's fang. Sera tried to freeze the air, but her mana scattered uselessly.
Drax laughed—softly at first. Then louder.
> "Hah… ha… ha… ha… You all… dragged me here… and you still died first…"
Something inside him snapped.
A thread in his mind—cut clean.
The dungeon itself responded.
Something ancient stirred within the dark.
A black essence—thick and alive—slid into his wounds, seeping into his veins.
The pain was unbearable.
He screamed—then laughed again.
His consciousness flickered.
And suddenly…
He wasn't in the dungeon anymore.
He stood in a vast void.
Above him loomed a red moon, enormous and bleeding light.
Below him spread a black world, barren except for a single, colossal tree whose roots coiled around the land like serpents.
Atop the tree sat a throne of obsidian—empty.
A voice echoed within his mind. Deep, cold, and resonant.
> "You have been denied by the world… yet the Abyss accepts all."
Drax fell to his knees. His heartbeat slowed.
> "Do you wish to live?"
He raised his head slowly. His white eyes reflected the red moon.
"…Live?"
A pause. Then a grin.
> "No… I wish to devour."
The red moon pulsed.
Black veins spread across his body, the rune on his abdomen igniting like molten ink. His essence core formed—a swirling sphere of darkness—The Abyssal Core.
The serpent lunged again.
Drax caught its fangs with his bare hands.
His skin glowed black, essence pouring out like smoke.
> "You… took my prey."
He crushed its jaw.
The dagger floated to his hand, coating itself in liquid darkness. He slashed once—
—and the serpent's head fell cleanly, dissolving into shadow.
As its essence scattered, Drax inhaled. The black mist flowed into him.
His wounds closed. His eyes gleamed silver-white.
A calm, low voice escaped his lips.
> "Abyssal Devour: Assimilate."
The serpent's essence vanished completely.
The dungeon was silent.
The red moon faintly shimmered in the black sky above.
He looked down at his reflection in the blood—smiling faintly.
> "This world cast me aside."
"Now it will feed me."
The Abyss pulsed within his chest, whispering its welcome.
The failed awakener… had awakened.