Rain fell from the sky. Not water, but a crimson drizzle, staining the streets of New Eden City in streaks of blood-red. The clouds above swirled like a living entity, twisting and folding in impossible geometries. Lightning split the heavens, illuminating buildings reduced to skeletal frames. Broken glass clinked against steel as wind tore through the city like a predator, carrying the acrid smell of smoke, ash, and scorched concrete.
Kael Arden staggered forward, every muscle screaming in agony. His arm throbbed where a shard of concrete had grazed him during the earlier collapse. Blood ran in rivulets down his face. But there was no time to tend to wounds. Not while Gharoth, the Void Lord, advanced.
The creature was monstrous. Its obsidian body was lined with glowing crimson veins, pulsating with a life of their own. Six burning eyes glimmered like molten gold, each one focusing on him with predatory precision. Massive claws dragged along the broken asphalt, carving deep furrows. Each step shook the ground and hurled debris skyward, turning the ruined streets into a battlefield of jagged rubble and fire.
Kael's heart pounded in his chest, a violent metronome in the chaos. Behind him, barely shielded by debris, Liora lay unconscious, her fragile body trembling with the faint pulses of corruption slowly eating her from within. He could not afford to hesitate. Not now.
The system pulsed before his eyes:
[MISSION: SURVIVE]
[TIME LIMIT: NONE]
[FAILURE: DEATH SOUL ERASURE]
Another notification flashed immediately after:
[BONUS CONDITION: PROTECT LIORA ARDEN]
[FAILURE: ABSOLUTE ERASURE]
Kael's chest tightened. Each heartbeat felt like a countdown, ticking down the fragile thread of Liora's existence.
"You won't take her," Kael whispered, clenching his fists. "Not while I still draw breath."
THE VOID SENSE
The world seemed to slow as Kael's new senses awakened. Through the haze of smoke and ruin, he could see the invisible currents of energy surrounding the Void Lord. Each pulse, each heartbeat of Gharoth's massive form was visible now: a bright crimson core at the center of its chest, throbbing like a dark sun. Tendrils of black energy spiraled outward from the core, interfacing with its claws, tail, and every limb.
[VOID CORE DETECTED — WEAK POINT IDENTIFIED]
A spark of hope flared in Kael's chest. If he could reach that core, he could strike it. But to reach it meant closing the distance to a being that had just reduced entire buildings to rubble.
He inhaled sharply, focusing. Fear coiled in his stomach, but it burned into determination. Liora's face floated in his mind her faint breaths, the rise and fall of her fragile chest. That was enough. That was everything.
Kael tightened his grip on the debris he had used as a makeshift brace for his arm. His veins throbbed, burning with the residual energy of the Eclipse Protocol.
[NEW SKILL DETECTED VOID STEP (F)]
Short-range spatial displacement: instant teleportation up to 20 meters. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
The skill pulsed before him like a heartbeat. He didn't hesitate.
THE FIRST ATTACK
Gharoth roared, a sound that shook Kael to his core. The Void Lord's tail, massive and spiked, lashed outward with terrifying speed. The air itself screamed as the appendage cleaved through concrete and steel alike.
Kael dove, rolling across the shattered street. Glass tore at his arms, concrete burned his skin, but he evaded the strike. His heart raced. Blood pounded in his ears. He rolled to his feet and sprinted.
The creature's burning eyes tracked him. Gharoth swung again, faster this time, and Kael barely activated Void Step, disappearing midair and reappearing behind a toppled wall. The system interface pulsed violently.
[CRITICAL EVASION SUCCESSFUL]
But evasion was only temporary. Each strike from the Void Lord carried enough force to destroy a small district. Kael had no choice but to attack.
He readied his fist. Dark energy surged from his arm, condensing into a jagged blade of void. Every nerve, every muscle screamed in response. He launched himself forward, leaping toward the glowing core.
STRIKING THE CORE
Kael landed directly on Gharoth's chest. Heat and energy lashed out from the core, burning his skin and searing his consciousness. The Void Lord howled, a sound that tore at reality itself.
Pain exploded through Kael's body. His arm felt like it had been shattered and reforged a thousand times over. Blood ran freely from cuts along his face and arms.
[WARNING: SEVERE INJURY DETECTED 42% STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO LIMBS]
His vision blurred. But through the pain, he felt it an almost imperceptible weakness. He drove the void blade deeper into the core. A spray of black ichor erupted, sizzling violently as it hit the ground. Gharoth stumbled backward, the ground beneath it cracking.
Kael fell, rolling across rubble to avoid another sweeping strike. Heat, pain, and exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. Yet he could not stop. Every second he paused, Liora's life dimmed further.
[SYSTEM ALERT: EMERGENCY OVERRIDE — ABYSS FURY ACTIVATED]
Dark energy flooded his body. The world shifted around him. Every step, every punch became faster, stronger. A storm of power erupted from him. His fists blazed, each strike cracking stone and chipping away at the massive obsidian form of Gharoth.
THE PRICE OF POWER
For every strike Kael landed, he felt a piece of himself drain away. The system pulsed warnings: each kill and evolution reduced emotional capacity over time. He felt it already the hollowness creeping into his chest, a cold reminder that power demanded sacrifice.
Gharoth roared in fury, massive claws striking at Kael with precise, terrifying speed. Kael barely rolled away, blood and sweat mixing with the rain of crimson droplets falling from the sky. One scratch grazed his shoulder, tearing through muscle and skin. Pain flared, but he ignored it. Liora's life depended on this.
THE KILL
Kael leapt high, spinning mid-air. His void blade gleamed in the red-lit sky, jagged and black as night. With every ounce of strength, he plunged it into the glowing core.
Gharoth shrieked a sound that seemed to split time itself. Its massive body convulsed. Black ichor sprayed like a fountain, sizzling against the cracked asphalt. Energy tore outward in waves, throwing Kael violently backward into a ruined street.
He lay there, gasping, covered in blood and debris. His muscles screamed. His lungs burned. But the creature did not rise again.
[VOID LORD ELIMINATED]
[ABSORPTION COMPLETE]
[LEVEL UP x12]
[NEW LEVEL: 13]
[NEW SKILL: VOID ARMAMENT (E)]
[PASSIVE SKILL: ABYSS RESILIENCE (E)]
Kael staggered to his knees, staring at the empty, pulsating form where the Void Lord had been. He had done it. He had killed something that had existed far longer than humanity. Something godlike.
And yet, he felt no triumph. Only emptiness.
AFTERMATH
He crawled back to Liora. Her chest rose and fell, faint but steady. Relief crashed through him, mingled with the nausea of his wounds and the horror of what he had just faced.
[SOUL LINK: STABILIZED]
[VOID CORRUPTION: TEMPORARILY SUPPRESSED]
The system pulsed a warning.
[HUMANITY INDEX: 98% → 96%]
Kael frowned. He was gaining power but losing himself in the process. He did not yet understand the true cost of this path.
The city around him smoldered. Smoke curled from shattered buildings. Fires burned unchecked. Drones buzzed overhead, responding to the threat they had yet to comprehend.
Kael looked down at Liora. Her face was pale, but her small hand gripped his sleeve faintly. She had survived for now.
The path ahead was clear, drenched in blood, pain, and chaos. He had taken his first step into godhood. And nothing not fire, not monsters, not the collapse of the world itself would stop him.