**Chapter 1: The Awakening**

The city was restless that night, bathed in the cold glow of the moon, with shadows stretching long and deep across the empty streets. Jin Hyun walked alone, his hood pulled low over his head, hands shoved into his pockets as he tried to block out the chill that seeped into his bones. The hum of distant traffic was the only sound in the air, a low murmur that felt oddly disconnected from the silence surrounding him.

Jin was on his way home from his part-time job, the same monotonous routine he had followed every night for months. But tonight felt different. There was a strange tension in the air, a feeling that something was off, though Jin couldn't quite put his finger on it. His instincts screamed at him to be cautious, but he shook off the unease.

"It's just another night," he told himself.

As he passed by an old alley, something caught his attention. A flicker of movement at the edge of his vision, gone in an instant. Jin froze, eyes narrowing as he peered into the darkness. The alley was empty, save for a few trash cans and the flickering light of a broken streetlamp. But that sensation of being watched, of something lurking just out of sight, wouldn't go away.

Jin's heart pounded in his chest, and his pulse quickened. He knew he should keep walking, pretend he saw nothing and go straight home. But curiosity gnawed at him, and before he knew it, his feet were moving, taking him deeper into the alley.

The farther he went, the more the world around him seemed to change. The sounds of the city faded, replaced by an eerie stillness that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. The shadows grew darker, denser, as if they were alive, pressing in on him from all sides.

And then, he saw it.

At the end of the alley, a figure stood motionless, cloaked in darkness. Its form was twisted and grotesque, barely human, with limbs that seemed to bend in unnatural ways. Jin's breath caught in his throat as the creature slowly turned to face him, revealing a pair of glowing red eyes that pierced through the darkness.

Those eyes locked onto Jin, and in that instant, he felt something inside him stir—something ancient, powerful, and terrifying. The world around him seemed to ripple, and suddenly, Jin was no longer in the alley. He was standing in a vast, empty void, surrounded by nothingness.

It was then that he heard the voice.

"Welcome, Jin Hyun," it whispered, cold and distant, yet somehow familiar. "You have been chosen."

Jin spun around, trying to find the source of the voice, but there was nothing. Just the endless void stretching out in all directions.

"Who are you?" Jin demanded, his voice trembling despite his attempts to stay calm. "What do you want?"

The voice chuckled, a sound that sent chills down his spine. "I am the Abyss, and you, Jin Hyun, are now one of my Seers. You possess the power to see beyond the veil of reality, to glimpse the truth hidden in the darkness. But with this power comes a price. The Abyss is not kind to those who gaze too deeply."

Before Jin could respond, the world around him shifted again. The void disappeared, and he was back in the alley, the creature still standing before him, its eyes burning with malevolent intent.

But something was different. Jin could feel it in his eyes—a strange, pulsating energy that he had never felt before. His vision sharpened, and the darkness that had once obscured the creature now seemed to fade away, revealing its true form.

It was a Wraith, a twisted spirit born from the Abyss, feeding on fear and despair. Jin had heard stories about these monsters, but he had never believed them—until now.

The Wraith hissed, its body shifting and contorting as it lunged toward Jin. But this time, Jin didn't freeze in fear. Instead, he felt a surge of power rise within him, his instincts guiding him as if he had done this a thousand times before.

Without thinking, Jin raised his hand, and the energy in his eyes flared to life. A blast of dark light erupted from his palm, slamming into the Wraith with a force that sent it crashing into the wall behind it. The creature screeched in pain, its form flickering like a dying flame before it disintegrated into nothing.

Jin stood there, panting, as the adrenaline slowly drained from his body. His mind was racing, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The power he had felt, the Wraith, the voice in the void—it all felt like a nightmare, yet the burnt marks on the walls and the lingering energy in his eyes told him it was real.

As the reality of the situation sank in, a wave of exhaustion hit him, and Jin stumbled out of the alley, his legs barely supporting him. He needed answers—about what he had become, about the power that now coursed through him, and about the Abyss that had chosen him.

But one thing was clear: his life would never be the same again.