A Glimpse of Power Beyond Mortality

(Samuel's POV)

Henry, despite barely being able to move, smirked through the pain. His body was wrecked, his divine aura flickering like a dying flame, but the victory had lit something inside him—something dangerous.

"System," he rasped, grinning through bloodied lips, "show us our Status Windows."

The blue translucent screens materialized before us, their glow illuminating the ruins of the battlefield.

---

[STATUS WINDOW – THE ABYSSAL KING]

(Samuel Gebb – Formerly Heavenly Demon)

Name: Samuel Gebb

Title: Abyssal King (New!)

Level: 125 (+15 Levels!)

Attributes:

Strength: 400 (+100)

Agility: 370 (+80)

Endurance: 390 (+90)

Intelligence: 310 (+50)

Charisma: 270 (+40)

New Passive Ability:

✔ Limit Break (Allows user to temporarily exceed physical and magical limits, unlocking a hidden reservoir of power beyond mortality.)

Unique Abilities:

✔ Breath of Destruction (Enhanced!) (Dark Abyssal Flames can now devour Divine Energy.)

✔ Void Step (Perfected!) (Now grants absolute invisibility in the abyss for 10 seconds.)

✔ Dragon Fear (Apex Form!) (Passive aura now paralyzes weaker beings completely.)

✔ Black Heart Resurgence (Stage 2 Unlocked!) (Rapidly regenerates even fatal injuries.)

---

I exhaled sharply, my eyes widening slightly as I took in the massive power boost.

"Fifteen levels…" I muttered. "That's insane."

Henry let out a low whistle, his golden eyes scanning his own screen.

---

[STATUS WINDOW – THE CELESTIAL SOVEREIGN]

(Henry Hans – Formerly Heaven's Wing)

Name: Henry Hans

Title: Celestial Sovereign (New!)

Level: 124 (+15 Levels!)

Attributes:

Strength: 395 (+95)

Agility: 385 (+85)

Endurance: 370 (+85)

Intelligence: 320 (+50)

Charisma: 280 (+45)

New Passive Ability:

✔ Limit Break (Temporarily allows the user to surpass all known physical and magical limits, entering a state of divine ascension.)

Unique Abilities:

✔ Divine Judgment (Perfected!) (Now ignores all defensive abilities, delivering absolute destruction to any target.)

✔ Celestial Blink (Godspeed Mode!) (Can now be used instantly, with no cooldown.)

✔ Lightborn Rebirth (Ascended!) (Now grants full resurrection once per battle.)

✔ Heaven's Verdict (Awakened!) (Erases all evil within a 50-meter radius.)

---

Henry let out a low chuckle, shaking his head.

"Damn," he muttered, his golden aura flaring slightly, "I feel like I just hit a new realm of existence."

I grinned, despite the pain wrecking my body.

"That's because we did."

We had gone beyond what anyone else in this world had achieved.

And we weren't done yet.

Henry tilted his head toward me, his smirk widening.

"So… ready to see what's in the Second Layer of this dungeon?"

I chuckled, wiping blood from my mouth.

"Hell yeah."

(Samuel's POV – Recovery & Reflection)

The battle was over, but the aftereffects still burned in our bones. Henry and I sat against the cracked cavern wall, our bodies wrecked beyond belief, yet alive. Barely.

The dungeon was silent now, the Abyssal Tyrant erased from existence. Only the glow of our status windows lit the darkness around us.

Henry let out a deep exhale, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I swear to God, if every fight in this dungeon is like that, we're gonna need a fucking hospital wing built just for us."

I chuckled, wincing as the pain shot through my ribs.

"No kidding. Pretty sure my soul took damage from that one."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Your soul?"

I groaned, shifting slightly. "Yeah, you know… when you get hit so damn hard that you feel it in places you didn't know existed?"

Henry snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, at least I didn't get stabbed through the chest."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, excuse me, Mr. I Got Blasted Across the Fucking Dungeon by My Own Attack."

Henry grinned. "Hey, at least my attack was cool."

I scoffed. "Yeah? Well, too bad the Abyssal Tyrant copied it and almost ended your entire bloodline with it."

Henry smirked. "Touché."

We sat there in comfortable silence, letting our bodies recover slowly, our auras naturally regenerating as our abilities kicked in.

Henry glanced over at me, stretching out his legs.

"So, what's next?"

I looked up at the shattered cavern ceiling, feeling the faint pulse of the dungeon's energy shifting.

"Well… we rest. Then we get to the Second Layer and keep moving. We've got three years to get strong enough for the New World, remember?"

Henry sighed, rubbing his temples. "Yeah, yeah… sometimes I forget we're literally training for something bigger than this."

I smirked. "If we survive this dungeon, we'll probably break reality itself before we even reach the New World."

Henry chuckled, shaking his head.

"You think Roselle and Nocturne would be pissed if they knew how strong we're getting?"

I laughed, coughing a bit. "Oh, definitely. Nocturne would empty your balls out of spite, and Roselle would try to kill me just to prove a point."

Henry smirked. "Enemies to fuck buddies really is a wild trope, huh?"

I groaned, running a hand down my face. "I don't even know what we are at this point. We've fought them, fucked them, saved them, and pissed them off in three lifetimes."

Henry stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders. "Yeah, well, I don't think they're forgetting about us anytime soon."

I nodded. "Good. That means we're still winning."

The silence between us settled again, this time more relaxed, like two warriors who had just survived hell and were still processing it.

Henry looked over at me again, his smirk returning.

"Alright, serious question."

I raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."

"If you had to choose between facing the Abyssal Tyrant again, or spending a full week locked in a room with Abigail Bardot… which would you pick?"

I stared at him, completely blank.

Then, without hesitation—

"The Tyrant. Every. Single. Time."

Henry burst into laughter, gripping his ribs. "Holy shit, you really hate her that much?"

I grinned despite the pain.

"Bro, I faked my own death just to be free of her. I would rather fight a thousand abyssal monsters than hear her voice ever again."

Henry chuckled. "Fair point. But you know she's probably sobbing somewhere right now, thinking about you."

I shrugged, closing my eyes. "Good. She should suffer."

Henry let out a deep breath, resting his head against the cavern wall.

"Man… We really burned our pasts to the ground, huh?"

I smirked. "Yeah. But look at us now. We're stronger than ever, and no one—not Bardot, not Katerina, not the whole damn world—can stop us now."

Henry grinned.

"Damn right."

The silence stretched, the exhaustion finally kicking in, but for the first time in a long while—

We weren't just surviving.

We were winning.