Ch 5 : The Pulse Of The Abyss

The darkness pressed closer.

Renji's breath steadied as he and Hikaru moved deeper into the dungeon. The air was heavier here, thick with something unseen—a silent pulse thrumming beneath their skin.

This wasn't just a dungeon anymore.

It was a breathing thing.

Hikaru's eyes flicked to Renji. "You good?"

Renji nodded, though he wasn't sure how true it was. The lingering sensation from his encounter with the entity still coiled in his mind, whispering.

It wanted him to consume.

He had barely resisted last time.

Would he be able to again?

They followed a narrow passage, the stone walls unnaturally smooth. Not carved—melted.

Hikaru ran a hand along the surface. "Something burned through here."

Renji didn't respond. His senses were sharpened, attuned to something deeper—a pull.

Not just toward a threat.

But something worse.

Then, the tunnel widened into another chamber.

A nest.

But unlike any they had seen before.

The walls were webbed with thick, pulsing veins—not organic, but something else. The air crackled with unstable energy, and at the center of it all—

A pillar of black mist, twisting and shifting as if alive.

And surrounding it—

Dozens of half-formed creatures.

Not alive. Not dead.

Just waiting.

Hikaru tensed. "What the hell is this?"

Renji stepped forward, his mind racing. He could feel the mist, its pull stronger than anything before.

It was alive.

And it recognized him.

Something inside the pillar pulsed, and suddenly—

A vision crashed into Renji's mind.

---

A battlefield.

Endless creatures, monstrous and unknowable, tearing into reality itself.

And standing at the center of it—

The entity.

It wasn't a shadow this time.

It was flesh.

A god among monsters.

Renji's vision blurred as he saw it create, its very presence shaping dungeons, twisting matter into living horrors.

But something interfered.

A seal.

Not just a prison.

A cage.

The dungeons were never meant to be mere battlefields.

They were experiments.

And Renji…

He was part of it now.

---

Renji gasped, staggering back into reality.

His body was burning.

Hikaru grabbed his arm. "Hey! What the hell just happened?"

Renji's breathing was ragged. The mist was swirling, reacting to him.

Something inside him was waking up.

And then—

The creatures moved.

---

A sudden screech tore through the chamber as the half-formed monsters sprang to life.

Their bodies twisted, jagged limbs stretching as they lunged forward, eyes glowing with the same hunger that Renji felt gnawing at his core.

Hikaru cursed. "They weren't dead?!"

Renji moved.

Faster than before.

The hunger inside him guided his blade.

His knife cut through the first monster in a blur, severing its head before it could even react. The second lunged, its claws inches from his throat—

Renji twisted, his foot slamming into its chest, sending it flying into the cavern wall with a sickening crack.

He didn't stop.

His body knew how to kill them.

Every step, every strike, was instinctual.

The hunger wasn't just a curse.

It was a weapon.

But something was wrong.

With each kill, the mist grew thicker.

And Renji's veins darkened.

---

Hikaru was moving, his blade cleaving through the creatures with precision, but he wasn't keeping count.

Renji was.

There were too many.

For each monster they killed, more were forming.

Hikaru gritted his teeth. "This isn't working!"

Renji's mind raced. The mist wasn't just reviving them.

It was feeding off their kills.

If they kept fighting like this, they'd never escape.

His eyes snapped to the pillar.

That was the source.

Destroy it, and they ended this.

Renji tightened his grip on his knife. "Cover me."

Hikaru's gaze sharpened. "What are you—"

He didn't wait.

He ran.

The creatures swarmed him.

Limbs lashed out. Claws tore toward his flesh.

But Renji wasn't the same as before.

His body moved before his mind could. His footwork was sharper, his speed inhuman.

He weaved through the chaos, his knife flashing in precise, lethal arcs.

And then—

He reached the pillar.

The mist reacted.

It knew him.

The moment his fingers brushed the surface, his mind was dragged in.

---

A different void.

Not empty this time.

But filled.

Countless forms, shifting and writhing, trapped within the mist.

And standing before him—

The entity.

It was waiting.

Renji clenched his fists. "What is this place?"

The entity's eyes glowed.

"The threshold."

Renji's pulse quickened. "Of what?"

A pause.

Then—

"Your choice."

The mist swirled around them. The trapped creatures reached out, their forms distorting.

"Absorb the power."

The words weren't a command.

They were an invitation.

Renji hesitated.

Something deep in his gut screamed that this was a line.

That once he crossed it—there was no going back.

But the creatures outside—Hikaru—

They were still fighting.

Still dying.

He had to end this.

Did it matter how?

The entity watched.

Waiting.

Renji exhaled.

Then he reached out.

The mist rushed into him.

A shockwave erupted through the chamber.

The creatures froze.

Then—

They collapsed.

Their bodies disintegrated, their energy pulled into Renji.

His vision blurred.

His body burned.

But he felt stronger.

His fingers curled. His breath steadied.

This…

This was his now.

The mist had been a test.

And he had passed.

The entity's voice echoed in his mind.

"Welcome, Devourer."

---

When Renji opened his eyes, the chamber was silent.

Hikaru was standing there, his sword still raised—but her expression was unreadable.

The mist was gone.

The creatures were gone.

Only Renji remained.

And he knew.

Something had changed.

Hikaru exhaled. "What did you do?"

Renji flexed his fingers.

"…I ended it."

A lie.

But one he wasn't ready to explain.

Hikaru studied him for a long moment. Then he sheathed his sword.

"Let's get out of here."

Renji nodded.

But as they left, he could still feel it.

The hunger.

The pulse of the abyss.

And this time, it wasn't fading.

It was growing.

---

The silence stretched between them as Renji and Hikaru walked through the dungeon's dark corridors. The mist had vanished, but the weight of what had happened still lingered in the air.

Renji's fingers twitched, his body still buzzing with raw energy.

Something inside him had changed.

He had changed.

The hunger wasn't just a whisper in the back of his mind anymore.

It was part of him.

Hikaru's gaze flicked toward him, sharp and unreadable. He hadn't said much since the chamber.

He had seen him take in the mist.

He wasn't stupid.

But he hadn't asked.

Not yet.

They moved cautiously, their steps barely making a sound. The deeper they went, the more Renji felt it—a presence.

Something was watching them.

Not a monster.

Something worse.

Hikaru slowed. "You feel that?"

Renji nodded. "We're being hunted."

His voice was steadier than he expected.

He wasn't afraid.

The hunger in his veins welcomed it.

---

The tunnel widened into a vast cavern, filled with jagged rock formations and deep shadows.

And then—

A sound.

A low, guttural growl.

Renji barely had time to react before something huge lunged from the darkness.

His body moved on instinct, twisting just as a massive claw sliced through the air where his head had been a second ago.

The force alone sent a shockwave through the cavern.

Renji landed in a crouch, eyes snapping to the creature that had attacked them.

It was a beast unlike any other.

Towering at nearly four meters tall, its body was a hybrid of reptilian muscle and nightmarish insect plating.

Its eyes burned with a predatory intelligence.

This wasn't just a dungeon creature.

This was a hunter.

Hikaru swore, blade raised. "That thing… it's Dragon-ranked."

Renji's grip on his knife tightened.

Perfect.

The hunger in his core shuddered in anticipation.

The monster lunged again, blindingly fast despite its size.

Hikaru moved, slashing at its side—his blade barely scraping its armored hide before he had to retreat.

Renji went the opposite way, closing in before the beast could react.

But it was ready.

A massive tail lashed out, too fast to dodge.

Renji barely managed to block with his arm, but the impact sent him crashing into a rock wall.

A sharp crack rang through the cavern.

Pain flared through his ribs, but—

It wasn't unbearable.

Renji's eyes widened.

His body was… adapting.

The hunger surged through him, responding to the damage.

And then—

He grinned.

He pushed off the wall, lunging forward before the beast could press its attack.

This time, he didn't just dodge.

He went straight for the throat.

The beast reared back, claws slashing toward him, but Renji didn't slow down.

His movements were smoother, sharper—like he had been fighting monsters his entire life.

And then, just as the beast struck—

Renji twisted mid-air.

His foot slammed into the creature's head with a force that sent cracks through its armored plating.

The beast staggered.

And Renji landed with a smirk.

He felt stronger.

The fight was fueling him.

Hikaru noticed. "What the hell…?"

He had seen his speed before.

But this?

This was something else.

Renji barely heard him.

He could feel it.

The hunger was pushing him to take more.

And for the first time—

He didn't want to resist.

---

The beast roared, shaking off the impact.

But it was already too late.

Renji rushed forward.

This time, he didn't hold back.

His knife plunged into the monster's exposed wound.

The moment the blade pierced flesh—

The hunger surged.

A wave of raw power flooded his veins, searing and electrifying.

The beast let out a final, shuddering breath—

Then collapsed.

And Renji?

He stood over its corpse, his body shaking.

Not from exhaustion.

But from exhilaration.

Hikaru exhaled, lowering his weapon. "That was…" He trailed off, watching him closely.

Renji slowly straightened, his breath even.

The hunger had fed.

And he had taken something new.

---

Renji clenched his fists, testing the new sensation coursing through his body.

There was something… different.

Something he had absorbed.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes. "What the hell is going on with you?"

Renji didn't answer right away.

Because he wasn't sure himself.

But one thing was clear.

He was changing.

And soon…

Nothing would be able to stop him.