Ch 34 : Echoes Of The Forgotten

Renji's words hung in the air.

"Tell me everything."

The man on the throne studied him carefully, silver eyes gleaming with something between amusement and calculation.

Then, he chuckled. "You really are an interesting one."

He gestured toward the seats in front of him. "Sit. What I'm about to tell you will change the way you see the world."

Renji remained standing. "I'll stand."

Shirogane crossed his arms. "Same here. Get to the point."

The man sighed. "Very well."

He leaned forward, his expression growing darker.

"You are not the first."

"The Organization has been hunting your kind for decades."

Renji's claws twitched. "Prove it."

The man smirked. "I thought you'd say that."

With a flick of his fingers, the room dimmed, and the walls shifted.

Suddenly—a projection flickered to life.

And what Renji saw made his blood run cold.

---

The first image showed a figure—not human, but not quite monstrous.

Renji's breath caught. The mutations. The same ones he had.

The figure's body was twisted, its arm partially evolved into something inhuman.

The second image—a battlefield.

Corpses.

Dozens of figures like him, slaughtered.

The third image—a facility.

A laboratory filled with tanks, each containing a restrained body, their flesh mutating before they were systematically eliminated.

Jinno's voice cut through the silence. "These were the others."

Renji's hands curled into fists. "The Organization killed them all?"

The man on the throne nodded. "Every single one."

Renji exhaled slowly, keeping his fury in check.

"Why?"

The man smiled grimly. "Because they feared what you could become."

Jinno stepped forward. "The Organization discovered long ago that the dungeons don't just spawn monsters."

"They create something else. Something in-between."

Renji narrowed his eyes. "Hybrids."

Jinno nodded. "Exactly."

"But unlike you, the others never lasted long."

Shirogane frowned. "What do you mean?"

The man's silver eyes gleamed. "They lost control."

Renji's gut twisted.

He had felt it before—that creeping madness, the whispers from the entity inside him.

Had the others fallen to it?

Had they become true monsters?

The man continued. "The Organization didn't just kill them because they were different. They killed them because they couldn't be controlled."

Renji's fingers dug into his palms.

And I'm next on their list.

---

Jinno exhaled. "There's more."

Renji's gaze snapped to him. "More?"

Jinno gestured toward another projection.

This time, the image showed a research log.

A file.

And at the top—a name Renji didn't recognize.

Project: Eclipse.

The man on the throne smiled. "This is the Organization's greatest secret."

Shirogane muttered. "I'm getting real tired of all these secret projects."

Renji ignored him. "Explain."

Jinno's expression darkened.

"Eclipse was their attempt to create a controlled evolution."

"To harness dungeon mutations without the side effects."

"To turn people into something… beyond human."

Renji's jaw clenched.

He had suspected something like this, but hearing it confirmed…

The Organization wasn't just eliminating hybrids.

They were trying to create their own.

Jinno shifted. "But something went wrong."

The projection changed—this time showing a containment room.

A person inside.

At first glance, they looked human.

But their eyes—black sclera with burning golden irises.

Renji's stomach twisted.

That's the same as mine.

Jinno exhaled. "This was the first success."

"The first hybrid they didn't need to kill."

Shirogane's eyes widened. "You mean they let this guy live?"

The man on the throne nodded. "For a while."

Renji's voice was low. "What happened?"

Jinno's answer was simple.

"He escaped."

"And no one ever found him again."

Renji's pulse quickened.

Someone like him—alive.

Somewhere out there.

And the Organization had failed to contain them.

A survivor.

A blueprint of what Renji might become.

His hands tightened into fists.

I have to find him.

---

The man on the throne leaned forward. "Now you understand, don't you?"

"You are walking the same path."

Renji's thoughts raced.

He had already known the Organization wanted him dead.

But this—this was bigger.

This was a war.

Jinno exhaled. "So now the question is—what will you do?"

Renji met his gaze.

"What do you want from me?"

The man on the throne smirked. "The same thing the Organization wants."

"To see what you become."

Renji's blood ran cold.

"You want me to evolve."

The man nodded. "Yes."

Shirogane growled. "And if he refuses?"

The silver-eyed man tilted his head. "Then you'll eventually die like the others."

Renji's claws twitched.

A warning.

The room grew tense.

Then—Renji smiled.

"That's not going to happen."

Renji turned away from the throne.

He had heard enough.

Jinno called after him. "Where are you going?"

Renji didn't stop. "To prepare."

Jinno exhaled. "For what?"

Renji's voice was cold.

"For the day the Organization comes for me."

"Because when they do—"

"I won't be the one running."

The man on the throne chuckled. "Good answer."

Renji stepped toward the exit.

His evolution wasn't done yet.

And if the Organization thought he was just another failed experiment—

They were about to learn just how wrong they were.

---

Renji moved through the neon-lit streets of the underground city, his thoughts a storm of revelations. The Organization had wiped out others like him. They had experimented on dungeon hybrids—tried to control evolution. And somewhere out there, one had survived.

His mind burned with questions, but he forced himself to focus. He had no allies here. The rogue hunters who ruled this underworld were only interested in him because of his potential.

Jinno and the man on the throne—their interest was dangerous.

Shirogane walked beside him, quiet for once.

Finally, he muttered, "You buying any of that?"

Renji didn't answer immediately. He could still see the images—the failed hybrids, the slaughtered test subjects. It felt real. But that didn't mean Jinno's group wasn't using him.

"It doesn't matter if I believe them or not," Renji said at last. "The Organization is still hunting me."

Shirogane scoffed. "So what's the plan? Hide down here like a rat?"

Renji shook his head.

"No. I need to evolve faster."

Shirogane stopped. "You're serious."

Renji glanced at him. "Did you think I'd run forever?"

Shirogane studied him for a long moment, then smirked. "Alright. If you're gonna get stronger, you need something big."

Renji nodded. "And I know just the place to start."

---

The underground city was home to more than criminals. It sat on top of sealed dungeons—ones the Organization had deemed too dangerous to clear.

One of them was Black Maw.

A Dragon-ranked dungeon. Unstable. Unregulated. And filled with creatures strong enough to be worth the risk.

Renji stood before its entrance—a cracked, pulsating abyss in the ground. The air around it shimmered with dark energy.

"If I absorb something from in here," he muttered, "it should push my evolution to the next level."

Shirogane raised an eyebrow. "And if it kills you?"

Renji smirked. "Then I wasn't worthy to begin with."

Without another word, he stepped inside.

---

The moment Renji crossed the threshold, his body screamed.

The dungeon's pressure crashed down on him like a tidal wave.

His muscles tightened, his instincts flaring in warning. This place was different.

He could feel it in his bones—this dungeon was alive.

The walls pulsed, slick with some black, tar-like substance that dripped and reformed endlessly. The deeper he went, the stronger the whispers in his mind became.

The ancient entity stirred.

"You seek power here?"

Renji ignored it.

"You are either bold… or foolish."

Renji exhaled. "You're the reason I need more power in the first place."

The entity chuckled. "Then let's see if you survive."

The air shifted.

And the monsters awoke.

---

The first creature lunged from the darkness—a six-limbed beast with no eyes and a mouth that split its entire torso.

Renji twisted midair, narrowly avoiding its jagged teeth.

SLASH!

His claws raked across its side, but instead of blood—its body dissolved into living shadows.

"It can reform."

The creature reconstituted instantly, shrieking as it lashed out again.

Renji's instincts screamed.

If he fought normally, he'd be overwhelmed.

He had to be faster.

He had to be stronger.

He had to evolve.

---

Renji didn't dodge this time.

He let the beast's fangs sink into his shoulder—then grabbed its skull with both hands.

His body reacted.

The absorption began.

A tidal wave of knowledge slammed into him.

Visions—this creature's instincts, its nature.

It wasn't just a predator.

It was a remnant of something greater.

Renji's body trembled as his muscles shifted—his veins burning with the creature's essence. His bones hardened, his claws sharpened.

His eyes flashed black and gold.

The creature let out a shriek—then collapsed into nothingness.

And Renji absorbed everything.

---

Renji exhaled. His body felt… different.

He clenched his fist. Stronger.

His vision had changed—the darkness of the dungeon no longer seemed impenetrable. He could see the energy pulsing in the walls, the hidden movements of creatures lurking beyond.

I've evolved again.

But the hunger in his chest had also grown.

Shirogane's voice cut through the silence. "You good?"

Renji looked at him—and for a moment, Shirogane stiffened.

Because Renji's shadow… was moving.

Independently.

Renji glanced down. The darkness around him flickered, warping unnaturally.

His new ability was already taking shape.

Perfect.

But then—the dungeon trembled.

And something far larger than the previous creature began to stir.

A deep, resonating growl filled the cavern.

The walls shuddered—the black tar pulsing violently.

Renji's new senses screamed in warning.

Something was waking up.

Shirogane swore. "What the hell did you just absorb?!"

Renji's fists clenched. "Something that belonged to this dungeon."

The ground split open.

A massive shape began to rise—a towering, twisted form of pure darkness.

The true ruler of Black Maw.

Renji exhaled slowly. "Looks like I picked the right place after all."

Shirogane gritted his teeth. "You're insane."

Renji grinned.

"No. I'm just ready to evolve again."

---

The creature roared, its form constantly shifting—hundreds of mouths, eyes that flickered in and out of existence.

Renji's instincts flared.

This thing was beyond a normal monster.

It was a living curse.

Shirogane pulled his blade. "We're not walking away from this, are we?"

Renji lowered his stance.

"Only if we lose."

The monster lunged.

Renji met it head-on.

His claws clashed against its shifting form, his body moving on pure instinct. His new shadow ability flickered—tendrils of darkness responding to his will, striking faster than his physical body could move.

The monster howled, its body twisting—but Renji was already adapting.

He felt it.

The ancient entity whispered in his mind.

"Yes. This is how it begins."

Renji's claws pierced deep—his body ready to absorb again.

And as the mutation spread through him once more—

He laughed.