Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Echoes of the Soul

The power surged through Hikaru like wildfire, leaving scorch marks on the fabric of his soul. His breath came in ragged gasps as he dropped to one knee, the lingering remnants of the Keeper's pact coiling inside him like a serpent. The Abyss had granted him strength… but at what cost?

[New Trait Unlocked: Abyssbound Soul]

Your soul has merged with the Abyss. You are now a living conduit of its will. Gains +30% to all stats while in the Abyss. You can now influence lower-tier Abyssal creatures. Beware: The Abyss watches… and hungers.

His fingers dug into the cold ground. The rock was no longer just stone—it pulsed, faintly, as if responding to his presence. The Abyss itself now recognized him. Not as prey. But as something more.

He rose slowly, his long black hair with red tips flowing behind him like ink in water. His amethyst eyes glowed like dying stars, burning with new clarity. And in the silence, the Abyss whispered.

"King... rise."

He shook his head to clear the voice, unsure if it had come from the system, the Keeper, or his own evolving mind. Was he still Hikaru Kuroda? Or was he becoming something... else?

"This power... it's not just mine anymore," he murmured.

Before he could dwell further, a tremor shook the ground beneath him. It wasn't just the usual shifting of the Abyss. This was different—deliberate.

[System Alert: Territory Invader Detected — Classmate Signature Confirmed]

His heart stopped.

"Classmate?"

A sharp, intrusive flash of memory surged in his mind—the day of the summoning. The betrayal. The shove into darkness. His former peers, once comrades, now ants crawling in a world they didn't understand. And now one had followed him... or perhaps been cast into the Abyss as well.

He moved.

The path was different this time, the shadows bending before him like loyal hounds. Creatures once feral now trembled as he passed. Even the living mist parted, unwilling to provoke the one who had made a pact with the Keeper.

Minutes passed before he reached the edge of a jagged ridge, and from there he saw it—a figure clad in golden armor, bloodied and kneeling beside a slain beast. Hikaru recognized him immediately.

Takumi Watanabe. The 'Hero.'

The class favorite. The chosen one. The boy who stood silent while Hikaru was cast into oblivion.

Rage flickered in Hikaru's chest, but it was cold, calculated. He descended the ridge with silent steps, his aura cloaking the world around him in suffocating dread.

Takumi looked up, his eyes widening. "You—Hikaru? You're alive?"

Hikaru stopped several meters away, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

"Alive is... subjective."

Takumi staggered to his feet, limping. "Listen, I didn't know they were going to push you—"

"Save your excuses." Hikaru's voice echoed unnaturally, layered with something darker.

Takumi grimaced. "We need to work together to escape—"

Hikaru raised his hand, and the shadows around him surged forward, forming a dome of crackling black energy. Takumi flinched as the pressure hit him like a tidal wave.

"You think this is still a game? That you can just crawl in here, pretend nothing happened, and get saved?" Hikaru stepped forward, shadows wrapping around his shoulders like a cloak. "You abandoned me. And now, you'll witness what the Abyss made me into."

Takumi drew his sword. "I didn't come here to fight you, Hikaru—"

"You don't get to choose."

The system flared to life.

[Rewrite Activated: "Perception x4. Reflexes x3."]

[Cost: 4 Years of Lifespan]

Time slowed. Takumi swung his blade, but to Hikaru, it was molasses. With one step, he appeared behind him, his fist crashing into Takumi's back and sending him skidding across the obsidian ground.

But something shifted.

[System Alert: Interference Detected – Divine Blessing Blocking Lethal Damage]

Hikaru narrowed his eyes. Takumi's body glowed faintly—the Goddess's blessing. A divine cheat.

He couldn't kill him. Not yet.

Takumi coughed, blood dribbling from his lips. "You've changed..."

Hikaru crouched beside him, expression cold. "No. I've evolved."

He stood and turned his back. "Survive, if you can. But know this, Takumi: the Abyss doesn't forgive. And neither do I."

As he walked away, the shadows followed. His system pinged softly.

[Class Update: Abyssborne Monarch – Progression 12%]

New Title Unlocked: "Abyss King's Heir"

The meaning was clear. He was no longer just a survivor. He was being shaped into a ruler, a sovereign forged in the crucible of shadows and betrayal.

And the Abyss had chosen him.