chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Crownless King

The silence of the Abyss had changed.

Once filled with distant howls, the gnashing of fangs, and the constant hunger of monsters, the darkness now bowed before a new presence—one not born of the void but shaped by it.

Hikaru stood atop a jagged cliff, overlooking a vast cavern of pulsating obsidian. Beneath him lay thousands of Abyssal creatures—serpentine beasts, insectoid titans, shadow wraiths—gathered like an army awaiting orders. And they were. The pact with the Keeper had elevated him, and with his growing influence came a terrifying reality:

The Abyss was no longer his prison.

It was becoming his kingdom.

[Skill Unlocked: Abyssal Command – You may issue directives to mid-tier Abyssal lifeforms. High-tier creatures will now acknowledge your presence.]

A faint smirk touched his lips. Power. Influence. Authority. All the things denied to him in the surface world. Here, in the deep where gods and men dared not tread, he was building something greater.

But he wasn't content to sit on a throne of bones and shadows.

Not yet.

As he descended the cliff, his newly appointed lieutenant, a six-eyed creature named Vel'nar, approached on all fours. Unlike most beasts, Vel'nar spoke in a guttural yet intelligible tone, a sign of its advanced intelligence and connection to the Abyssal core.

"My king," it rasped, bowing its horned head. "The scouts have returned. The rift… it opens again."

Hikaru's expression hardened.

"Show me."

Vel'nar led him to a hollowed-out dome carved by the Abyssal system itself—what Hikaru dubbed the Mirror Cradle. Inside, a magical fissure shimmered like a fractured mirror, revealing glimpses of the world above.

It showed the kingdom of Arvania—his former world.

His classmates.

The princess.

The betrayal.

But now… something new.

Through the crack, Hikaru saw cloaked figures whispering in hidden chambers. Symbols of rebellion. Ancient artifacts glowing with forbidden magic. Names scrawled in blood.

One name echoed louder than the rest: "Project Revenant."

[System Alert: External Threat Detected – The surface is attempting to breach the Abyssal veil. Likelihood of invasion: 87%]

Hikaru's jaw clenched.

They feared what was inside the Abyss. Feared him.

They were planning to erase the mistake they'd made.

"Cowards." His voice was a whisper laced with venom. "You cast me into hell… and now you tremble because I survived it."

Vel'nar stirred. "Shall we prepare the legions, my king?"

Hikaru raised a hand. "Not yet. Let them open the door. Let them invite me back into their world."

He turned away from the mirror, the plan forming in his mind like a dark star blooming. He wouldn't just return.

He would conquer.

---

Elsewhere, in the Kingdom of Arvania…

Princess Selene sat at a round table in the catacombs beneath the palace. Her once-pristine dress was now adorned with enchanted armor, her eyes burning with guilt and purpose.

"The Abyssal fluctuations are growing stronger," her advisor muttered. "And if the reports are true… Hikaru is still alive."

The table went silent.

Selene's hand trembled. "We were wrong. He wasn't weak. He was never meant to be summoned. And now the Abyss has accepted him."

One of the rebel mages stood. "Then there is no hope. If he rises, none of us will survive—"

"There is hope." Selene cut him off, standing tall. "I will descend into the Abyss myself. I will find him… and bring him back."

"Are you mad?" someone hissed. "He'll kill you."

Selene's voice was steel. "Then let him. I owe him that much."

---

Back in the Abyss…

Hikaru entered a chamber pulsing with power. The Core Womb—a living heart of the Abyss. From its walls emerged armor forged from shadow, bone, and stardust.

[Item Acquired: Abyssforged Regalia – Grants +80% resistance to divine magic. Increases presence. Induces fear in all enemies below your level.]

As he donned the armor, the transformation was complete.

No longer a victim.

No longer forgotten.

A crown of curved horns formed above his head, not by hand—but by the will of the Abyss itself.

[Title Evolved: Abyss King's Heir → Crownless King]

[You are now a Sovereign-Class Entity. World-level threats will acknowledge you.]

A faint smile crossed his face.

"Let them come."

He would not march to their gates as a beggar or broken boy.

He would return as a storm.