Hollow Abyss

Defying the scrip is easy, but doing it in a correct way is almost impossible. If I truly intended to defy fate, to carve out a future where my dreams could exist, I couldn't afford to stay the same. I had to take drastic measures.

Before this incident, I was naive—so naive—to think I could blitz through every obstacle with ease. Yes, at the start of the academic year, I was strong enough to beat almost everyone and would probably continue to do so if I could live on. 

But that alone wasn't enough, the truth was far more brutal. The scope of what lay ahead was overwhelming, a storm that would crush anyone unprepared.

And I was woefully unprepared for the calamity known as the "Demon Invasion."

So I needed strength, yes—but also connections.

Without strength, courage becomes meaningless, mere reckless foolishness. Weakness is the root of all misery and evil. Yet strength alone, without connections, can only take you so far.

The main cast wouldn't listen to a commoner, let alone a butcher like me. Befriending them and helping them reach their potential was the only feasible path if I wanted to preserve the timeline while ensuring my survival.

"Tch, so hard." But hard didn't matter.

Because failure wasn't an option. That was the necessary thing to do.

"Brother! You just passed out from fighting, and yet you want to go on an adventure. Are you crazy?"

Under the shining dawn, my little sister clung tightly to my arm, her small hands trembling slightly as she held on. Her eyes were a bit teary, her expression a mix of frustration and worry that tugged at my heart.

I sighed, looking down at her. "Milha, I know what I'm doing, there's no need to worry."

Her grip tightened. "No need to worry? You're always pushing yourself too hard. The enrollment day is coming, do you know what would happen if you are late for that day?"

Her voice cracked on the last word, and I felt the weight of her words settle heavily on my shoulders.

Of course… I know. If I were late, disqualification from attending the school would be unavoidable.

But seeing her worried face is the exact reason why I'm so adamant about this plan.

My little sister, isn't she cute? How could I ever let her get hurt?

I knelt down so we were eye level, gently prying her hands off my arm, but holding them in mine. "Milha, listen to me. I know you're worried, and I'm sorry for making you feel that way. But… I needed to go on this trip. It was for the best of everyone."

She sniffled, her lips trembling. She tried to talk back at me, but… she stopped.

"Fine, I won't be able to convince you or uncover your secrets. Just go ahead."

"Just don't cause any trouble for us," she pouted, turning away in feigned annoyance.

But I knew with certainty this was merely her way of coping.

Tears... So that's how much she treasures me.

Heh…

"Let's not waste any time then." I stood up and turned my head away, heading into a carriage that had been arranged by Alice.

I also told my father about my decision, of course, he complied, as I never do anything for no reason.

But my mother… let's just not talk about it.

"Right, not telling her was probably for the best."

The carriage rattled on, the rhythm of the wheels against the dirt road a steady, almost hypnotic cadence. My thoughts churned with the weight of my plan, the risks I was taking, and the sheer audacity of my goal.

The place I was heading to wasn't just dangerous—it was a death sentence for most. Though it was so obscure in the ruined land, no one really knew whether it truly existed or not.

This is my only chance at conquering the Abyssal Hollow.

In this world, there were two universally respected professions: the Saintess and the Sword Saint.

The Saintess was chosen by the gods from the moment of their birth, a divine blessing that marked them as a beacon of hope and salvation. Alice was the Saintess of this era, her destiny written in the stars long before she ever drew breath.

But the Sword Saint... was different.

Unlike the Saintess, who was tied to fate by divine will, the Sword Saint was chosen by the holy sword, a blade said to embody the will of the gods themselves. Only one who could wield that sword could claim the title, and in this timeline, that person was a member of the main cast.

Not me.

"Yeah, I couldn't use it," I muttered to myself, my voice tinged with bitterness. That was a fact, one I couldn't change no matter how hard I tried.

The holy sword never chose me.

But…

When you lie enough, when you weave the threads of deception so tightly that they become indistinguishable from truth, you can bend reality itself.

A demon can become a god.

And a fraud can become a legend.

This is when my goal and the Hollow Abyss come into place.

"Eclipse," I whispered, my voice low and resolute. "I'm going to get you."

The demon sword, Eclipse.

A weapon of unparalleled power, forged in the fires of hatred and despair. It was said to be alive, a sentient blade that chose its wielder and consumed their soul in exchange for unimaginable strength.

It was also the key to my plan.

It seemed simple in theory, though execution was another matter entirely.

Eclipse was the counterpart to the holy sword, a blade of darkness that had been sealed away for centuries. In the original timeline, it was the main antagonist who unsealed it, using its power to plunge the world into chaos.

But I will get it first.

The light shifted, the golden hues of dawn giving way to the soft shadows of twilight. The cycle continued, the world spinning on as if oblivious to the weight of my resolve.

And soon enough, I arrived.

The place was unassuming at first glance, a quiet clearing nestled deep within the forest. The trees around it were ancient, their gnarled roots twisting through the earth like the veins of some slumbering giant. The air was heavy, thick with an unnatural stillness.

The entrance wasn't visible to the naked eye. To anyone else, this would look like an ordinary patch of forest, unremarkable and easy to overlook. But I knew better.

This was it.

A secret place, hidden from the eyes of all but the most well-versed in this world's lore.

A loophole. An easter egg.

Not a gift from the gods, no—this was something far more deliberate. A relic of the dev team, the unseen architects of this reality, who had left their fingerprints scattered throughout the world in the form of hidden pathways and forgotten secrets.

This was one of them.

A shortcut to the Hollow Abyss.

I stepped out of the carriage, the soft crunch of leaves underfoot breaking the eerie silence. The driver—a grizzled man who had been hired for this journey—looked at me with a mix of concern and unease.

"Hey, brat." He said, his voice low but firm. "Whatever you're planning to do in there… just make sure you come out alive. I don't want Lady Alice to cry."

Of course, I wasn't planning to die. 

I nodded, handing him a pouch of coins. "Thank you. Wait for me here. I won't be long."

His eyes narrowed, but he didn't argue. He simply turned the carriage around and disappeared into the distance, leaving me alone in the clearing.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself, here I go.

I walked to the center of the clearing, my steps deliberate and measured. The air grew colder with each step, the stillness pressing down on me like a physical weight.

When I reached the exact center, I knelt down, brushing away the leaves and dirt to reveal a small, circular stone embedded in the ground.

It was smooth and black, its surface etched with faint, glowing runes that pulsed with a rhythm that felt almost alive.

This was it—the key to the shortcut.

A fragment of the dev team's design, left behind for those who knew how to find it.

I must thank the secret enthusiast for this. 

I placed my hand on the stone, feeling its cold surface beneath my palm. The runes flared to life, their glow intensifying as a low hum filled the air.

The ground beneath me trembled, and the clearing around me began to shift. The trees seemed to bend and twist, their shapes warping as the world itself rearranged.

And then, with a sudden lurch, the ground opened up.

I fell.

The sensation was disorienting, like being pulled through a tunnel of swirling light and shadow. My stomach churned, and for a moment, I couldn't tell which way was up or down.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, it ended.

I landed on solid ground, the impact jarring but not painful.

I opened my eyes, taking in my surroundings.

The Hollow Abyss.

It was both exactly as I'd imagined from memories and far worse.

The air was thick with an oppressive darkness, broken only by the faint, eerie glow of bioluminescent fungi that clung to the walls. The ground was uneven, a mixture of jagged rocks and shifting shadows that seemed to writhe and pulse like living things.

And the silence…

It was deafening, a void that seemed to swallow every sound, every breath.

This was a place that didn't belong in the world above.

A place where the rules of reality were bent and twisted, Time came to a halt, where the line between life and death blurred into nothingness.

And somewhere, deep within its depths, Eclipse awaited.

The oppressive silence of the Hollow Abyss shattered as the space ruptured around me. The air crackled, vibrating with an unnatural energy, and adimensional rifts appeared like jagged shards of broken glass suspended in the void.

From the rifts emerged shadows—wolf-like forms without solid bodies, their edges flickering and shifting like smoke caught in a storm. Their glowing purple eyes pierced through the mist of darkness, locking onto me with a predatory hunger.

The Abyss sprites.

These creatures were infamous within the lore of the Abyss—a relentless swarm of shadow beasts that hunted anything that dared to invade their domain. Their forms were unstable, constantly shifting between existence and nonexistence, but their jaws…

Those that filled with crooked teeth that glimmered like obsidian, were all too real.

Yeah, being bit by them would hurt.

One of them lunged forward, its movements unnaturally fast, its maw opening wide to rip me apart.

"My Abyssal resistance is high," I muttered under my breath, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me. "But at this level, I have to be quick."

I reached behind me, pulling the hunting pike from my back in one swift motion. The weapon gleamed faintly in the dim light, its sharp edge ready to cut through even the most tenacious of shadows.

I shifted into a battle-ready stance, planting my feet firmly on the uneven ground. The energy beneath me crackled to life, my magic circuits glowing a vivid purple as mana surged through my body like a raging river.

The sensation was electric, a rush of power that enhanced every fiber of my being—my strength, my speed, my reflexes.

"Hunting art—acceleration."

The world slowed.

No, it didn't slow—I sped up, my movements amplified to a level beyond human limits. The Abyss sprites lunged toward me, their forms blurring as they moved, but in my enhanced state, I could see every detail.

The flicker of their unstable bodies.

The glow of their piercing eyes.

The sharp glint of their teeth as they snapped at the air.

I moved.

In a blur of motion, I sidestepped the first sprite's attack, its jaws snapping shut where I had stood moments before. My pike lashed out, the sharp tip slicing through its shadowy form with precision.

The sprite let out a distorted howl, its body flickering violently before dissolving into a cloud of black mist.

But there was no time to celebrate.

Two more sprites emerged from the rifts, their movements synchronized as they circled me like wolves stalking prey.

I tightened my grip on the pike, my circuits pulsing brighter as I channeled more mana into my body.

"Come on," I said, my voice low and steady. "Let's see what you've got."

They lunged simultaneously, their forms blurring as they closed the distance between us.

I spun the pike in my hands, its sharp edge catching the faint glow of the bioluminescent fungi as I struck.

The first sprite fell, its unstable body collapsing into mist as the pike pierced through it.

The second sprite was faster, its jaws snapping dangerously close to my arm. I twisted my body, narrowly avoiding the attack, and countered with a powerful thrust that sent it reeling.

It dissolved into mist, leaving me alone once more in the oppressive silence of the Abyss.

But I knew better than to let my guard down.

The rifts were still open, their jagged edges pulsing with dark energy. More sprites would come, and they wouldn't stop until I was either dead or gone.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself.

The mana coursing through my body was powerful, but it wouldn't last forever. I had to move quickly, had to find Eclipse before the Abyss drained me of everything I had.