The Bone Throne

The throne room had not changed.

Or perhaps it had—and he simply remembered it differently, warped by the desperate, bloodied memories of his first life. The same broken banners hung limply from the ceiling. The same cracked floor stretched toward the Wight King's dais like a forgotten battlefield.

Yet something in the air was wrong. He could feel it.

The second cycle has twisted even this.

Yeon-woo circled the edges of the room, his movements cautious, silent.The Wight King stood still, watching, scepter lowered, the hollow sockets of his skull fixed on him.It was waiting too.

There was no immediate need to rush.

Opening his profile window with a thought, Yeon-woo quickly reassessed his condition.

[Name: Yeon-woo][Level: 36][Class: None][Title: Regressor, First Explorer][Unique Skills: Greed (Lv.2), Bloom (2nd Cycle)][Normal Skills: Dagger Mastery (Intermediate), Evasion (Advanced), Swift Footwork (Intermediate), Danger Sense (Intermediate)][Stats:]Strength: 80Agility: 94Endurance: 76Intelligence: 57Perception: 90

Just a few steps stronger.

It wasn't enough for arrogance.But it was enough to survive—if he was careful.

Mana pulsed quietly inside him, feeding into "Bloom," which expanded throughout his limbs. His body had grown sharper, faster, since the second awakening.Small movements now carried a predatory smoothness.

Yeon-woo tested the floor with light steps, feeling for traps.The architecture here was ancient and resentful. Even the stones hated intruders. He noticed tiny shifts—a slightly loose flagstone, a hairline fracture—warnings.

He stayed to the walls, minimizing his presence.

The Wight King didn't move.A monarch of death, infinitely patient.

Good.Let it wait.

He glanced at the system messages still lingering in the corner of his vision.

[Greed (Lv.2) analyzing target...][Absorption opportunity: 'Undying Will' — 43% compatibility.]

High, but not perfect.

He would need to weaken the Wight King substantially before "Greed" could seize it. If he tried too early, the backlash could cripple him.

A mistake he could not afford.

Yeon-woo considered his inventory. No heavy weapons. No artifacts he could waste.Everything he had now was earned through careful bloodshed and planning.I can't brute-force it.

I'll have to bleed it down.

He inched closer to the center.

The soul-lanterns bobbed gently, casting long, jittery shadows across the cracked floor.They almost seemed to flicker in time with his heartbeat.

Without warning, the Wight King moved.

One step.

A shudder traveled through the throne room, dust drifting from the ceilings in tiny clouds.The Wight King's cloak of shadows spread, lengthening across the floor like a second horizon.

Yeon-woo felt a prickle of warning and immediately activated "Swift Footwork," sliding back just as a wave of skeletal hands burst from the ground.

They clawed at the air, grasping hungrily.

Summon trap.

He had half-expected it, but the speed had still been faster than before.The King was adapting to him just as he was adapting to the King.

Yeon-woo moved with sharp efficiency, severing hands at the wrist, weaving through the gaps.He wasn't aiming to destroy them all.Just survive long enough.

Mana flared inside him, and he triggered "Bloom" at higher intensity.

[Bloom (2nd Cycle) active: Minor regeneration, boosted perception, accelerated mana recovery.]

The flow of battle settled into a grim rhythm.

Yeon-woo darted in, carving through summoned minions, forcing the Wight King to respond. Every small clash drained a little more mana from the ancient revenant.

Every dodge, every feint—it was all calculated.

He was wearing it down.

Minutes blurred into each other.

Notifications trickled steadily:

[Skill proficiency increased: Evasion (Advanced) 71% → 74%.][You have defeated a Minor Revenant.][Experience gained.][Level up! Lv.36 → Lv.37.][All stats slightly increased.]

Yeon-woo barely acknowledged them, his mind sunk into a cold, mechanical state. His body moved by instinct, following practiced flows and improvised angles.

Strike. Withdraw. Lure. Strike again.

And all the while, "Greed" coiled tighter within him, tasting the Wight King's weakening aura, preparing for the final moment.

Still, it wasn't without cost.

A mistimed pivot earned him a gash along his thigh from a stray spectral claw.Blood darkened his pants almost instantly.

Pain flared—but Bloom dulled it to a manageable throb.Not lethal yet.

Yeon-woo grit his teeth and pressed deeper into the King's guard.

The Wight King finally lifted its scepter in both hands, and the room's temperature plummeted.

Frost bloomed along the floor.A death curse.

Yeon-woo knew he couldn't outrun this one.He dove forward, directly into the heart of the attack, trusting "Bloom" to absorb the worst of the ambient damage.

The scepter swung at him like a hammer.

At the last moment, Yeon-woo twisted, avoiding a direct blow—but the force still clipped his shoulder, sending him skidding backward, boots scraping against stone.

[Warning: Minor fracture detected in left shoulder.][Endurance mitigating 40% of damage.]

He staggered, shook his head clear, and charged again.

The Wight King's aura flickered.It was slowing.

And it knew it.

It abandoned spells and began fighting more physically, swinging the scepter with clumsy fury.Each strike gouged craters into the floor, sending shards flying.

Yeon-woo danced just out of reach, draining it further, never allowing it to build momentum.

Another system ping:

[Greed ready: Absorption possible at current target weakness.]

Finally.

Yeon-woo feinted right, baiting a desperate horizontal swing—and then darted left, inside the Wight King's reach.

With a snarl, he slammed his palm against the King's ribcage and triggered "Greed" with everything he had.

The air around them shuddered.

The Wight King let out a dry, broken screech as black tendrils of energy ripped free from its chest, funneling into Yeon-woo's waiting hand.

[Unique Trait Absorbed: 'Undying Will.'][Trait Integration: 77% Successful.][Partial bonus effect acquired: "Resist Death" (Low Grade).][Level up! Lv.37 → Lv.38.][All stats increased.]

The Wight King collapsed inward, its body crumbling into dust and scraps of shadow.

Yeon-woo dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.

His hands trembled—not from fear or fatigue—but from the sheer violent rush of the new power stitching itself into him.

The soul-lanterns overhead began to gutter and die, one by one.

The throne room fell silent.

[Hidden Dungeon Cleared: Grave of the Wight King.][Rewards Calculating…]

Yeon-woo closed his eyes briefly, letting the cold seep into his battered bones.

One more piece claimed.One more step forward.

Not fast.Not glorious.

Just the slow, grinding inevitability of survival.

And when he finally stood again, it was without hesitation.

The next floor waited.

And so did the future he had sworn to seize.