chapter 6

Somewhere in the deeper layers of the Endless Abyss, a worm-like creature had just been born. It didn't last long. A sudden wave of magma swallowed it whole, burning it to ash in seconds.

But even that wasn't wasted.

The Abyss didn't care about the body,it tossed it aside. What mattered was the soul. Bits of it were gathered up, pulled into the massive, living system of the Abyss. Most of it was recycled,used to fuel more strange lifeforms. But one tiny fragment drifted further than the others.

All the way to the bottom.

Down there, the soul of the First Fallen was nearly whole again. It had been shattered many times before, and each time it came back… it twisted a little more. That distortion was what gave birth to hundreds of bizarre lifeforms, all thrown into the pit of chaos.

But nothing lasted.

Most of those creatures couldn't survive more than a few minutes. The lower levels of the Abyss being straight impossible for them. The environment itself broke things down. Space was wrong. Time was strange. Even breathing could kill you.

Still, a few lifeforms made it. They clung to small pockets of stability, built nests, started tribes. And as soon as they were born, they started to fight.

That wasn't by chance.That was how the system worked.

In the observation room, Vice Principal Warren rubbed his forehead. He looked tired.

"How's it looking?" he asked one of the mentors standing nearby.

Usually, Warren had full control of any situation. But right now? He hadn't even dared to look directly at Cillian's world projection.

The Tutor hesitated. "Not good. The design was groundbreaking… but something's gone wrong. His divine fire dropped to nearly zero."

Warren sighed. "Even if he messed up his graduation project, I'll let him reapply next year."

That was already shocking,Warren hated delays. If the other repeat students saw this, they'd lose their minds.

"But I'll be honest," Warren added. "His idea had potential. A real first."

Just as he said that, another Tutor spoke up, eyes wide.

"Vice Principal… something's changed. His divine fire..it's growing again."

"What?"

"Not just growing. It shot back to first place."

"That's not possible. Did he change the core design?"

"No," the mentor said. "He's just creating more creatures."

Warren stared at the screen. Then he took control of the observation system and locked every display onto Cillian's world.

At first, no one said anything. But then the screens filled with motion.

Across the twisted landscapes of the Endless Abyss, monsters were being born. One after another. Dozens. Hundreds.Each one different.

Some had glowing eyes and twisted horns. Some were covered in scales or slime or bone. Some were fast, some were massive, some were just… strange.

But they all had two things in common:

1. They were relatively powerful.

2. And they started fighting the moment they were born.

The Abyss didn't give them time to grow. These creatures had to adapt or die and most of them ended up dead, but the ones that did survive were absolute terrors.

Even the oldest tutors in the room couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Down in the middle of it all, Cillian opened his eyes.

Again.

He looked tired, and for good reason. He had reshaped the soul of the First Fallen nine hundred times already. Not just to make new creatures, but to merge part of his own soul into the process. To turn the entire Endless Abyss into a living system,and eventually, a world with its own will.

And it had worked.

The Abyss had become aware.

Cillian no longer needed to guess or experiment. With a single thought, he could feel every corner of the world he had created. He could see it all,pits of flame, frozen storms, strange rifts, things that shouldn't exist but did.

He could feel every creature.

Guide their instincts.

Change their traits.

Even more than that, he could hand-pick certain creatures and give them a little more power, more awareness, more direction.

And the best part?

The Abyss had shaped them to believe in their creator. And their belief poured back into him as divine fire,more than he'd ever gathered before.

But Cillian wasn't satisfied.

Most of these creatures were strong,some insanely so. But none of them felt right to him.

He was looking for something more.

Not just a strong monster. Not just something that would survive.

He wanted to create Demons,Devils. Not a creature to survive the abyss, but something that could become self-aware, maybe even rule the abyss.

Cillian leaned back and thought.

He still didn't know how he would design something like that.

-

Meanwhile, back in the observation room, one of the older tutors leaned forward, stunned.

"I never thought I'd see anything like this…"

All across the projection, creatures were fighting. Massive swarms tearing each other apart. Only a few ever survived.

But the survivors were monsters in every sense. Some had learned magic. Some had changed body types in minutes. Others killed entire nests by themselves.

A younger tutor added, "Most students just copy templates. Make balanced creatures. Safe designs. But nothing like this."

Warren laughed dryly.

"You really think Cillian designed all these monsters by hand?"

The room went quiet.

"No. He didn't. He just created pressure. Then he stepped back and let evolution do the rest."

He stood up, pacing.

"This is what we've been missing. We try too hard to control everything. We forget how powerful real adaptation can be."

"The strongest worlds don't come from perfect plans. They come from letting life fight for itself."

Just as the mentors were soaking that in, a new alert came through the system.

"Vice Principal… Cillian's requested early assessment."

"What?!"

"He wants to enter the exam stages now."

Warren froze. So did everyone else.

At Grimstone, there were three major assessments for a Divine World:

1. Weak invaders enter the world.

2. A real invasion, with small commander units.

3. A full-force alien assault, including legendary enemies.

Even the first test destroyed most students' projects.

And yet…Cillian wanted to start now?

The tutors looked at each other in disbelief.