The Abyssal Gambit

Austin stepped forward, jaw tight but eyes steady. "Why did you summon me, Lyra?"

She didn't answer. Instead her icy gaze merely shifted to an empty seat at the far end of the table.

A silent command.

Austin narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He walked past the gazes, some were disinterested, others subtly amused, he sat down. The chair was cold and unusually dense, like it had been carved from some extinct mineral. Smooth, firm, unyielding.

Just like the people seated here.

Daisy twirled a blade between her fingers and finally broke the silence. "Let's skip the small talk. We're heading to Silver Wing Shelter—taking our elites with us."

Her tone was sharp and businesslike. "If we use our Origin Flying Beasts, we'll arrive in five hours. But most members lack flight-type beast souls, so the main force will travel on foot, it'll take them two days."

No one protested. No wasted breath. Just nods.

Austin pieced it together quickly.

"Two shelters cooperating... It can only mean one thing they're hunting something monstrous."

His mind conjured an image of what the rumors called Abyssal-Class Origin Aliens—beasts so powerful that even seasoned warriors would hesitate to face them.

But one thing didn't sit right.

"I'm not even strong yet. Why am I here?"

"Everyone else is standing outside, waiting for orders… yet I'm inside, sitting with the elites."

His eyes narrowed subtly as he glanced at Lyra.

"Is she planning something? Using me as bait...? Or worse, a scapegoat?"

Still, he held his tongue.

One by one, the elite figures stood up from their seats. Austin followed suit and walked out with them. The pressure of their presence clung to him like thick chains, invisible yet suffocating.

As they stepped into the training grounds, hundreds of warriors had already assembled. Swords on backs. Armor strapped tight. Eyes sharp.

But then they saw Austin.

A murmur rippled through the crowd. "Why is a newbie... standing with them?"

But no one dared to speak out loud, but their eyes whispered doubts, envy... and fear.

Garry stepped forward, his voice booming with quiet authority. "We're heading to Silver Wing Shelter to hunt an Abyssal-Class Origin Alien."

He paused, letting the weight of those words sink in. "Once the main beast is handled, you're free to keep any lower-level alien cores. But this mission is deadly. We take no responsibility for your lives."

The crowd stirred, and someone shouted back, "We know the risks! Evolution demands sacrifice! We won't crawl like cowards on this path!"

A chorus of determined cries followed.

"WE FIGHT!"

Garry's lips curved into a rare smile. "Good. Then summon your beast souls. We move out now."

In a flash, the field erupted with energy.

Dozens of Alien Beast Souls materialized—glowing, translucent manifestations tethered to each user's essence. Some looked like horned horses, others like flame-eyed snakes, multi-limbed monkeys, and even strange beasts with crystalline armor.

It was a scene unlike anything Austin had ever witnessed.

"Incredible…" Austin's breath caught. The glowing auras burned into his retinas—an entire army bound to monstrous spirits.

"Even if most are only Ordinary-Class… the pressure alone is suffocating."

He scanned them closely. Almost everyone had at least Ordinary or Blazed-Class beast souls.

But only two stood out.

Their summoned beasts radiated overwhelming auras—Stellar-Class.

Austin's breath caught. He instinctively thought to summon his own Stellar-Class Venom Serpent… but froze.

"No. Not here... If they see a newcomer with a Stellar-Class... I'll be swarmed with suspicion."

He kept his face composed.

But Kaizen's piercing gaze locked onto him as if reading his every thought.

Even Lyra glanced at him sideways with a subtle smirk.

"Looks like this kid doesn't even have a beast soul yet~"

Austin said nothing.

Then the true monsters revealed themselves, the ground quaked.

A suffocating aura spread across the field as six elites summoned their own beast souls.

Abyssal-Class alien beast soul. Their forms tore the air itself.

—A colossal black python, eyes glowing like dying stars.

—A crimson bone-shelled scorpion, pincers exuding infernal heat.

—A titanic centipede, red-scaled and etched with glowing tribal runes.

—A winged lion, its mane streaked with streaks of pure lightning.

—A leviathan shark hovering above the ground like it swam through air.

The rest of the field fell silent.

Even the wildest, cockiest warriors stepped back as their own beast souls trembled uncontrollably in submission.

"So these are the apex predators…" Austin's thoughts were calm on the surface, but deep within, a chill bloomed in his chest.

"They really have Abyssal-Class beast souls... and not just one of them."

That was when she returned.

Olivia's voice slithered into his mind like silk over blades.

"Hehehe~ How about we let them fight the Abyssal beast... and we steal the kill at the last moment? Use a borrowed knife to kill."

Austin's face darkened. "Shut the hell up! Do you want me to die?"

But Olivia only giggled, her tone gleefully teasing. "Void Genesis Core… and this is all it takes to scare you? Tsk, disappointing~"

He clenched his fists.

"Arguing with her will only drive me mad…"

"If I live through this, I swear I'll find a mute button for your damn voice."

His eyes locked forward, lips drawn into a thin, cold line. "Let's see what kind of chaos awaits in Silver Wing Shelter."

And silently… the beast tide began to move.

Dozens of Origin Beast Souls roared across the valley, hoofbeats, wings, and guttural cries echoing like drums of war. Riders stood atop their beasts like armored kings, weapons at the ready, eyes sharp and wild with adrenaline.

One by one, groups surged forward in formation.

Elites rode in the front and back, forming an iron wall of power and defense.

The normal members remained in the middle, surrounded by strength on all sides.

Austin, however, stood in place arms crossed, watching it all.

His eyes narrowed slightly as dust and wind whipped past his feet.

He muttered under his breath. "So I'm supposed to run a thousand miles on foot? How generous…"

Suddenly, a shadow passed overhead.

Lyra Ashveil, standing proudly atop her Storm-Winged Lion, looked down at him. Her eyes, cold as ever, flickered with a trace of annoyance or perhaps amusement.

Her voice came soft but firm.

"Stop wasting time. You're coming with me."

She didn't offer a hand. Didn't ask politely. She simply ordered.

Austin sighed. Without hesitation he jumped onto the beast, landing beside her, close enough to feel the icy aura radiating from her form.

The Storm-Winged Lion gave a low growl, but Lyra casually patted its mane.

"Go."

With a thunderous roar, the beast took off soaring above the formation like a silent storm cloud.

Down below, Garry glanced up at the pair.

His expression didn't change, but his eyes narrowed.

"Austin… Let's see how long you survive clinging to her shadow."

He said nothing out loud. But deep within, a seed of envy twisted in his gut.

The formation continued its charge crossing vast wilderness and broken ridges. The terrain shifted from cracked stone to tangled jungle, then to glowing mineral flats.

Soon, they passed through the jagged cliffs of Zenlife Valley.

The valley was alive with alien beasts.

Crimson-eyed wolves prowled along the ridgelines. Feathered manticores glared from their nests in the trees. Herds of insectile rhinos stampeded across the open paths.

But none dared block the path of the tide.

The combined presence of multiple Abyssal-Class Beast Souls, countless Origin Souls, and nearly a hundred evolvers… created a pressure that suppressed the wild.

—

Two days passed in a blink of an eye.

The group finally reached the borders of the Silver Wing Canopy—lush, towering jungle nestled deep within the territory of Silver Wing Shelter.

Along the way, they had been ambushed twice by Blazed-Class alien beasts and once by a pair of Stellar-Class horrors.

But with overwhelming numbers, they slaughtered them all. Blood soaked the roads. Crystals were harvested. Dozens gained EvoCells a small price paid for survival on Nexus Prime.

Now, as they soared above the vast green expanse of the Canopy, the air grew colder.

GRRRRROOOAAARRRR!!

A low, guttural growl shook the skies.

The Storm-Winged Lion, which had remained proud and silent for the past two days, suddenly let out a thunderous roar, its wings twitching with agitation.

Austin and Lyra, both standing atop its back felt the shift.

Lyra adjusted her footing effortlessly, her body swaying like she was born mid-air.

Austin? Not so much.

"What the hell—?!"

The beast dipped. He lost balance.

Instinct took over he reached out.

And his hand grabbed something soft.

There was a pause in his mind, fingers pressed gently against something warm and curved.

"What… is this…?"

He frowned and reflexively tightened his grip, trying to balance himself.

Only then did he realize his hand was wrapped tightly around Lyra's waist.

Austin froze. His pupils shrank.

Slowly… painfully… he looked up.

Lyra was staring at him with no expression on her face.

But her eyes were like knives.

Knives dipped in venom and polished with promises of pain.

Austin's throat went dry. "W-Would you believe me if I said this was an accident?"

A long silence passed.

Then Lyra said in a flat, emotionless tone. "If you're done... remove your hand."

Austin let go like he'd just touched lava.

"God… please don't let me die today."

He stood silently beside her for the rest of the flight, pretending nothing happened.

But internally his soul was sweating bullets.

Five minutes later…

Austin's face was swollen.

His left cheek was red and throbbing. His right eye was blackened, pulsing with pain.

He didn't complain.

He didn't even ask what hit him. Because he knew.

"I'm alive… That's what matters."

Lyra sat cross-legged near the lion's neck, eyes closed, arms folded.

"This bastard…" she thought, teeth grinding. "He touched me again."

She wasn't blushing. She wasn't smiling.

She was seething. But she hadn't killed him. Not yet.

"He won't die so easily… I still have plans for him."

Inside Austin's mind…

Olivia was howling with laughter. "PFFFT—Hahahaha~ You're seriously something else, Austin!"

"Touched her waist like a rogue, then got smacked like a brat!"

Austin groaned. "I should've just fallen off the damn lion…"

The cold wind swept past his face as the Silver-Winged Skybeast glided lower, brushing past the high canopy. Soon, they broke through the thick foliage and descended upon the **Silver Wing Shelter**.

At first glance, it mirrored Zenlife Shelter—blocky metallic buildings, defensive turrets embedded in the cliffs, and even the towering front gate looked identical, save for the massive silver wing emblem carved into the steel entrance.

But unlike Zenlife, there was something *off* about this place. The silence was too sharp, too expectant. Tension hung in the air like a coiled spring.

Austin jumped down from the beast's back, landing awkwardly. Dozens of people had gathered outside the gate who are armed, alert, and most with guarded expressions.

At the front stood ten figures in battle-worn armor, each emanating the aura of leadership. Their eyes instantly fell on the newcomers.

Kaizen and Garry stepped forward with practiced confidence.

Lyra remained on her beast, cold and aloof. She didn't move, didn't speak. Her presence alone made several Silver Wing elites shift uncomfortably.

Before anyone could speak, a towering man from the Silver Wing Shelter stepped forward. His deep voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"Let's not waste time. We've got a damn problem."

He looked straight at Garry. "An Abyssal-Class alien was spotted in the inner region of our Canopy."

The words dropped like lead. The casual chatter behind them ceased entirely.

Garry's eyes narrowed. "You're sure?"

Kaizen's posture stiffened. "We just crossed the canopy path. Didn't see a damn thing."

Garry turned to him, then back to the Silver Wing leader. "Our beasts didn't show any major reaction…"

"Don't be so sure," Kaizen interrupted sharply, frowning. "Think back. Our rides did act strange a few kilometers out. Snapped their heads toward the west, remember?"

The muscular man, Denny Drevas, nodded grimly. His tone dropped lower, filled with restrained tension.

"Maybe they sensed it. Beasts are more attuned than we are. We sent scouts days ago. None returned. No signal. No trace. Not even bones."

A shiver ran down someone's back.

The wind howled past them again. This time, colder.

A silent understanding passed through the assembled warriors of both shelters. No one spoke, but everyone nodded, slow, grim, and ready.

The kind of nod that meant people were going to die today.

Without delay, the leaders got to work. Ten from Silver Wing, nine from Zenlife. No drawn-out meetings or speeches, just sharp glances and quick planning around a flickering projection of the terrain.

Within minutes, the joint task force was formed, their route decided: the western inner region of the Silver Wing Canopy, where the Abyssal-Class presence had been last detected.

As the march began, Austin trailed near the rear, still rubbing his jaw.

A familiar voice broke through the marching noise.

"What happened to your face?" Daisy's tone was light, but her expression said she already had theories. "We didn't even fight any beasts on the way here."

Austin kept his face neutral. "I was practicing a movement technique midair and… well, I slipped off the lion. Minor injuries."

Daisy stopped twirling her blade and gave him a long look.

"Really?" she thought, her eyes narrowing. "You expect me to believe that lame excuse? That's no training injury. Looks more like a slap. Probably got a taste of Lyra's temper..."

She smirked faintly but said nothing else.

Austin, meanwhile, sighed internally.

"This is getting ridiculous. If I walk, I stand out. If I fly, I risk pissing her off again. There's no winning…"

He turned his head toward the sky where Lyra still rode her Storm-Winged Lion alone, gliding like a silent queen above the group.

"Lyra," Austin called out, voice steady. "Could you… come down for a moment?"

She didn't respond at first. Just stared at him from above, unblinking.

Then, with a single motion, her beast circled and descended its wings kicking up a gust of wind as it landed before him.

The beast took off again, soaring smoothly above the formation.