For a while, Stephen stood still, an internal battle raging quietly within him.The black seal pulsed in the air before him, slow, deliberate, and hungry. Power radiated from it in thin, invisible waves, promising strength, security, survival.
But the ghost of Rose stood there, trembling... waiting. There was something painfully human in her expression, not just fear, but hope.
She reminded him of himself.
Weak. Lonely. Reaching out to a world that didn't reach back.Stephen exhaled, his breath shaky.
He lowered his eyes. "You deserve peace, Rose."
He raised his hand, voice firm but gentle.
"Release to the Light."
The white seal flared instantly, pulsing with a warm glow.
[SYSTEM RESPONSE: COMMAND ACCEPTED]
[ Soul Release Initiated…]
[ Purified Spirit Ascending…]
[+1 Purity Point Gained]
[Judgment Alignment Strengthened]
[Rose Baker: Soul Freed]
Rose's form shimmered like morning fog touched by sunlight.
She smiled, a soft, grateful smile, and her figure began to lift, dissolving into golden strands that spiraled upward, vanishing one by one into the air above.
Then... silence.
Nothing left but the fading echo of her last words:
"Thank you."
Stephen closed his eyes.
He didn't feel stronger.
But he felt lighter.
For the first time in a long while… he felt like he'd done something right.
Not survived. Not escaped.But helped. Freed someone. For once… it mattered.
And yet.A dull sting pulsed in the back of his mind.Like a splinter of thought he couldn't pull free.
Regret.
The kind that didn't scream, just whispered.
A missed opportunity. A wasted soul.
His fists clenched.
"Maybe I should've consumed her," he muttered bitterly.
"Mercy doesn't keep you alive. Playing nice... that's what got me fucked last time."
He slapped his forehead.
"Stupid. Stupid."
"You gain a little power and think you're noble now?"
He scoffed at himself. "You're still weak. Still too kind."
A pause. A flicker of doubt.
Then...
"But maybe… that's what it means to be human."
Another voice answered from deep inside him.
Colder. Harsher.
"You're not human anymore."
"You're a Death God now."
Stephen's lips curled into a dark smile.
Then....
DING.
His screen flickered to life, casting a pale blue glow across his face.
[SYSTEM UPDATE – Bonus Objective Unlocked]
[Corruption Trace Detected Nearby]
[Location: Sewer Access 17B (150 meters)]
[Soul Type: Aggressive Fragment | Instinctual Hunter]
[ Threat Level: Low to Moderate]
[Optional Mission: Cleanse or Consume the lurking spirit]
[Accept Bonus Mission?]
[Accept]
[Reject]
The screen hovered in silence, waiting.
Stephen's fingers twitched.
A second chance. A test.
And this time… he wouldn't hesitate.
Stephen dropped into the sewers ten minutes later, boots splashing into shallow, stagnant water.
His Spirit Form was still active, but only barely.
[Time Remaining: 45 minutes]
The countdown echoed in the back of his mind like a ticking bomb.The air hit him instantly.Thick. Damp. Rotting.
It clung to his lungs , heavy with the stench of old waste, mildew, and something else, decay.
Not just the decay of things…
But of souls.
The tunnel walls were curved and slick with moisture, weeping with brown grime and spiderweb cracks. Rusted pipes ran along both sides like skeletal ribs, and the narrow walkway forced him to move single-file. Sloshing echoed in every direction, louder than it should've been — as if he wasn't alone.
Despite the near-complete darkness, he could see. Not with his eyes....but something deeper.
The world was tinged in shades of soul-energy.Faint glows outlined surfaces. Movement left afterimages.Everything was sharper, like he'd stepped into a new kind of reality.
And the smell...
It was worse than death.
It smelled like suffering.
Stephen gritted his teeth and moved forward, dagger gripped tightly in hand.
He was still scanning the tunnel, every sense heightened, when his eyes caught sudden movement just a few meters ahead. At first, it was a vague ripple in the darkness — a shadow where no shadow should be. Then it drifted into the pale blue glow of his soul-sight.
His breath hitched.
It was floating.Levitating above the murky water, its long, serpentine body coiled in slow, deliberate motion.
Then the system chimed in.
...
[System Alert: Corrupted Soul Detected]
[Name: Abyssal Wretch (Variant Class: Leech Leviathan)]
[Threat Level: Moderate–High]
[Type: Aquatic/Phantom Hybrid]
[Warning: Entity displays signs of evolved spiritual aggression.]
[Note: Target is highly unstable and may possess soul corruption effects. Engage with caution.]
.....
Stephen's eyes widened as the creature slithered forward into clearer view.
Its form was monstrous, like a deep-sea predator reborn in nightmare. Its long, armored body shimmered with jagged scales, glowing faintly in sickly hues of indigo and death-blue. Bone-like fins protruded like serrated blades along its spine and limbs, twitching with every motion. Droplets of corrupted water oozed and floated unnaturally around it, defying gravity.
Its face was the worst of it, a monstrous skull-shaped head, with jagged fangs bared in a perpetual snarl. From its crown sprouted bony tendrils like horns or antennae, quivering as if sensing his presence. And those eyes, burning with unnatural, soul-fed light, locked onto him like a predator deciding where to bite first.
Stephen gritted his teeth.
This thing was no lost soul begging for release. It was hunger. Rage. A beast that had drowned in hate and been reborn in it.
"Great," he muttered. "This one looks like it eats nightmares for breakfast."
He lowered into a fighting stance, his dagger pulsing faintly in his hand.
Somehow, deep in his gut, he knew:
This fight would be nothing like the last.
This one didn't scream like Rose's twisted soul had. No, it snarled, low and guttural, like something ancient that had forgotten what it meant to be human. Its violet eyes radiated hatred and hunger, and in them, Stephen saw no sorrow, no plea for mercy. Just instinct. Just murder.
Whatever this soul once was, it had drowned long ago.
The Abyssal Wretch coiled in midair, its muscular, finned tail writhing like a serpent gathering force. The air around it shimmered, water droplets floating unnaturally in the sewage-thick darkness.
Then it launched.
It didn't leap. It shot.
Like a torpedo of bone and scale, it blurred through the air with unnatural speed, the sound of its movement ripping through the tunnel like tearing fabric.
Stephen's eyes widened. His instincts screamed.
He twisted his body mid-step, barely evading , the tail whipping past him like a battering ram. The gust of it alone sent him stumbling sideways.
Then pain bloomed on his cheek, sharp and hot.
He reached up and touched his face. His fingers came back wet and red.
"Tch... It clipped me?"
[System Notification]
[ Damage Registered: 5%]
[Status: Minor Laceration – Left Cheek]
[Note: Corrupted Soul Weapons inflict trace spiritual corrosion. Cleanse or neutralize within 10 minutes to avoid penalties.]
[Warning: Enemy speed exceeds user's base reflex threshold. Initiating combat assistance suggestions...]
Stephen stared across the space. The creature hovered at the far end, curling in the air again like it was smiling.
"So this thing... flies now?" he muttered, eyes narrowing.
This wasn't just a fight.It was a test. And this thing came ready to devour the weak.
Stephen wiped the blood from his cheek, eyes narrowing on the snarling, levitating beast. The Abyssal Wretch hovered like a predator tasting blood, its coiling tail slicing through the air with deadly precision.
It was waiting. Watching.
Stephen didn't flinch.
He cracked his neck, shifted into a low stance, and let a crooked grin stretch across his face.
"10 minutes huh…?" he said, voice steady, cold.
"Well then....give me your best, buddy. I'm not about to die again."
The beast hissed, muscles tensing.
Stephen's dagger pulsed in his grip. The air shifted.
And then....
The Wretch lunged.