Stephen had no idea what Rage truly meant. No manual and no tutorial. Just raw instinct.
But he didn't need to know.He was drowning and obviously dying. And there was no other way out.
His soul energy was already bleeding out, and if the Wretch didn't finish him, the corruption or water would. He had less than eight minutes to survive. There was no time for hesitation.Not now, when he hadn't even met the other players. Not when he hadn't even begun to rewrite his fate.
He glared up through the murky water, eyes burning with defiance.
[COMMAND INPUT RECEIVED...]
[ACTIVATING SKILL: RAGE]
[WARNING: SOUL ENERGY CONSUMPTION SPIKE IMMINENT]
[TEMPORARY LIMITER RELEASED]
[INSTABILITY: ACCEPTED]
[RAGE MODE - ENGAGED]
A sudden pulse detonated from his core. Like a thunderclap underwater.The sewage around him shivered and rolled outward, displaced by raw pressure.
His soul ignited, glowing veins of power burning across his skin like molten cracks in stone. His eyes snapped open, blazing red.
Every inch of pain was still there, but dulled and muted. What replaced it was a sensation like fire in his bloodstream. Like lightning crawling beneath his skin.
His fear was gone. Only fury remained.
He bared his teeth.
The Abyssal Wretch didn't sense the change. It couldn't. It only understood hate.
So when it surged forward for another killing blow, it expected helplessness, panic and blood in the water.
But this time, Stephen met it halfway.
His eyes blazed like crimson suns as he lunged upward, hand spearing straight into the creature's face.
With a snarl, he drove his palm against its skull, halting its charge with brutal precision.
Then, he pushed. The sewer water erupted.
A deep gurgling explosion tore the silence, a geyser of filth and shadow erupting as Stephen shot out of the depths, water cascading around him in a violent, spiraling vortex.
Just like a demon breaching the underworld.
His form arced into the air, black ichor spraying from his still-burning forearm, his hand clamped around the Wretch's head, claws digging into its armored flesh.
His eyes locked on it, cold. Merciless.
A savage grin split his face.
"You had me cornered there for a second Unc..."
With a sudden twist, he spun midair and hurled the Abyssal Wretch across the tunnel like a piece of trash.
CRUNCH!
The beast slammed into the far sewer wall with a thunderous impact, bricks cracking, mortar splintering, the entire tunnel shuddering from the blow.
The Wretch let out a twisted shriek of rage and shock, its body twitching, ichor dripping from the dented armor of its head.
Stephen landed on his feet in the shallow water, breathing like a beast, low, controlled, and ready to kill.
Water ran down his frame in rivulets, steam rising from his skin, soul energy pulsing like an engine.
"I'm gonna hit you from the back this time," Stephen grinned, his voice low and menacing as he approached.
His eyes burned crimson in the gloom.
"Nice and hard."
The Abyssal Wretch thrashed its head, dazed from the impact but not broken. With a low snarl, it floated upward again, twitching, before surging forward with renewed hatred.
Stephen didn't move.He sidestepped in a blur, letting it scream past him. The Wretch twisted in midair, hissing, and charged again.
"Come on Unc," Stephen growled, his voice deeper, more feral. "I told you to give me everything."
This time when it struck, it met only nothing, a blur of afterimage.Stephen was gone.
He reappeared behind it, silent as a shadow.
The Wretch sensed the danger and lashed its tail instinctively, but Stephen ducked low with a cocky grin, letting the barbed tip sail just above his head.
He was enjoying this.
The Wretch let out a frustrated shriek and began circling him at high speed, becoming a blur in the dim tunnel air, its tail slicing through space like a sawblade. Just like it had underwater.
Stephen's smile deepened. "That same old trick again, huh?"
Suddenly, he moved. With a flash of soul energy and a burst of wind, he bolted into a spiral of his own, moving faster, tighter, more precise than the Wretch.
They were two storms clashing, one of rage and instinct, the other of raw, awakened power.
Then the Wretch faltered, confused, unable to track him. Its motion stuttered. That was the opening.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
[Soul Energy Remaining: 15%]
[RAGE Duration: 2 Minutes Remaining]
[Window to Strike Weak Spot: OPEN]
[Ventral Shadow Core Exposed – 3.7 Seconds]
Stephen blurred behind it one last time, his eyes glowing with killing intent.
"It's time you became my first collection, Unc," he muttered darkly, his voice a whisper and a death sentence.
His dagger blazed with pale-blue soul energy, humming like a living thing.
He struck upward in one, perfect motion, a lightning-fast slash under the creature's exposed belly.
The blade carved clean through, piercing the pulsing Ventral Shadow Core.
Time froze. The Abyssal Wretch let out a soundless shriek as its body seized, glowing veins rupturing in waves of black mist. The soul energy within it began to tear apart violently from the inside out.
"Let's see what you really are… behind that Wretch mask," Stephan muttered coldly, eyes fixed on the twitching corpse.
The Abyssal Wretch's body disintegrated in the stagnant air, smoke and ichor peeling away in threads like rotting fabric. Beneath it was a human form, warped, scarred and monstrous.
A hideous man emerged, hulking and twisted. His skin was marred with bullet wounds and knife scars. His teeth were yellow and broken. Eyes bloodshot. The stench of rot and rage clung to him like a disease.
He didn't beg nor did he cry. He glared with pure, animal hate dripping from every part of him.Then came the red soul-thread. Same as with Rose Baker. But this time, there was no sorrow, warmth or fear.
Only rage.
His name had been Jack Moffart. A former Gang Enforcer. Schoolyard bully turned drug-running butcher. He had a reputation of brutality without conscience. He had been double-crossed in a drug deal and shot eight times.
His body hand been dumped in the sewers and forgotten by the world.
His memories flared behind his dead eyes. Fists slamming into faces. Blood spilled in alleys. Smiles while victims screamed. No guilt. No remorse. Just hunger for control.
Stephan stared at him with clenched fists. His jaw tightened.
"You really existed…" Stephan whispered, voice sharp and trembling with fury.
"A piece of shit like you."
His eyes still gleamed red.
"Scum like you made my life hell in my last life. You made people like me feel small. Broken."
He stepped forward, shadows curling around his boots.
"But not anymore..."
DING!
[JUDGEMENT INITIATED]
[Soul Resonance Detected]
[Emotion Match: Grief. Rage. Despair.]
[Corruption Level: HIGH]
[Soul Harvest Option Available]
[RELEASE – Purify the soul]
[CONSUME – Absorb power]
[Warning: Corrupted souls may influence personality over time.]
Stephen's eyes didn't flicker. His lips curled into a dark grin."I'm not your victim anymore. I'm not some weak nobody behind a desk. I'm a god now."
He raised his hand, and soul energy gathered like fire around his arm.
"You lived like filth… now die like one."
He could feel the pressure in his chest, the ticking clock.
[45 seconds of Soul Energy left.]
He locked eyes with the soul.
Jack still stared at him with defiance, but it didn't matter anymore.
"Consume."
The red thread ignited. Jack Moffart's soul let out a silent scream as it was ripped apart, absorbed into the black vortex of Stephan's growing power.
The air pulsed.
[Soul Consumed: Jack Moffart]
[Soul Type: Corrupted – High Grade]
[+30% Soul Energy Gained]
[Temporary Buff Unlocked: Predator's Instinct – Duration: 10 Minutes]
The tunnel darkened around Stephan… but he stood tall, his eyes glowing and power humming in his veins. His was no longer prey.
As the last fragments of Jack Moffart's corrupted soul were devoured, a heavy silence filled the sewer. The water stilled. The air thickened.
Then...
DING!
[Soul Harvest Complete]
[Analyzing Soul Count, Corruption Absorption, Combat Efficiency...]
[System Upgrade in Progress…]
Stephan's breath caught as he felt the power building like a wave inside his chest.
Something was changing.
DING!
[CONGRATULATIONS – SYSTEM LEVEL 2 UNLOCKED]
[ Soul Reaper Rank: Initiate - Harvester]
[New Capacity: +1 Soul Slot (Max Held Souls: 2)]
[Soul Energy Cap Increased: 150%]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: Soul Memory Vision – Toggle]
A thin light shimmered over his left eye, then vanished.
[Soul Memory Vision – Toggle On/Off]
[Gain access to a Soul Eater's final moments, memories, and emotions after defeat.]
[Warning: Prolonged exposure to corrupted memories may affect emotional state.]
[Default Setting: Manual Activation Only]
[Use command: "Soul Vision – On" / "Off"]
Another screen appeared, brighter than the rest.
[New Trait Gained: Corruption Resistance I]
Passive Trait – Slightly reduces psychological effects when consuming high-corruption souls.]
Stephan chuckled under his breath, exhausted but grinning.
"Not bad," he muttered, stretching his shoulders."Looks like Lucidas is finally taking me seriously."
His body still ached and blood clung to his clothes. But something deeper had shifted. He wasn't just reacting anymore. He was becoming.
His fingers twitched, already itching for the next fight.This wasn't just about surviving now. This was evolution.
A dark smile spread across his face.
"Level 2, huh? Let's see how deep this rabbit hole goes."