The E‑ranks lived up to their rank. They were every bit the problem Stephan had expected, and then some.They didn't attack in any clever formation, but raw, savage instinct drew them together like sharks scenting blood in the water.
Their claws ripped through the dark, carving lines of death only heartbeats from his flesh.
Stephan gritted his teeth, twisting aside just in time as talons slashed past his face, the wind of the blow hot against his skin.
Before he could fully recover, another Feral Wraith crashed into him, its jagged carapace smashing against his ribs.
The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, sent him skidding across the black stone, shadows scattering like torn cloth.
But even spinning, he forced his body to obey. Boots scraped, knees bent, and he landed hard, balanced and ready, eyes flashing with cold resolve.
Breathing ragged, dagger still clenched tight, Stephan stared the beasts down.
They were strong. Savage. Hungry.
Exactly the kind of enemy he had come here to fight.
His smirk returned, blood on his lips.
"You are good, I will give you that," he rasped. "Let's see if you can push me beyond my limit."
[System Alert]
[Status: | Fractured shoulder]
Stephan wiped the blood from his mouth, the metallic taste biting at his tongue.His breath came ragged, shoulders rising and falling.
"I won't lose here," he spat.
The three E‑rank Ferals lunged as one,wild and hateful.
The first came low, claws scything toward his legs. Stephan shifted his weight, pivoted on his heel, and kicked the creature square under its jaw, snapping its head back with a crack.
Before he could draw breath, the second crashed into him from the side. Carapace spikes tore across his ribs, pain ripping through his chest.
[Status: | Fractured shoulder | Bruised Ribs ]
He staggered, vision swimming. The third E‑rank was already above him, claws raised.
Stephan forced himself to twist away, shadows trailing his movement. The beast's talons scraped stone instead of flesh, sparks bursting in the dark.
He countered with a quick slash of his dagger, cutting shallow lines into the Wraith's hardened shell. Not deep enough.
Pain flared hot in his shoulder as the first Wraith recovered and slammed into him from behind, sending him sprawling onto the black gravel.
[Status: | Fractured [Shoulder] | Internal Bleeding | Bruised Ribs | Right Knee Sprain]
Stephan rolled onto his back just in time to see a set of claws descending.
His dagger shot up on reflex, deflecting the blow, but the sheer weight behind it pressed him flat, stones biting into his back.
He kicked up, both feet planting against the creature's chest, shoving it off just long enough to scramble to his feet.
Blood dripped from a new cut above his brow, stinging his vision.
The Ferals pressed in, relentless. One struck high, the other swept low; the third circled to his blind side.
Stephan ducked under a claw, felt another rake across his side, cloth and skin tearing.
[Status: | Fractured [Shoulder] | Internal Bleeding | Bruised Ribs | Right Knee Sprain | Laceration [Left Side]]
Breathing ragged, he pivoted on his injured knee, pain flashing up his leg. The second Wraith slammed a spiked elbow into his chest, crushing the air from his lungs.
[Status: | Fractured [Shoulder] | Internal Bleeding | Bruised Ribs | Right Knee Sprain | Laceration [Left Side] | Minor Concussion]
His vision wavered. The air felt thick, each breath ragged, tasting of blood and iron.
The Ferals hissed in unison, closing in from three sides.
Stephan wiped the blood from his brow, eyes cold and unwavering despite the pain.
"Alright," he rasped, voice low and rough.
"Let's see if you bastards can finish what you started."
Stephan's breath rattled in his chest, each inhale scraping like broken glass. The three E‑rank Ferals spread out, circling, claws twitching, hungry for the kill.
Blood ran down his arm, dripping onto the gravel. The shadows swirling at his back thinned, weaker now, like dying smoke.
Yet in that moment, Stephan's gaze turned cold, darker than the abyss itself.
[Duration: 8 minutes]
[Effect: Tactical foresight, reflex speed boost, pain dampening, muscle control amplified.]
His lips curled into a blood‑slicked grin.
"Perfect timing."
Dark energy surged under his skin, black veins pulsing like living ink.
The world slowed.
The first Feral lunged, its talons stretching toward his throat. Stephan moved before it finished the motion, twisting his battered body sideways, the creature's claws missing by a hair.
He caught its arm, drove his dagger up under its jaw. Black ichor sprayed across his face as the blade burst through cracked carapace and skull.
The second Feral snarled, bounding forward, heavy, savage. Stephan dropped low, sweeping a leg under its knee joint. The beast stumbled; Stephan rolled onto his back, planted both feet in its chest, and kicked with every ounce of strength.
The creature flew backward, bones cracking as it slammed against a jagged pillar.
The third came in behind him, claws poised for a killing strike.
Stephan let himself fall, twisting as he dropped. The claws ripped through the air where his head had been, missing by inches.
In one breathless heartbeat, he turned the dodge into attack. His dagger flashed up from below, piercing the soft joint under the Feral's armpit. A brutal twist; black ichor gushed.
The beast shrieked in raw agony, swinging wildly. Stephan ducked the desperate blow, shadows flickering around him, then rammed his shoulder into its chest, sending it stumbling back.
No new injuries sustained.
His lungs burned. The blood on his brow blurred his vision, but instinct ruled now, faster, sharper.
The second Feral recovered, charging again. Stephan didn't back away. Instead, he surged into the strike, ducked inside its guard, and drove his dagger repeatedly into the soft gap under its jaw, three rapid thrusts.
Black blood sprayed. The beast convulsed, crashing forward onto the stone.
One left.
The last Feral circled, wary now, red veins pulsing brighter. It hissed, claws raised, waiting for an opening.
Stephan raised his dagger, stance low, shadows rising behind him like coiled serpents.
For a heartbeat, neither moved.
Then Stephan feinted left, and when the Feral lunged to intercept, he pivoted right, slipping under its swipe. His dagger flashed up, tracing a clean arc across the creature's exposed throat.
A crack. A gout of black mist.
The Feral staggered, choking on its own essence, before collapsing.
Stephan stood, chest heaving, shoulders trembling from exhaustion and pain.
Black mist and fresh blood dripped from his blade. The cavern stank of burnt sorrow and rotting flesh.
[All E‑Rank Ferals eliminated.]
[Temporary Buff still active: 6 minutes remaining.]
He wiped his brow, breath ragged, gaze hard.
"I said…" he rasped, voice hoarse, "…I won't lose here."
Slowly, the darkness around him quieted.
The battlefield lay still, littered with broken bodies.
Stephan stood among the scattered remains, not bodies of flesh, but splintered soul husks: black, brittle shells fractured by his strikes.
Faint cracks still pulsed with dying crimson light, thin trails of black mist drifting into the stale air.
These aren't just dead husks, he thought, chest still heaving from the fight.They're raw power. Waiting to be claimed.
A slow, dark smile spread across his face, sharpened by exhaustion and triumph.
DING!
[Soul Resonance Detected]
[Emotion Match: Grief. Rage. Despair.]
[Corruption Level: HIGH]
[Soul Harvest Option Available]
[Purify the souls; return them to the Abyss cleansed.]
[Absorb the power tainted by sorrow and rage.]
[Warning: Consuming corrupted souls may alter your essence.]
His gaze swept over the splintered husks, each flickering with lingering hatred.
His voice dropped to a cold whisper, barely above the Realm's eternal silence:
"Consume."
The reaction was instant.
Darkness coiled upward from the cracked husks, thick, ragged strands of black energy, twisting and tearing at the air as if they still clung to life. Each fragment of corrupted soul floated for a heartbeat, shapes half-formed: broken masks, jagged claws of shadow, twisted faces screaming without sound.
Then the shards turned toward him, drawn by a pull deeper than hunger.
They lunged as one.
The black stream slammed into Stephan's chest, shadows spider-webbing across his skin, crawling beneath his flesh. His eyes flashed black for a breath, and a low hum echoed in the pit around him.
He felt them, the fragments of grief, rage, ancient despair, heavy and cold, sinking into his bones. The mist tightened, merging into him, swallowed by the darkness already seeded deep within.
The air fell silent again. The soul husks crumbled to fine black dust, lifeless.
Stephan opened his eyes, breath steady, power burning quietly under his skin. A slow exhale escaped his lips, and on them, the same dark, knowing smile remained.
"All mine."
Somehow, Stephan knew. Felt it deep in the marrow of his bones, a presence beyond the wreckage of shredded souls around him.
Those E-Ranked Feral Wraiths weren't the worst this layer had to offer. Somewhere further ahead… something far older, far darker waited. Its soul energy seeped through the air itself: heavier, colder, thick with ancient malice that made even the devoured souls inside him recoil.
His heart drummed once, slow and heavy.
Stronger than anything I've faced before…
A sane man might have turned back.But he couldn't. The hunger twisting inside him wouldn't let him.
He had to find it. He had to consume it.
His shadow stirred around his feet, flickering like it felt the same pull. Stephan stepped forward into the deeper dark, the promise of power guiding every step.