Revyn stepped away from the fading presence of Lanien, her echo dissolving into the mist like smoke caught on the wind. The broken balcony gave way to a spiraling path of fractured bone and shattered stone, winding downward into the dangerous foggy abyss below, the Wailing Expanse.
The cold wind sliced at his skin like knifes, the wind carrying whispers in a tongue he did not understand. The system chimed quietly in his mind, guiding, warning.
{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}
[SYSTEM NOTICE: DESCENT INITIATED]
[Path: Bone Spiral → Black Lake]
[Terrain Hazard: Extreme]
[Safe Zone: None]
[Entity Signature Detected: PURSUER OF THE FORGOTTEN]
[Distance: Closing]
His grip tightened on the Godcleaver. The blade's ancient runes pulsed faintly, matching the rhythm of his blood. Somewhere in the distance, a low moan echoed through the cavernous space, sending a ripple of unease through his bones.
The bone staircase beneath his boots crunched with every step, each footfall met with brittle echoes that seemed to mock his progress.
Revyn moved cautiously, his senses sharp. The System's voice spoke softly inside his head.
{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}
[SYSTEM STATUS: HUNGER LEVEL – HIGH]
[ESSENCE AVAILABLE – NONE]
[DEVOUR ACTIVITY – INACTIVE]
He knew the rules now: devour could only activate after slaying an entity. No matter how much hunger clawed at his insides, patience was key.
Suddenly, the fog ahead shifted.
Shapes began to emerge—hulking silhouettes with eyes like smoldering coals. The first was a Rotborn Alpha, a stitched mass of flesh and bone with chains that clattered as it moved.
Its grotesque howl shattered the silence, and the others stirred—souls twisted beyond recognition.
Revyn tightened his grip, Godcleaver humming with anticipation.
The fight began.
The Alpha lunged with terrible force, chains whipping like serpents. Revyn dodged, narrowly escaping a crushing blow. His newly gained Hollow Tendons pulsed, granting him unnatural flexibility to slip through its grasp.
Kael unsheathed Godcleaver in an instant. He swung the Godcleaver in a wide arc, steel slicing into rotted flesh and clattering bone. The blade sang with an eerie resonance, severing chunks of the beast's decayed mass.
The creature roared, staggering, but rallied quickly, snapping at him with jagged teeth.
Revyn dodged again, feeling the weight of his mutations and the godling power coursing through his veins. Sweat dripped from his brow.
The Alpha's attacks grew more desperate, its massive frame slower.
Then, with a furious roar, Revyn stepped inside its guard and drove the Godcleaver deep into its chest.
The monster shuddered violently, then collapsed into a pile of twitching limbs.
Its eyes dimmed.
And then, it began to dissolve and black mist rising from the corpse.
{Ding!}{Ding!}
[ESSENCE AVAILABLE – ROTBORN ALPHA SOUL]
[DEVOUR?][Y/N]
Revyn didn't hesitate.
He reached out, clutching the shadowy essence as it seeped into his skin, cold and sharp like shards of glass.
The System pulsed around him.
{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}
[Trait Acquired: Grave Pulse] (ACTIVE)
[Emits a decaying pulse every 5 seconds that reveals hidden entities nearby.]
[Sanity Drain: Moderate.]
[Corruption Accrual: Low.]
His vision blurred for a moment, then sharpened. Shapes previously hidden flickered into view, like ghosts caught in the corner of his eye. The world had shifted. But the cost was immediate. A pounding in his temples.
His head swam with phantom whispers. The hunger always demands more. Revyn clenched his teeth, steadying his breath.
In the distance, a faint flicker caught his attention, a mural flickering in and out on the cracked wall of a nearby crypt. He approached, hand reaching out hesitantly.
The image showed three figures, a boy, a girl, and a knight burned by fire. The girl's face was familiar. It was Mira. His Sist-
"ARGHHH!!!"
A sudden piercing pain exploded behind his eyes.
Visions slammed into him, a younger boy reaching through a pale curtain, desperate, screaming a name.
"Revyn! You promised you'd come back!"
His knees buckled as he fell to the floor on a knee. Blood trickled from his nose.
{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}
[ERROR: MEMORY FLUX DETECTED]
[Visual Hallucinations Enabled]
[System Stability: -39%]
[Warning: Identity Drift in Progress]
The whispers multiplied, voices threading through the air, some angry, some pleading.
"Don't drown in what you lost. You'll never surface." The words of Lanien echoed in his head as he remembered them.
Revyn forced himself upright.
Behind him, something stirred in the fog.
Heavy footsteps dragged slowly, chains rattling.
He didn't look back. He couldn't look back.
{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}{Ding!}
[NEW OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE THE PURSUER – ACTIVE]
[Description: Unknown Entity is tracking system signature.]
[Reward: Trait Evolution Opportunity]
[Penalty: System Lockout] (72 hrs)
The Wailing Expanse was no longer just a descent, it was a hellscape.
Revyn's red eye flared, burning brighter in the dim.
The Godcleaver hummed a low warning.
He tightened his grip and moved forward.
Because running was no longer enough.
Revyn's Current Stats:
Health: 850/850
Stamina: 400/400
Mana: 50/50
Sanity: 120/150
Essence: 0/100 (Replenished by Devouring defeated entities)
Traits:
Hollow Tendons (Passive): +15% Evasion, -5% Stability
Grave Pulse (Active): Reveals hidden entities every 5 seconds; Moderate Sanity Drain