All five idiots buckled at the same time — like someone smacked their knees from the inside.
They didn't make a sound, but I could see every little meltdown on their faces.
One grabbed his ears so hard you'd think he was trying to rip them off — mouth wide, eyes popping like he was screaming,
"WHY IS EVERYTHING QUIET?!"
Another dude clutched his teammate's jacket and shook him like a broken vending machine — probably yelling,
"BRO?! BRO?! SAY SOMETHING!"
Their fearless leader?
He just spun around, waving his arms like air might start working if he begged hard enough. His face said the rest:
"Helphelphelphelp—oh shit I'm deaf—help—"
One more guy tried to breathe and realized he couldn't even feel the air going in.
His eyes went full panic-mode.
He dropped on all fours, gasping like a fish on land, mouth opening and closing uselessly.
Yeah. Abyssal Silence wasn't just muting sound — it was crushing everything.
No balance.
No sense of space.
No air moving right.
Their lungs were probably screaming for help that wasn't coming.
I watched one stumble sideways and fall flat, rolling like a dying beetle because his inner ear had just clocked out.
Another crawled toward the leader, hand shaking, trying to grab him like
"Boss please do something, you're older—fix it—"
The leader didn't even notice.
He was too busy slapping his own ears, tapping his neck, opening and closing his jaw like a panicked goldfish.
Beautiful.
They were all drowning in silence, crawling, grabbing at nothing, staring at each other like the world had just ended.
And me?
I stood in the center, relaxed.
Breathing in and out just fine.
Like I was the only one here who still remembered how breathing works.
I let out a tiny sigh.
"…pathetic."
They didn't hear it.
They couldn't hear anything.
Not their own heartbeat.
Just five rookies slowly choking on fear inside my silence.
And something in my chest…
yeah.
It twitched.
A tiny spark.
A quiet thrum.
That little rush that creeps up your spine right before a hunt.
I didn't smile.
But the corner of my mouth… yeah, it moved a little.
Watching them panic without a single sound, without air, without balance…
It was like looking at a black-and-white painting I didn't remember making…
but somehow, I liked the style.
Makes sense, though. This whole silent freakshow was pretty much my doing anyway.
Fear they didn't even know was hiding in their bones.
I crouched slightly, watching their limbs shake.
"…look at you," I whispered, voice calm, low, dark.
"You wanted to kill me five minutes ago."
One of them looked up at me — eyes wide, pupils shaking, mouth opening like he was begging.
Begging.
To me.
A slow exhale slipped from my lips.
There it was — that feeling.
That quiet hunger sitting behind my ribs.
Not rage.
Not hatred.
Just… the thrill.
The part of me that liked watching predators realize they were the prey.
"…You picked the wrong lunch break," I murmured.
None of them could hear it.
None of them could hear anything.
Only me.
Only my breath.
Only my heartbeat.
Only my control.
Abyssal Silence wasn't just a skill.
It was a reminder.
Inside this bubble?
They were already turning into broken dolls.
My dolls.
Watching them fall apart this slowly… yeah, I could get used to this.
…maybe I already did.
I walked right up to them and sat down —
cross-legged, comfy, like I was about to roast marshmallows, not watch five morons slowly die.
That grin just crawled onto my face on its own.
Couldn't stop it.
Didn't want to.
I mumbled it, barely opening my mouth,
"Abyssal Resonance."
I didn't feel a signal or any flashy effect.
Resonance just slipped out of me the moment I let it, quiet and simple, like sending a thought through the air.
And the result hit them right away.
They were already bent under the Silence, trembling, grabbing at the dirt like it could save them.
Then Resonance pushed deeper and their bodies folded even more — knees buckling, elbows shaking, necks dropping forward like something was dragging them down from inside.
Their mouths stretched open wider, like they were trying to scream instructions to each other… but nothing came out.
Their eyes kept darting around, wild and confused, like they were waiting for reality to turn the sound back on.
I leaned back on my palms and watched them twitch.
"That's better," I murmured. "Now you're finally listening."
One tried to get up.
His arm gave out halfway, and he slid down the dirt like someone unplugged his bones.
Another grabbed his teammate's clothes in panic, shaking him like that would magically stop the pressure crushing his lungs.
I tilted my head, studying it like some art piece I didn't remember making but somehow understood.
This field was mine.
Every breath they took, every twitch, every drop of strength draining out of them — all of it followed the rhythm I set.
And honestly? It looked good on them.
Good.
Just a little.
"That's right," I muttered, leaning in, voice low enough it felt like I was whispering to myself.
"Let it crawl in. Let it chew."
The longer they suffer in this circle, the more I felt it —
that slow pull in my chest finally waking up.
It started small — a warm curl under my ribs, like someone lit a candle inside my chest.
Then it grew.
Slow, steady, soaking through me inch by inch.
It felt… good.
Too good.
Every moment Abyssal Resonance stayed active, I felt it —
their life slipping out of them… and into me.
It didn't come all at once.
It crawled in slow — warm, steady — like it knew exactly where to go.
It was their breath.
Their stamina.
Their strength.
All peeling off them piece by piece… and filling the empty spots inside me like it was all mine from the beginning.
I watched them fade out one by one, and yeah… the smile just showed up on its own.
I didn't even try to hide it. Why bother?
It felt good — too good — seeing them fade like that.
Their struggle, their ego, their pride, all those big speeches they practiced—all of it just faded.
All of it just… evaporated.
Just gone.
Like they never existed in the first place.
Inside my head, that voice stirred again — low, calm, almost bored.
See?
This is what they turn into when they stand in your way.
It felt amused.
Proud.
Like it was patting me on the back.
Weak ones die.
Strong ones take.
That's it.
Yeah…
I liked that voice.
It said the truths everyone else was too scared to admit.