The air inside the Shadow Caves was thick with the smell of damp earth and rot. While the other recruits—the Silvers and Bronzes—rushed ahead with glowing magic stones and sturdy swords, Kael lagged behind.
His rusted dagger felt heavy in his hand. He was a scavenger in a room full of hunters.
Skitter. Skitter.
Kael froze. From the ceiling, a Shadow Spider dropped. It wasn't a high-level monster, but for an Unranked, its red eyes and venomous fangs were a death sentence.
"Help!" Kael shouted, but the group ahead didn't even look back.
"Die quietly, Zero!" someone yelled, their laughter echoing off the cave walls.
The spider lunged. Kael threw up his arms, the rusted dagger scraping against the monster's hard shell. It was useless. The spider's weight slammed him against the jagged stone wall, pinning him down. As the fangs sank toward his throat, Kael felt a cold, hollow sensation in his chest.
It wasn't fear. It was an hunger.
Suddenly, his vision blurred. The mocking blank status window in front of his eyes began to flicker like a broken screen.
[WARNING: Soul Rank 'Zero' is failing...]
[Initializing Emergency Protocol...]
[Target: Shadow Spider (Rank F) detected.]
[Action: Consume?]
Consume? Kael's mind screamed. Yes! Anything!
[Protocol 'Void Heart' Activated.]
A black mist, darker than the shadows of the cave, erupted from Kael's chest. It didn't strike the spider; it swallowed it. The monster didn't even have time to screech before its body withered into gray ash, its life force pulled into the "Zero" standing before it.
A new notification flashed in high-contrast purple:
[Devour Successful.]
[Permanent Stat Increase: +2 Agility]
[Skill Learned: Shadow Step (Rank F)]
[Soul Rank Updated: Void King (Evolving...)]
Kael stood up, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The wound on his arm wasn't bleeding anymore—it was being stitched shut by threads of dark energy.
He looked at his hands. They were trembling, but for the first time in his life, they felt powerful.
"They wanted me to die quietly," Kael whispered, a dark glint appearing in his eyes. "Too bad. I'm just getting started