Kieran woke up in the academy hospital—a large, spacious room lined with several beds, most of them empty. His vision was still blurry, the bright white lights above making it difficult to focus. A dull ringing filled his ears, fading as he blinked several times, forcing himself to adjust.
His body felt… strange. Lighter, but at the same time, heavier—like something foreign had settled within him.
As his sight fully returned and he stabilized himself, a familiar screen popped up before his eyes.
The system.
His breath caught in his throat. I survived?
Memories flooded back in an instant. The abyss. The whispers. The sensation of falling into something endless. The cold, crawling darkness that had wrapped around him, sinking into his very being.
The voice that had spoken to him.
And the realization that he was no longer just… human.
Even now, he could feel it—the presence lingering within him, coursing through his veins like a shadow stretching in the dim light.
Before he could dwell on it further, the system screen flickered, glitching erratically before stabilizing.
[System Rebooting…]
Lines of text scrolled rapidly across the interface, a process unfolding beyond his understanding. Then, after a few moments, the screen cleared, displaying his stats once more.
But something was different.
Kieran's gaze sharpened as he took in the changes.
The background of the interface had shifted—where it was once a clean, blue-white display, it was now a deep, obsidian black. As if the system itself had been tainted.
His level had reset to 1—yet, strangely, his stats remained intact. That wasn't supposed to happen. Normally, losing levels meant a total reset in strength, but this… this was something else entirely.
Then his eyes locked onto the most crucial change.
His HP had increased to 100.
And his ability—
It was no longer hidden behind the mysterious ???? marker.
Instead, the system displayed a name that sent a cold shiver down his spine.
[Abyssal Veil]
Kieran stared at the words, his fingers curling into the hospital sheets.
The Abyssal Veil… He didn't know what it meant, but it felt right. Like a name that had been waiting for him to claim it. Like something that had always been a part of him, just waiting to awaken.
His race was still labeled as Human, though he knew that wouldn't last. He could feel it—something deep inside, shifting, waiting for the right moment to emerge.
He was changing.
The thought sent a mixture of unease and curiosity through him. He wanted to understand. He needed to know what he had become.
But before he could fully process it, a presence approached.
Light footsteps. Steady breathing. A faint aura of warmth.
Then, a voice.
"Kieran…?"
His body tensed instinctively before he turned his head.
Standing near his bed was a silver-haired girl with violet eyes—Emma Brown.
Recognition flickered in his mind. He remembered her. She had taken the Hunter Academy trial exams alongside him. She had a healing ability.
More importantly—her expression told him everything.
She was shocked to see him awake.
"You're awake…?" she murmured, disbelief lacing her voice.
Kieran didn't respond immediately. He could see the way she was looking at him—like something didn't make sense.
"How long… have I been here?" His voice came out rough, hoarse, almost foreign to his own ears.
Emma hesitated, then answered, "A week."
Kieran's chest tightened. A whole week?
Jack and Nathan… They must have been the ones who brought him here. That meant
He had been unconscious all this time.
Emma took a careful step closer. There was something guarded about her movements, as if she was uncertain.
"You were in bad shape, Kieran," she continued, keeping her gaze locked on him. "You were barely alive when they rushed you here."
Her words sent a ripple through his thoughts.
"You weren't supposed to wake up this soon," she added, voice quieter now.
Kieran clenched his jaw. He could hear the subtle suspicion in her tone.
She wasn't wrong to be wary.
He hadn't just healed—he had changed.
Emma inhaled deeply before stepping even closer. "Let me check something."
She reached out, hovering her hand just above his arm. A soft, warm glow pulsed from her fingertips—her ability activating.
Seconds passed.
Her brows furrowed slightly. Then, slowly, her lips parted in mild disbelief.
"You're… fine," she muttered. It wasn't a statement of relief—it was confusion.
She pulled her hand back, eyes narrowing slightly. "You were supposed to take longer to recover. Your body was—" She stopped herself, shaking her head.
Kieran remained silent.
What could he even say? That he had been swallowed by something beyond human comprehension? That an entity had latched onto him? That the system itself had rewritten parts of him?
She wouldn't understand.
She shouldn't understand.
Emma studied him for a long moment, as if debating whether to press him for answers.
But in the end, she exhaled softly, shaking her head. "Well… I guess you're just lucky," she muttered.
Kieran knew luck had nothing to do with it.
This wasn't natural.
This was just the beginning.
Because as he sat there, feeling the abyss stirring within him, one undeniable thought echoed in his mind.
He wasn't the same Kieran any more