As he walked forward, his surroundings grew more surreal. The corpses piled higher and higher, forming jagged peaks of flesh and bones.
Black blood pooled at the base of these grotesque mountains, shining with an eerie dark glow of Abyss.
Nova paused at the base of one such peak, staring up at its impossible height. The air around him turned heavy with an overwhelming aura of malice.
His grip on the Abyssal Devourer Blade tightened as he stepped forward. Something about this place seemed off to him.
Cautiously glancing around, he began to slowly walk in a circle around the mountain of corpses, his instincts screamed at him about the possible danger lurking ahead.
Sweat dripped from his forehead as he came to the corner of the mountain, slowly, he tried to peek from the corner.
But before he could peek from behind the corpses, the mountain trembled.
A low, grating roar reverberated through the abyss, shaking the ground beneath his feet.
Nova's eyes widened in shock, he instinctively leaped back, raising his sword defensively as a massive hand emerged from the pile of flesh and bones, scattering decayed remains in every direction.
Fingers as thick as tree trunks clawed at the air, dragging a monstrous form into view.
The Abyssal Abomination rose from its slumber.
It was an abomination of nightmares, its body a mix of Abyssal Monsters fused into a towering giant.
Nova gulped slightly as he saw the Abomination's misshapen head glowed with a faint light of countless hollow eyes, and its chest bore a jagged cavity where a writhing mass of dark energy pulsated like a grotesque heart.
[Abyssal Abomination has appeared. Prepare to fight.]
The system's notification was almost drowned out by the Titan's deafening roar, a sound that seemed to claw directly at Nova's soul.
Nova's heart pounded. "This is going to hurt quite a lot," he muttered, forcing a smirk despite the pit forming in his stomach.
The Abomination's first strike came faster than he had anticipated. Its massive arm swung down like a falling building, the force of its movement sending shockwaves through the abyss.
Nova barely managed to jump away and dodge, the impact of the strike forming a crater where he was just standing.
He struck back with a wide slash of his blade, sending a wave of Abyssal Energy slicing through the air. The attack struck the Abomination's arm, but the sheer amount of flesh of the Abomination proved too much for his attack to make a lethal blow.
"Of course," Nova grunted, rolling on the ground to avoid the Titan's follow-up strike. "It's never easy."
He stood up and attacked the enormous body of the Abyssal Abomination again, every nerve in his body screamed as he fought to stay alive, his body being pushed to its very limits with each swing of his Abyssal Devourer Blade.
The Abyssal Abomination's attacks were relentless, its massive arms creating shockwaves that reverberated through the ground and threw him off balance again and again.
Each time Nova evaded, countered, or struck with his sword, he found himself falling just short of dealing significant damage to the main body of the Abyssal Abomination.
The monster's sheer size and regenerative capabilities rendered most of his attacks futile.
It was a brutal, unrelenting cycle: a desperate struggle, whose outcome he knew would be nothing but his inevitable demise.
Nova's body hit the ground for what felt like the hundredth time, his bones shattering under the sheer force of the Abomination's massive strike.
The world turned black, and once again, the system's cold notification greeted him.
[You have died.]
He jolted awake, gasping, his body drenched in sweat from the horrifying experience of death.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up, gripping the Abyssal Devourer tightly in his hand. His eyes burned with fury, his teeth seemed clenched so hard that they might break.
"Again," he muttered, his voice hoarse but filled with killing intent.
The Abomination towered over him like a living nightmare, its grotesque form shifting and writhing in the darkness of the Abyss.
Its hollow eyes glowed faintly from its twisted face, while its bloody chest pulsed with darkness, radiating malevolence.
SCREEECHHHH!!
It roared as the first strike came towards Noah, a massive hand descending like a falling mountain.
Nova bent his knees slightly, coiling his body like a spring before jumping to the side, narrowly avoiding the impact.
The ground where he had stood cracked as black goo seemed to be oozing from the ground.
Nova sprang to his feet, gripping his sword tightly and slashing at the beast's leg. The Abyssal Devourer Blade hummed with energy, slicing into the flesh, but it wasn't enough.
The Abomination barely noticed the attack, swinging its other arm with brutal force.
"Fuck!!" Nova cursed, leaping back just in time. He kept moving, his eyes darting to every part of the monster, searching for an opening.
But there wasn't one. Its massive arms created shockwaves with every movement, and the dark energy in its chest radiated an oppressive aura, making it harder to breathe, let alone fight.
He fought and died. Over and over.
One time, he tried to sever its arms, aiming for the joints. He managed to cut halfway through before the Abomination swatted him like a fly and reduced his body to a bloody mist.
Another time, he focused on dodging and landing quick strikes, but the creature's sheer size rendered his efforts meaningless.
Every strategy of his failed. Every death brought him back to the same place, to the same mountain of corpses, his frustration growing with each reset.
[Death Count: 1986.]
Nova's breaths came in ragged gasps as he clutched his chest, the phantom pain of his last death remained fresh in his mind. His hands trembled, not from fear, but from mental exhaustion.
"This... thing," he spat, glaring at the towering monster in the distance. "It's not invincible. I just haven't found the right way yet. Or the right technique."