Kriel soared threw the skies at immense an speed reminiscent of a comet but pitch black all the creatures and people watched in awe as this black object dashed threw the sky.He reached the Sky cave deepwithin, Kriel sat cross-legged before three corpses that he killed. Each bore the remnants of his experiments—failed attempts at creating stable void imprints. Their flesh had turned black where his power had corrupted their natural marks.
[Experiment Log:
Subject 1: Mark destabilization at 47%
Subject 2: Partial conversion achieved
Subject 3: Void corruption spreading
Conclusion: Direct implantation unsuccessful]
His stolen Fire Mark knowledge had revealed an uncomfortable truth—the human body wasn't meant to contain void energy. Even his own flesh showed signs of strain, dark veins spreading beneath his skin.
[Status Update:
Level: 32
Health: 3,241/4,000
Void Corruption: 23%
Evolution Progress: 71%]
"The system rejects what it doesn't understand," Kriel muttered, studying the failed imprints. He'd been too direct, trying to force void patterns into unsuitable vessels. But perhaps there was another way.
A distant explosion interrupted his thoughts. The cave trembled, dust falling from above. Someone had found him.
Kriel moved to the cave entrance, staying within the shadows. Three figures stood in the valley below—Hunters, not regular patrol members. Their marks blazed with trained power.
[Tactical Analysis:
Target 1: Dual-Mark Hunter (A-)
- Earth Mark (B+)
- Water Mark (B)
Target 2: Single-Mark Specialist (A)
- Lightning Mark (A)
Target 3: Unknown Classification
- No visible marks
Threat Level: SS]
"Come out, void walker!" the lightning-marked hunter called. "There's nowhere left to run you'll die here today you filthy peasant!"
Kriel remained silent, analyzing. The third hunter worried him—something about their presence distorted his void senses. Not a normal mark bearer.
[Warning: Anomaly Detected
Unknown Energy Signature
Similar to: System Core Patterns]
"You think you can hide forever?" Kriel finally spoke, his voice low and menacing. "I've been waiting for you. You're just in time to witness the birth of something new"
The earth-marked hunter sneered. "You're just a monster, Kriel. A freak of nature."
Kriel chuckled, the sound sending shivers down the spines of the hunters. "A monster? Perhaps. But I am the future. And you are just relics of a dying system mark scum."
The ground erupted as the earth-marked hunter attacked, stone spears shooting upward to impale him. Kriel flowed between them like smoke, but a water whip caught his leg, yanking him into open air.
Lightning struck instantly, but Kriel was ready. His newest void imprint activated, absorbing the energy.
[Void Imprint: Thunder Eater
Stability: 82%
Energy Conversion Active]
The lightning hunter's eyes widened as his attack dissipated harmlessly. "Impossible—he's adapting!!??"
"All power can be contained," Kriel replied, feeling the stolen energy course through him. "Or consumed."
He struck back with his own lightning, void-corrupted and hungry. The hunter raised barriers, but dark electricity ate through them like acid.
[Combat Analysis:
Advantage: Energy manipulation
Disadvantage: Multiple opponents
Tactical Options Limited]
The third hunter finally moved, raising an empty hand. Reality seemed to shiver around them.
[DANGER
System Authority Detected
Recommend Immediate Retreat]
"You've strayed far from your path, little shadow," they spoke, voice resonating with strange power. "The system has rules."
Kriel felt it then—the same presence he'd sensed in Captain Aric's marks, but stronger. Pure, undiluted system energy.
"Rules," he spat, void power swirling around him, "are meant to be broken."
He didn't attack directly. Instead, he activated his experimental third imprint—one born from studying the temple's ancient runes.
[Void Imprint: Reality Shear
WARNING: Unstable Pattern
Reality Distortion: Critical]
Space twisted between them as two forms of system manipulation clashed. Kriel's corrupt power versus the hunter's pure authority. For a moment, the very air seemed to crack like glass.
The third hunter stepped back, actually surprised. "You're further along than we thought. Fascinating at this age Demon."
But before the confrontation could escalate, Kriel's body betrayed him. The void corruption spiked suddenly, sending him to his knees as dark veins spread across his flesh.
[Critical Warning:
Void Corruption: 31%
Systems Failing
Evolution Status: Unstable]
The hunters moved to capture him, but Kriel had one last trick. He triggered all three void imprints simultaneously, knowing it might kill him.
Kreil shouted " Die!!!!!!!!!!!!"
[Emergency Protocol Activated
Void Resonance Maximum
WARNING: Pattern Collapse Imminent]
The resulting explosion of void energy carved a hole in reality itself. As darkness flooded the valley, Kriel fell through it, letting the void carry him away.
He emerged miles away, deep in the Blighted Lands where even the patrol feared to tread. His body felt wrong, changed by the violent escape.
[Status Report:
Health: 1,892/4,000
Void Corruption: 42%
Evolution Progress: 84%
New Patterns Emerging...]
Looking down at his hands, Kriel saw the corruption had spread. But mixed with the dark veins were new marks—not system-forged or void-made, but something in between.
He'd glimpsed something in that hunter's power. The system wasn't just rules and marks. It was alive, in its own way. And now he knew it could bleed.
[New Quest Available:
Title: The Bleeding Edge
Objective: Survive Void Evolution
Secondary Objective: ??????
Reward: System Recognition]
Kriel smiled despite the pain. Let them hunt him. Each confrontation taught him more about what he was becoming. And soon, very soon, he'd be ready to hunt them back.
"You see, I've learned something," he whispered to himself, his voice echoing in the desolate landscape. "The void isn't just power—it's freedom. And I'll show them all what that means."
In the distance, reality still rippled from his desperate escape. The void was spreading, one broken rule at a time.
[Chapter End
Reality Stability: 62%
The System Watches...]