I stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the setting sun stain the sky crimson. Below me, the Sky Reign Sect sprawled in all its glory—towering spires, sprawling courtyards, and cascading waterfalls, all shimmering under the dying light. It should have been a sight to inspire awe, but to me, it was a constant reminder of my insignificance.
The laughter echoed in my mind again, sharp and cruel.
"A waste of space!"
"A mortal pretending to be a cultivator!"
"You don't even have a spiritual root. Why don't you just leave?"
I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. I didn't need to be reminded of my failure; the scars on my body were evidence enough. The outer disciples treated me as a joke, a stepping stone to showcase their strength. No one remembered my name—Jian Wu. They only remembered the weakling who couldn't fight back.
I turned away from the view and trudged back toward my hut at the edge of the sect's territory. It was a shabby, damp structure barely large enough to lie down in. The other disciples lived in proper quarters with warm beds and meals, but this was all I deserved, apparently.
I lit a small candle and sat cross-legged on the floor, opening the worn scroll I'd been poring over for weeks. It was a low-grade cultivation manual, barely useful for anyone with talent, but it was all I could afford.
I closed my eyes and began to circulate my qi, or at least tried to. The energy in my body felt sluggish, refusing to move through my meridians properly. My breath quickened, sweat beading on my forehead as I forced the qi to flow. It hurt—like molten lead burning through my veins—but I didn't stop.
"If I don't push forward, I'll never get stronger."
Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through my chest. My eyes snapped open, and I gasped, clutching at my ribs. The qi dispersed chaotically, leaving me drained and shaking.
I fell back, staring at the dark ceiling. "Pathetic," I muttered. "I can't even handle the basics."
Just as despair threatened to consume me, a faint hum reached my ears. At first, I thought I was imagining it, but it grew louder. The candle flickered violently, its flame bending toward the corner of the room.
My eyes widened. "What...?"
The floorboards creaked, and then, with a sudden crack, they split apart. A dark, swirling vortex appeared where the wood had been. It pulsed with ominous energy, its blackness deeper than the night sky.
A dungeon portal.
I scrambled back, heart pounding. How was this possible? Dungeons were supposed to manifest far from populated areas, not here, in the heart of the Sky Reign Sect!
The portal pulsed again, and a chilling voice echoed from its depths.
"Come forth, seeker of strength. Prove yourself worthy."
I froze. The voice was cold, emotionless, and yet it resonated deep within me, as if speaking to my very soul.
"Worthy?" I thought bitterly. "What worth do I have?"
And yet, I couldn't look away. Something about the portal called to me, igniting a spark in the darkest corners of my heart. This was no ordinary dungeon. It felt alive, sentient even.
Before I could think twice, my body moved on its own. I reached out, my hand trembling as it neared the swirling darkness. The moment my fingers touched the edge, the portal expanded, swallowing me whole.
---
I landed hard on cold, obsidian ground, the impact knocking the breath out of me. Gasping, I pushed myself up and looked around. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of iron and decay. Jagged black rocks jutted out of the ground, and the sky above was a swirling mass of shadows.
Before me stood a massive stone gate, covered in intricate carvings of battles and monsters. A line of glowing runes ran along its surface, their light shifting like living flame.
"Prove yourself worthy," the voice echoed again, reverberating in my skull.
I turned, but there was no sign of the portal I'd entered through. I was trapped.
A low growl drew my attention to the gate. The runes flared, and the stone began to shift, groaning as it opened. From the darkness beyond stepped a creature straight out of a nightmare—a massive wolf, its fur as black as the void, with glowing red eyes and fangs dripping with venom.
It snarled, the sound reverberating through the air.
"Defeat it," the voice commanded. "Or die."
I took a step back, fear gripping my heart. I had no weapons, no armor, nothing but the flimsy clothes on my back. The wolf lunged, and I barely managed to roll out of the way. Its claws tore through the ground where I'd been standing, leaving deep gouges.
"Fight!" the voice demanded.
"But I can't!" I shouted, panic rising. "I'm not strong enough!"
"Then perish as the weak do."
The wolf turned, its glowing red eyes locking onto mine. A low growl rumbled deep in its throat, reverberating through the air and sending a shiver down my spine. Its fangs, long and jagged, glinted with venom, dripping onto the obsidian ground with soft hisses.
I could barely breathe. My legs felt like lead, refusing to move as terror rooted me in place. My heart hammered against my chest, each beat echoing in my ears like a drum.
It lunged.
Time seemed to slow as the massive beast sailed toward me, claws extended to tear me apart. Every instinct screamed for me to move, but I was frozen, trapped in a spiral of fear and hopelessness.
At the last possible moment, I threw myself to the side, landing hard on the jagged ground. The wolf's claws swiped past, inches from my face, and tore deep gouges into the earth where I'd stood. The sound was deafening, like stone being shredded.
Pain shot through my ribs where I'd hit the ground, but there was no time to dwell on it. The wolf whirled around, its crimson eyes burning with fury.
"Fight!" the voice boomed in my head
.
"I can't!" I shouted back, my voice cracking. "I'm not strong enough!"
The wolf snarled, pacing slowly now, its muscles rippling under its midnight fur. It was toying with me, savoring my panic. My breaths came in ragged gasps, and my vision blurred as tears stung my eyes.
This is it, I thought bitterly. This is how I die.
The wolf lunged again. This time, its claws raked across my arm, and the world exploded in pain. I screamed, collapsing to the ground as warm blood poured down my skin. The scent of iron was overwhelming.
The wolf stood over me, its growl low and menacing. My body trembled as I clutched my injured arm.
And then something inside me snapped.
A surge of anger, raw and unrelenting, erupted from the depths of my soul. The fear, the helplessness, the humiliation-it all twisted into something darker, sharper.
"If I'm going to die, I'll die fighting!"
My hand shot out, grabbing a jagged piece of rock from the ground. The edges bit into my palm, drawing blood, but I didn't care. My vision narrowed, focusing solely on the beast before
me.
When it lunged again, I didn't dodge. I stepped forward, every ounce of rage fueling me, and drove the rock into its eye.
The wolf howled, the sound ripping through the air like a storm. It thrashed wildly, trying to shake me off, but I held on, stabbing again and again. Black ichor sprayed across my face, its acrid scent making me gag, but I didn't stop.
"Die!" I roared, slamming the rock into its skull with every ounce of strength I had. My arms burned, my body screamed in protest, but I couldn't stop.
Finally, with a choked whimper, the wolf
collapsed.
Finally, with a choked whimper, the wolf
collapsed. Its body shuddered once before dissolving into a swirling mass of shadow that dissipated into the air.
I fell to my knees, gasping for breath. The rock slipped from my bloodied fingers and clattered to the ground. My entire body trembled, and tears streamed down my face, mixing with the ichor.
I didn't feel victorious. I felt hollow, like a part of me had been carved out and replaced with something cold and unfamiliar.
"You have taken your first step, Jian Wu," the voice said, its tone approving. "Now, rise as my chosen."
Before I could process the words, the ground beneath me began to glow. Symbols spread outward in a circle, their dark light searing into my vision.
Pain exploded through my body as a foreign energy surged into me, cold and unrelenting. It crawled through my veins, coiling around my soul like a serpent.
[Shadow Sovereign System activated.]
The words floated in the air before me, impossible yet undeniable.
[Level 1: Shadow Initiate.]
[Abilities unlocked: Shadow Veil.]
[Mission: Conquer the Abyssal Trials to ascend.]
The energy finally settled, leaving me gasping and drenched in sweat. My arm still throbbed, blood dripping onto the glowing symbols, but I didn't care.
I stared at the words, my mind reeling. I had survived. But at what cost?
I looked down at my hands, now stained with both my blood and the wolf's ichor. They trembled, but not from fear this time. A dark, unsettling feeling bloomed in my chest.
This power-it wasn't ordinary. It was dangerous, and yet, it was mine.
And for the first time in my life, I felt something I hadn't dared to before.
Hope.