The world stopped.
No whispers. No shuffling feet. No rustling papers.
Everything—everyone—was frozen in time. My classmates sat mid-conversation, lips parted, fingers hovering over their notebooks. The air felt heavy, like I was trapped underwater, each breath thick and suffocating. My heart thudded in my chest. A shiver crawled up my spine. Every part of me screamed to **run.**
But I couldn't move.
The **same monster from the fire.**
The one that had taken everything from me.
My breath caught in my throat. *How?* How was it here? How was I seeing it again? And why was it staring at me like I was its next meal?
The creature's grin stretched wider, feeding off my fear. It moved—not with steps, but in a flickering, unnatural glide, shifting closer in jerky, impossible motions. My heart pounded, my fists clenched at my sides. I wanted to scream, to move, to do anything—but I was paralyzed.
The creature tilted its grotesque head. Its voice echoed in my mind, like nails scraping against metal.
*"You survived."*
I froze. The voice was so close, yet there was no sound. It vibrated through my bones, rattling me from the inside out.
My thoughts scattered. I clenched my fists, trying to steady myself. *Focus. Think.*
I had seen this thing before. It had been the cause of everything. The pain. The loss. The fire that took my parents.
But now…
Now, I wasn't the same weak, powerless boy I had been.
My eyes flicked to the corner of my vision. The faint glow of the system window appeared:
**[Kang Juhyun - Level 1]**
**Strength: 6**
**Agility: 7**
**Endurance: 5**
*I'm still too weak.*
There was no way I could take this thing in a fight. Not as I was now. I could feel the terror rising in my chest, but I forced myself to take a slow breath, to calm my racing mind. This was different from the fire. I wasn't going to sit idly by. I wouldn't let it destroy me.
*Think. Get it outside.*
If I could lure it away from the crowded classroom, into a space where I could think, where I had room to fight, maybe, just maybe, I could win.
I tensed, muscles coiling as I pushed off the floor and sprinted toward the door. The moment I moved, the creature reacted, its long, shadowy claws scraping against the wooden frame of the window. The sound was like a warning, an omen of what was to come.
It was too fast.
I slammed the sliding door open, the hallway stretching out in front of me like an endless void. The air was thick with stillness. My heart hammered in my chest, but I didn't stop. I **couldn't**.
Then, I heard it. A hiss. A sound like wind tearing through the air.
I barely had time to react. The creature lunged, its body moving like a shadow in the darkness. I dove to the side, my body scraping against the cold floor. A claw swept through the air, slashing through the desk where I had just been sitting. Wood splintered, flying in every direction.
**Too fast.**
I had no time to think, no time to plan. My feet pounded against the floor, and I pushed myself forward, my mind racing. I couldn't let it corner me here. I had to reach the gym, the open space. But I knew there wasn't much time.
A flicker of cold air slammed into my back.
I didn't even see it coming.
A claw ripped through my shirt, the fabric tearing as the wall beside me exploded into rubble. I felt the pressure in my chest, the sting of fear—and then, a sharp pain in my side as I slammed against the floor. My head spun.
*I won't make it at this rate.*
I scrambled to my feet, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The creature emerged from the rubble, its form now fully revealed. It was a nightmare made real, its skeletal body wrapped in writhing shadows, limbs too long, fingers ending in blade-like claws. Its mouth stretched into a wicked, permanent grin, sharp teeth gleaming in the dim light.
A name appeared above its head:
**[Abyss Stalker - Level 5]**
**Level 5.**
I swallowed hard. My heart was still pounding. I couldn't face it. Not like this.
I had to be smarter than this thing. I had to outthink it.
The creature's glowing eyes locked onto mine, and for a brief moment, I saw something. Hunger. Malice. It was toying with me. And that made it all the more dangerous.
And then it moved.
It **blurred** forward, a mass of shifting shadows and jagged edges. I threw myself backward, just barely avoiding its first strike. My foot slipped on the slick floor, but I managed to recover in time to dodge the second strike—a vicious swipe aimed at my neck.
I ducked, barely avoiding the sharp edge of its claws.
I couldn't stop. I had to fight back.
I pivoted on my heel, my legs burning with the effort, and threw a punch with everything I had. My fist connected—but went straight through its body. I staggered forward, my balance broken, and panic surged through me.
It wasn't solid.
The creature's form shifted like mist, dispersing where I had struck, reforming in an instant.
The Abyss Stalker laughed. A cold, grating sound that dug into my very bones.
*"Foolish prey."*
I froze.
A claw shot out from its shifting form, too fast to dodge.
**SLASH.**
Pain exploded in my side. I gasped, stumbling back. My hand flew to my ribs. Blood. Warm and slick. My head spun. I could barely think. The system flashed in front of me, blue text overlaying my vision.
**[Warning: HP Critically Low]**
I clenched my teeth. I was losing. Fast.
Think. Think. I couldn't hit it directly. Physical attacks didn't work. But that didn't mean it was invincible.
*What about light?*
The thing was a shadowy entity. Darkness wrapped around it, flowed with it, moved like liquid. If I could use that against it…
I scanned the hall. My eyes locked onto something—a broken light fixture hanging from the ceiling.
That was it.
I dashed toward the nearest classroom, throwing open the door. The Abyss Stalker screeched behind me, following without hesitation.
Good. I needed it to step inside.
As soon as it crossed the threshold, I spun around, grabbing the exposed wire from the broken fixture, and **jammed it directly into its body.**
A surge of electricity **crackled** through the air. The classroom lights flickered wildly. The Abyss Stalker **screamed** in agony as arcs of blue lightning danced across its shifting form, its body convulsing with each burst of electricity.
The shadows around it shattered.
Its grin **vanished**.
Without hesitation, I threw every ounce of strength I had left and kicked straight into its head.
This time—**it connected**.
The creature's body **disintegrated** into black mist, swirling violently before vanishing into nothingness.
Silence.
And then—
The frozen world around me shattered. Sound returned all at once—voices, footsteps, the distant ringing of the school bell. My breath came in ragged gasps. The smell of burnt air filled my lungs. I staggered, my knees threatening to buckle beneath me.
The system's notifications appeared before me.
**[You have defeated: Abyss Stalker - Level 5]**
**[Level Up! You are now Level 3.]**
**[Stat Points +4]**
**[New Skill Acquired: Shadow Veil]**
I blinked at the notifications, trying to process what just happened. **Shadow Veil?**
Before I could even begin to understand what that meant, another message appeared:
**[New Quest Unlocked: Survive the Abyss]**
A voice filled my mind.
*"You're not supposed to be alive, Juhyun."*
My blood ran cold.
I turned slowly, dread pooling in my gut.
And there, standing in the hallway, were **more** glowing eyes.
Another Abyss Stalker.
And then a third. A **fourth.**
The hallway was filling with them.
I took a slow step back, my heart pounding in my chest.
The first fight had nearly killed me.
Now, there were more.
And they were all **grinning.**
++++++++++++++++++++
But that wasn't the worst part.
Behind them, the shadows began to shift and twist, forming into something even larger, even more terrifying. A massive figure emerged, its glowing eyes piercing through the darkness. Its voice boomed, shaking the very walls.
*"You cannot escape, Juhyun. The Abyss has claimed you."*
The ground beneath me trembled. The lights flickered, then went out entirely. The hallway was plunged into darkness, save for the glowing eyes of the creatures closing in.
I clenched my fists, my mind racing. There was no way out. No escape.
But then, a new notification flashed before me:
**[Skill Activated: Shadow Veil]**
The world around me blurred, and I felt myself fading into the darkness. The creatures lunged, but their claws passed through me as if I were made of smoke.
For the first time, I smiled.
*Let's see how they like it when the prey fights back.*