I sat atop a mountain of corpses, my body drenched in the blood of the Hounds of the Abyss.
Their twisted bodies lay scattered, the scent of death thick in the air. The battlefield was silent now—only the faint drip of blood echoed in the cavern.
I exhaled slowly, feeling a satisfaction I hadn't felt in a long time.
"Even more satisfying than breaking Abigail," I muttered, stretching my arms.
It had been too long since I had fought these creatures. They had once been my greatest enemies in my second life, beasts that tore through entire armies without hesitation. Yet here they were—crushed beneath me.
I brought up the system screen, my eyes flickering over the glowing text.
[Status Window]
Name: Samuel Gebb
Possessed By: Heavenly Demon
Level: 28
- Strength: 110
- Agility: 100
- Endurance: 90
- Intelligence: 120
- Charisma: 97
A smirk tugged at my lips as I examined my growth.
"Not bad."
The dungeon had done exactly what I needed it to do—pushing me further, sharpening my instincts, refining my power.
But I wasn't done yet.
I stood up, stepping off the pile of dead creatures, my boots crushing their remains beneath me.
Only one enemy remained. The Dungeon Boss. And based on the pattern of this dungeon, I had a very good guess of who—or what—it might be.
A massive stone door loomed at the far end of the cavern. Unlike the rest of the dungeon, this door radiated a presence—a raw, powerful aura that made the air feel heavier.
The moment I took a step forward, the system chimed.
[Final Boss Room Detected]
Warning: Once you enter, you cannot leave until the battle is over.
Would you like to proceed?
[YES] / [NO]
I didn't even hesitate.
"Yes."
The door rumbled. Ancient runes glowed, shifting as the gate slowly creaked open.
Darkness awaited me on the other side. But I could already feel it —the presence of something far stronger than the creatures I had just slaughtered.
A slow, deep breath echoed from the abyss beyond the door.
Then, a voice.
"You again…"
A familiar, demonic growl sent a shiver through the cavern.
My smirk widened.
"Oh… so it's you."
Stepping into the chamber, I was finally face to face with the true challenge of this dungeon.
A monster from my past life.
And I couldn't wait to kill it again.
Abigail's POV:
Abigail sat in her luxurious office, the walls adorned with elegant decor, but everything around her felt heavy. The silence of the room seemed to press down on her chest as she stared at the screen in front of her, watching the news reports on Samuel.
The trending headlines flashed before her eyes—"Samuel Gebb and Cassandra Aloha, the power couple in Hotel Room"—and she couldn't tear her gaze away. Two days. Two days since he had walked away, and now he was everywhere, standing tall beside the woman she had feared for so long.
She clicked on another article.
"Abigail and Joshua Spotted Together—Are They the on Second Now?"
Her stomach churned. She had no right to feel this way. Not after everything she had put Samuel through.
She felt her heart sink. "What did I do?" She muttered to herself, her fingers tightening around the edge of her desk.
Abigail closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair as the weight of her actions began to sink in. She couldn't deny it anymore. She had pushed him away, torn him down, and now it was too late.
"Why did I do that?" she whispered, her voice barely audible in the quiet of her office.
Images flooded her mind—the cruel words, the belittling actions, the cold dismissal. How many times had she told him he was nothing? How many times had she humiliated him in front of others? She could still hear his voice when he'd begged her for understanding, but she hadn't given it to him. Instead, she had punished him, just as she had been punished in her own life.
She had wanted him to suffer the way she had suffered when she was broken and alone. But now, as the realization hit her like a punch to the gut, she knew the truth—she had broken him, and now it was her turn to pay the price.
Her fingers trembled as she clicked through the photos of Samuel with Cassandra. The image of Samuel—strong, confident, happy with someone else—was too much.
"He's someone else now… He's not the same person I pushed away. He's powerful. He's unstoppable."
She didn't even recognize the man in those pictures anymore. The man she had once known was gone, replaced by someone who had embraced his own strength, someone who had broken free of the chains she had placed on him.
The bitter taste of regret twisted in her chest, and her eyes burned with the unshed tears she refused to let fall.
"I broke him. I broke him so much..." Her voice was shaking now, barely a whisper. She swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears at bay. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't.
But the weight of it was crushing her. The loneliness that had once been a dull ache in her heart was now a suffocating presence. "What have I done?"
She could still remember the arguments—the cold words, the angry gestures. She had been so consumed by her own pain, so determined to make him feel the same, that she never stopped to consider what it was doing to him. She had let her rage, jealousy, and insecurity blind her. She had punished him for leaving, for not being there when her family crumbled, for not being able to save her.
But all that had done was turn him into someone who didn't need her anymore.
Abigail leaned forward, burying her face in her hands. "Why did I make him suffer?" she whispered hoarsely, her voice breaking. She had pushed him to the edge, over and over again. And now, he had walked away—stronger, better, and with someone else.
"I was selfish," she admitted out loud, her voice trembling. "I was so selfish."
She remembered the moments when she had been so blinded by her own pain that she couldn't see the suffering she was causing him. She had wanted to feel better, to feel like she had control over the situation, but she had only destroyed the one person who cared about her the most.
Abigail's hands dropped to the desk, and she stared at the empty space in front of her, her mind still reeling.
"I pushed him away… and now I'm paying for it."
She let the silence stretch on, her mind replaying the past. "I didn't care about his pain… only mine."
Her eyes flickered to the phone on her desk, but she didn't touch it. She knew that if she called him now, he wouldn't come back. He had moved on—and rightly so.
"He's with Cassandra now."
Abigail's throat tightened. The thought of losing him forever, knowing she had driven him into someone else's arms, was almost unbearable. But she had no one to blame but herself.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed on the desk. She glanced at it, seeing a new message notification from Joshua.
"You're still upset, aren't you?" it read. "I told you not to worry about Samuel. You deserve better."
Abigail stared at the message for a long moment, her fingers brushing over the screen, but she didn't respond. "Do I deserve better?" she whispered to herself.
Her phone rang. Joshua's name flashed on the screen.
For a moment, she thought about answering it, but then she shook her head. "No. He's not who I need."
The weight of her actions settled back in her chest. She had lost Samuel. And she didn't know if she could ever get him back.