Five years.
Five years since the Abyss Gates shattered the fragile veil between Earth and the Realm of Shadows. Since the darkness spilled into our world, bringing monsters beyond imagination. Since the terror began.
Humanity had no choice but to fight back, to adapt. Out of the carnage, they created a new hope—Rifters. Men and women blessed with the power to traverse the Abyss and confront the creatures that came from it. They were humanity's last line of defense, the only thing standing between survival and extinction.
But I wasn't one of them.
My name is Kael Draven, a name whispered in mockery. A D-rank Rifter—the weakest of the weak. They called me the "Gate's Dead Weight," a failure who never amounted to anything. Penniless, powerless, and ridiculed for my inability to rise above my rank, I was the punchline to every joke. D-rank Rifters like me barely scraped by on the lowest-tier gates, surviving by luck more than skill. Our failures didn't even matter in the grand scheme of things.
I hated it.
But what could I do? I wasn't born with strength or talent. I wasn't destined for greatness. I was just… me.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I limped away from another failed attempt at clearing a Tier-3 gate. My arms were bruised and bloodied, my gear was in tatters, and I could already feel the dull ache of defeat gnawing at my soul.
"Damn it…" I muttered under my breath, dragging my feet through the muddy streets. "Another failure."
Every day felt the same. Every damn day. I walked through the gates hoping to prove myself, only to come back empty-handed, weak, and humiliated. The other Rifters didn't even bother to hide their scorn. And why would they? I didn't deserve their respect.
The scent of sulfur and burning flesh filled the air as I passed the charred remains of a failed Rift—an ominous reminder of what happens when things go wrong. The darkness never stopped. It was always there, waiting, watching, ready to consume the weak.
We just raided a C-Rank gate and still failed, even with C-Rank and B-Rank Rifters in the team. I'm the only one with the lowest rank here, yet they still couldn't handle a C-Rank gate?
What a bunch of useless extras.
The team already left the gate, but I chose to stay here for a minute.
I stopped and glanced up at the sky. The setting sun cast an eerie orange glow over the horizon. For a moment, I felt something stir inside me—a flicker of longing, of hope.
But it vanished as quickly as it came.
If only I could be more… I thought. If only I had something to fight for, something to prove that I'm not just "Dead Weight."
Turning the corner, ready to nurse my wounds in solitude, I saw it.
A Rift. Not just any Rift, but a Breached Rift. A forbidden zone.
My heart pounded in my chest. Breached Rifts weren't supposed to exist, and when they did, they were sealed off immediately. Unstable, unpredictable, and swarming with creatures far stronger than anything even high-ranked Rifters could face, they were death traps.
I should've turned back. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to avoid the death sentence staring me in the face.
But I didn't.
The dark vortex above seemed to call to me. It felt alive, as if it could sense my desperation, my failure, and it wanted me to step inside.
Maybe it was fate. Maybe I was just tired of being weak. Either way, my feet moved before my mind could stop them.
The moment I crossed the threshold, everything changed. The air grew thick, heavy, and suffocating. The ground trembled beneath me, and a primal energy pulsed through the Rift.
"What am I doing here?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
And then I saw it.
A Shadow Behemoth.
It was massive, towering over me with glowing red eyes that pierced through the darkness. Its hulking form radiated power, tendrils of shadow swirling around its body like living nightmares. The ground splintered beneath its weight as it roared, shaking the very air around me.
I froze. My legs refused to move. My heart raced.
"Damn it. I should have just followed the others."
This is it. This is how I die.
The Behemoth's claws came down, faster than I could react. I braced myself for the inevitable, squeezing my eyes shut and waiting for the end.
But then…
---
SYSTEM ACTIVATED
---
A glowing interface appeared before my eyes, translucent and pulsing with otherworldly energy. Rows of text scrolled across the screen faster than I could read.
[Welcome, Host.]
[Binding Abyssal Core… Success.]
[Core Synchronization: 1%... 25%... 50%... Complete.]
The Behemoth's claws froze mid-air, suspended by an unseen force. The ground trembled beneath me as an electric surge of energy shot through my body, igniting every nerve like a live wire.
[Abyssal Core has awakened.]
[You are now the sole wielder of the Abyssal System.]
"What… is this?" I whispered, staring at the strange screen before me.
[Would you like to proceed with initialization?]
I didn't understand it. None of it made sense. But the power coursing through me was undeniable. The Abyss was no longer my enemy—it was my ally.
The Behemoth roared again, its claws lunging toward me. This time, I didn't flinch.
Even though it was hard to speak, I managed to find my voice.
"Yes," I said, my voice steady. "Initialize."
The system responded instantly.
[Host's Command Confirmed.]
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Dominion.]
Dark tendrils erupted around me, coiling and twisting like living shadows. At the same time, a brilliant white light flared in my palm, searing the air with its intensity. Light and shadow, darkness and radiance, merged into one.
I raised my hand, and the Abyss obeyed. The Behemoth's monstrous form shattered, dissolving into nothingness.
Panting heavily, I stood amidst the smoldering ruins of the battlefield, my chest rising and falling as I struggled to steady my breath. My limbs trembled, both from the sheer adrenaline coursing through my veins and the overwhelming power that had just surged through me. The remnants of the Shadow Behemoth lay scattered, its form dissolving into wisps of dark energy that seemed to retreat back into the void from which it came.
Amid the suffocating silence that followed, a faint, cold light flickered before my eyes. A translucent screen, etched with glowing runes and intricate designs, materialized in the air. The words on it pulsed with an eerie rhythm, as though the system itself was alive, observing, waiting.
[Welcome.]
The message lingered, its meaning sinking deep into my thoughts. I clenched my fists, the faint residue of light and shadow still crackling at my fingertips, a mixture of fear and exhilaration flooding my senses.
Tears of exhaustion blurred my vision, but I blinked them away, staring defiantly at the hovering text. My mind screamed at me to question, to understand, but deep down, a singular truth crystallized.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't weak. I wasn't prey.
I was the hunter.