Chapter 17 – The Abyss Beckons
Joon-ho stepped through the massive gates. Cold air rushed past him, thick with the scent of ancient stone and something deeper—something wrong. The corridor beyond was shrouded in darkness, but his senses screamed at him. Something was watching.
[Perception: Advanced] has detected a presence.]
Joon-ho tensed. His grip tightened on the Chain of the Forsaken, the weight of it reassuring. He took a slow breath and pressed forward. The moment he stepped past the threshold, the great doors slammed shut behind him. A deep silence settled, suffocating and absolute.
Then—
A whisper.
It slithered through the dark like a living thing, curling around him, filling the chamber with a presence so vast it made his skin crawl.
"Regressor."
Joon-ho's body moved before he could think. [Phantom Step] activated. He vanished, reappearing several meters back, dagger raised. The whisper laughed.
From the void, two red eyes opened.
The presence descended.
A shape formed in the blackness, towering and shifting, as if it were not bound by the laws of reality. A voice echoed, layered and unnatural.
"You have stepped beyond the threshold. Now, show me if you are worthy."
The darkness came alive.
The Abyssal Guardian
The first attack was nearly instantaneous.
A tendril of pure void lashed out from the shadows, moving faster than thought. Joon-ho barely twisted in time. The tendril missed his head by a fraction, slamming into the ground, leaving behind a crater where the stone had simply ceased to exist.
[Spectral Shift] Activated.
Joon-ho's form blurred, his afterimage lingering as he moved. Another tendril struck where he had been, but he was already on the offensive.
The Chain of the Forsaken lashed out, wrapping around a solid mass within the shadows. Joon-ho pulled, feeling resistance—it had a body.
[Crimson Fang] Activated.
He launched forward.
His dagger sank in deep.
A roar of rage and pain tore through the void. The shadows convulsed, the abyss shuddering.
But Joon-ho didn't stop. He twisted the blade, driving it further. He could feel it—this thing, this Guardian of the Abyss—it was alive. And that meant it could bleed.
The darkness exploded.
A shockwave blasted outward, hurling Joon-ho across the chamber. He twisted midair, landing on one knee. The Guardian's form began to solidify, its true shape emerging.
It was monstrous.
A towering entity of shifting darkness, its body riddled with endless red eyes, each one filled with hate and hunger.
Then, something changed.
The Guardian laughed.
"You are different."
Joon-ho rose to his feet. Blood dripped from his dagger. He wiped it against his sleeve, eyes locked on the shifting monstrosity before him.
"And you talk too much."
The Guardian's laughter stopped.
And then, the real battle began.