ABYSSFALL ONLINE

CH. 05 : The Void Knight

Trees gradually fell.

Birds withered to dust.

The air grew colder and harsher to breathe.

The sky itself—once smeared with that sickly yellowish hue—was now replaced by a dark purple, brandished by the repeated roaring of thunderstorms.

The house that had remained untouched by the demolition was now reduced to a pile of rubble.

But that wasn't all.

Under the chaotic skies, greater forces were at play. The Void Walker—about 18.7 meters tall—brought its massive hand down to snatch Lyssa in her vulnerable state.

She was still slumped in the corner, certain she couldn't dodge death this time around.

But an absurd halt jolted her eyes open.

If her calculations were right, she should have been dead the moment the Void Walker ripped the ceiling open. It shouldn't have wasted time scrambling her vulnerable body.

She looked up and saw something—someone—blocking the mighty hand of the Void Walker with a broadsword. The blade was bathed in liquid obsidian black, dabbed with cobalt asymmetrical lines that pulsed rapidly like a heartbeat.

Guarding her without breaking a sweat was an entity she didn't recognize. A figure draped in obsidian black armor, standing perfectly still, unmoved by the overwhelming force of the Void Walker.

Its gaze bored into that of the Void Walker.

And worst of all—the one struggling wasn't the knight.

It was the Void Walker.

The creature launched its other hand in a vicious arc, aimed at snatching Lyssa before she could react. But with swift, absolute precision, the knight's broadsword moved—a blur of motion.

Both hands severed from the Void Walker's body like they were made of paper.

The creature couldn't regenerate. Couldn't even begin to try. It staggered backward, roaring in defiance. Its maw opened wide, and a deafening bang erupted from its throat—a beam of condensed white-hot energy that screamed across the landscape.

The beam struck first.

A reverberating shockwave swept outward, pulverizing everything in its wake. The house—what remained of it—was obliterated. Vaporized. Nothing left behind but ash and scorched earth.

For a few seconds, silence enveloped everything.

Then something diced through the smoke like a blade.

The knight appeared inches above the Void Walker, its broadsword held perfectly above its head. Its gaze was brewing with an incandescent level of murderous intent.

SLASH!

The blade impaled the Void Walker's head. The creature's agonizing scream made the very landscape bleed with tremors. The sound was inhuman—a death cry that reverberated for miles.

Then the Void Walker slumped.

Dead.

It crashed violently against the demolished woods, its massive frame finally still.

The knight landed softly on the grass road. Its sword ceased to exist—simply vanished. The knight's knees buckled, and it met the ground hard.

Its armor faded like dust burning away.

Everything burned from its skin.

And there—alone on the scorched earth—was Trevor. Unconscious. Completely drained.

Above his body, a crimson tab suspended in mid-air, golden text glowing.

[ Ding! ]

...

[ Threat Nullified: Success ]

...

[ Potential Drop From Void Walker: Abyssal Trendill Core (Epic Grade) ]

...

[ Rewards: 300 Abyssfall Points | +5 Stat Bonus | Inventory Unlocked | Shop Unlock Feature | 100 XP ]

...

[ WARNING—Mana Residue: 0% ]

…

Moments later, Trevor's eyes slowly opened.

An unusual flow of energy bathed him. He felt warmth—genuine, healing warmth. 

 When his eyes moved to the side, he saw Lyssa, steady on her knees, her hands hovering over his body.

Energy flowed from her palms in waves. Soft, golden light pouring into him. She was extracting everything from herself to heal him.

She didn't notice he was awake—not until he started moving. She immediately stopped, withdrawing her hands, and watched as he sat up slowly.

"You're awake!" Excitement flooded her words as she hugged him suddenly.

Trevor's eyes wavered with exhaustion. He observed his surroundings—the dead Void Walker, its body still pulsing with unnatural energy. But it was dead. Definitely dead.

The environment was devastated. Completely destroyed.

It didn't take him long to understand. "I blacked out again, didn't I?"

Lyssa broke the hug and sat next to him. "I don't know about blacking out, but you saved me. I should have been dead." She exhaled softly. "Thank you."

Trevor wasn't sure what to say. Everything had happened so fast, and now the looming threat was gone.

I wonder why the system didn't warn me about the Void Walker, he thought. And it's been unusually silent. System?

No response. Total silence.

The quietness was unsettling.

"Are you all healed up now?" Lyssa asked, her face flushing red with embarrassment. "I saw you unconscious and tried to use my healing abilities on you when you didn't wake up." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Nice body you got."

Trevor forced a smile. "Yeah, thanks. I'm alright." He shifted his gaze back to the Void Walker's corpse, noting the unnatural energy leaking from it into the environment.

Lyssa noticed and pulled his attention away. "It's dead. The only reason a zombie horde hasn't found us yet is because it was here. The Void Walker keeps them away."

"What?" Trevor checked the corpse again. That thing was keeping away zombies?

"The Void Walker is an anomaly feared by the zombies. They existed before Earth was dragged into whatever this is. So yeah, those weird energy readings you're sensing—that's the Void Walker's aura. It basically keeps any other creatures from coming its way to feed on it."

"Oh, that makes sense." Trevor took his eyes off the corpse, his mind jolting back to the system's abrupt silence.

Then, the wordings in the crimson tab appeared again.

[ Ding! ]

...

[ Threat Nullified: Success ]

...

[ Potential Drop From Void Walker: Abyssal Trendill Core (Epic Grade) ]

...

[ Rewards: 300 Abyssfall Points | +5 Stat Bonus | Inventory Unlocked | Shop Unlock Feature | 100 XP ]

...

[ WARNING—Mana Residue: 0% ]

…

No remarks? Trevor thought. It was unlike the system to not leave a remark. What has gone wrong? The mana residue being at 0%?

"So what's the plan now?" Lyssa asked. She was shivering badly, the cold environment gnawing at her. She'd been holding it in until Trevor woke up.

.Trevor didn't have an answer. He somewhat wished the system wasn't so silent.

He exhaled softly and allocated the 5 stat bonus points to Intelligence and the previous 3 bonus points to Strength. If the system won't be around all the time like this, then I need to improvise.

[ Ding! ]

...

[ STATS SCREEN ]

...

[ Name: Trevor Hathaway ]

...

[ Title: None ]

...

[ Mana Residue: 0% ]

...

[ Gear Rank: 2 (Vanguard) ]

...

[ Level: 2 (150/1000) ]

...

[ Abyssfall Points: 400 ]

...

[ Strength: 14 → 17 (+3) ]

...

[ Speed: 11 ]

...

[ Intelligence: 3 → 8 (+5) ]

...

[ Perception: 3 ]

...

[ Agility: 4 ]

...

[ Skills: Regenerative Healing Factor Lvl. 1 ]

...

[ Weaponry: None ]

...

[ Shop: Unlocked ]

...

[ Inventory: Unlocked ]

He clicked on the shop, and a catalog opened. Tons of items available for relatively low Abyssfall Points. Clothes. Food. Common necessities. Weapons. He saw a tent for as low as 10 points. A campfire for 5 points.

He saw a sweater and tried to purchase it for Lyssa, but for some reason—the system wouldn't allow it.

Odd.

 While Lyssa fidgeted under the cold bite of the environment, Trevor pulled out everything he'd purchased from the shop. Campfire. Tent. Food.

"How did you do all this?" Curiosity smeared her face.

"It's a secret."

Trevor knew better than to reveal much about himself to Lyssa.

 They settled into the tent. It was small, barely containing both of them, but it would have to do. Trevor wanted to purchase a second tent, but the system had prevented it. Another oddity.

 Lyssa didn't complain. She was fine with it. After all, she didn't want to be alone.

Lyssa laid quietly while Trevor stared beyond the tent ceiling, his gaze fixed on the stars visible through the fabric. The night was cold. The world was broken. But for a moment, the sky was still beautiful.

Then—

[ Ding! ]

...

System?

...

[ Mana Residue: 0% ]

...

[ State: CRITICAL ]

...

[ The host must mate with a compatible female. Energy accumulated during intercourse will be transformed into mana. Host must achieve complete fluid exchange—the female must release her fluids, and host must completely fill the female in order to achieve 100% Mana Residue. ]

...

[ Compatible Female Within Range: Lyssa Kent ]

...

[ Compatibility: 100% ]

...

[ Risk of Pregnancy: 0% ]

...

[ WARNING: Host may enter primal state of sexual hunger if prolonged. Consequences: loss of consciousness, possible harm to host and/or female. ]

...

A soft gasp escaped him. “You have got to be kidding me.”