The Outcast God System: Rise of the Cursed Heir

The Bone Forest and the Abyssal Guardian

The giant eye blinked, sending out a heat wave capable of singeing the hair on one's neck. He stood frozen, but not out of fear. The vibrations traveling through the stone floor made the Void Meridian inside his body throb with excitement.

The blood trickling from his ears felt warm a reminder that he was still alive and that this pain was the source of his strength.

"System, what is that creature?" he whispered, gripping the hilt of his looted sword tightly.

Initial analysis complete, the cold voice of the system echoed in his head. Entity detected: Guardian of the Bone Corridor. This is merely a projection of the consciousness of the true Abyssal Gatekeeper. Threat level: Minor Disaster for ordinary cultivators. For you, this is an EXP mine.

"A projection? So that eye the size of a house isn't even its true form?" He smirked, ignoring the sting in his chest as Void energy began to swirl, healing the puncture wound from Joran’s stone pillar.

Correct, Host. You are advised not to attack frontally. Enter the Bone Forest ahead of you. The energy pressure there will help you mask your aura while you recover your physical condition.

He stepped forward, crossing the threshold of the cave passage into a much vaster area. The scenery before him changed drastically. Where the bottom of the abyss had previously consisted only of rock and mist, he now stood before a terrifying forest. The trees here had no leaves; their trunks were a pale white, twisting like giant ribs jutting out from the earth.

"It smells... like a mass grave," he muttered, stepping over a pile of skulls that crumbled into dust beneath his feet. "Are all of these the remains of those thrown down here before me?" he asked the silence.

The majority are the remains of cultivators from thousands of years ago, the system replied flatly.

The Bone Forest is an ecosystem that absorbs nutrients from regret and residual spirit energy. Be careful, Host. The vines on those trees do not seek water; they seek fresh blood.

Just as the system finished its warning, a dark red vine shot out from a bone tree branch to his left. The vine was as sharp as a dagger, aiming for his neck with a speed difficult for ordinary eyes to follow.

He did not dodge. Instead, he tilted his head, letting the vine slash his cheek until blood splattered. +150 EXP. Pain Conversion Engine: Active.

"Thank you," he whispered. He caught the vine with his bare hands, feeling its small thorns pierce his palms. "Now, it's my turn."

He channeled Void energy through his hands. The purple lines on his skin glowed brightly as the Void Absorption technique began to work. The vine shivered violently, trying to pull away, but it was too late. Its dark red color turned pale, withering in seconds as he sucked out its entire life essence.

Absorbing Bone Forest Essence... +300 EXP. Status: Stable.

"System, if I keep doing this, how long will it take to reach the exit gate?"

The distance to the Abyssal Gate is five kilometers to the north. However, the deeper you go, the gravitational pressure will increase. Host will feel a sensation as if your entire skeleton is being slowly crushed.

"Slowly crushed? Sounds like the perfect cultivation method for me," he said with a low laugh. The sound of his laughter bounced between the bone trees, sounding alien and bloodthirsty.

He continued to run through the forest. Every time the vines tried to attack or a giant sword-legged insect leaped at him, he allowed them to inflict small wounds before utterly destroying them. His body felt hot; adrenaline and Void energy blended into a single, intoxicating symphony of power.

However, the further he went, the colder the air became. The purple mist that had been dim was now turning pitch black, limiting his visibility to only a few meters ahead.

"System, something is wrong. Why did the sound disappear?" He stopped, straining his ears.

Warning. Host has entered a Silence Zone. Unstable spatial fluctuations detected. The Gatekeeper is beginning to realize the existence of an intruder who refuses to die.

"Let him realize it," he replied defiantly. "I'm already bored of playing with these plants and insects. Give me something that can actually make me suffer."

Suddenly, the ground beneath him gave way. He fell into a dark pit, but before he hit the bottom, thousands of ghostly hands made of black energy caught him.

They did not hold him gently; their long fingers gripped his flesh, tore his already ruined clothes, and began to pull his joints in opposite directions.

"Argh! Dammit... this... this feels like being drawn by horses!" he screamed, his teeth chattering against the excruciating pain.

Warning! Damage to shoulder and hip joints detected. Pain Conversion Engine operating at 120% capacity. +1000 EXP... +1500 EXP... +2000 EXP...

"Don't... don't regenerate yet!" he commanded the system. "Let this pain pile up! I need an energy burst to destroy this place!"

Are you sure? Your consciousness threshold has almost been reached. "Just do it, bastard! I won't die before I see Kael's face rot!"

He let the energy hands pull his body to its absolute limit. The pain was so intense that his vision turned white. He could hear the sound of his bones beginning to crack and his muscles stretching to the breaking point. At that nadir, he felt a spark explode within his Void Meridian.

"Void Burst... NOW!"

A wave of black energy exploded from his body in all directions. The ghostly hands shattered into fragments of black light. He slammed hard onto the stone floor, but this time he stood up immediately. His body was shrouded in a purple aura so dense that the surrounding dust was blown away.

Level Up! Host has reached the Spirit Gathering Stage - Peak (Evolutionary Leap).

Congratulations. Host has unlocked the passive technique: Void Shell. Your physical defense is now equivalent to a mid-rank monster.

"Great," he wiped the blood from his lips, staring at his hands which now bore permanent black patterns resembling ancient tattoos. "System, how much further?"

Right in front of you, Host. We have reached the end of the Bone Forest.

He pushed aside the last of the bone bushes and stood stunned. Before him lay a vast field made of black crystal. At the end of the field stood a giant gate made of an unfamiliar materialvhalf-metal, half-pulsing flesh.

The gate was hundreds of meters high, held shut by golden chains that emitted a holy light that felt like it was burning his skin. That was the exit gate he had been searching for.

However, in front of that gate sat a creature that made the Alpha Bone Wolf look like a puppy. The creature wore rusted black armor and held a giant axe that was still dripping with fresh blood. Its face was covered by an iron helm, but the fiery eyes he had seen earlier in the cave passage now glowed from behind the helm's slit.

"Who are you to dare defile the silence of this place with the stench of a rotten human?" the creature's voice thundered, making the entire abyss tremble.

"Me?" He stepped forward into the center of the crystal field, letting his aura collide with the creature's aura of death. "I am the one who is going through that gate, even if I have to step over your corpse to do it."

The creature stood up slowly. It was at least three times his height. As it raised its axe, the sky of the abyss seemed to collapse under the weight of the pressure.

"For thousands of years, I have guarded this place," the Guardian growled. "Heroes, kings, gods... they all ended as dust beneath my feet. And you, a child with a cursed meridian, think you can pass?"

"I'm no hero, and I'm no king," he said, unsheathing his sword, which was now beginning to crack, unable to contain his Void energy. "I'm just a brother coming to get his sister. And anyone who stands in my way... will be sucked dry."

The Guardian laughed, a sound like the grinding of tombstones. He swung his axe toward him, creating a pressure wave that split the black crystal beneath them in two.

"Let us see how much pain you can swallow before your soul shatters!"

He did not flinch. Instead, he threw his arms wide, welcoming the lethal attack with a crazed grin on his face. "Give me everything you've got, you old fossil!"

Just before the axe touched his head, the entire world seemed to freeze. The system gave one final warning that made his heart race.

Warning. This entity is not just a Guardian.

He is part of the seal locking a god's power inside your body. If you defeat him, there is no turning back to being human.

"I died the day Kael slaughtered my mother," he whispered softly. "Now, let the real monster wake up."