2026-04-28 21:22:00Descending into the second level of Velmora was not a journey; it was a psychological execution.
Darkness down here was not merely the absence of light. It was a living, freezing entity that actively crawled into the pores of the skin, attempting to freeze the blood from the inside out. Aroan could not walk upright. Every single movement across the cavern floor, slick with ancient, putrid slime, was an extreme struggle.
The Shadow Fibers forcefully stitching his severed Achilles tendons throbbed wildly, reacting like aggressive parasites trying to adapt to a hostile host. With every step Aroan took, the threads of dark energy violently scraped against his fractured bones. It felt as though thousands of iron centipedes were devouring his flesh from the inside. Yet, he refused to stop. Behind him, Nyx followed closely, the primal wolf’s solitary purple eye piercing the thick fog like a predatory beacon.
"If you stop, they will start eating you from your toes," Sargon’s heavy, gravelly voice echoed from the gloom ahead.
The iron-masked giant walked with terrifying calmness, his heavy boots producing absolutely zero sound as they stepped over the scattered bones. It was a stark contrast to Aroan, who was panting heavily and leaving a trail of black blood in his wake.
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Aroan’s neck stood upright.
From within the sulfur-choked fog, silhouettes emerged. Abyssal Stalkers—or as Sargon called them, The Hollowed.
They were once shifters from various werewolf clans, exiled for crippling injuries or treason. Remnants of rusted armor still clung to their emaciated bodies, which now resembled living mummies. They were no longer proud wolves; they were reanimated corpses fueled purely by malice, mutated by Velmora’s deathly aura.
A Hollowed wearing the rusted insignias of the Lunaris clan dropped silently from the ceiling. Its movements were disjointed yet terrifyingly fast. Its blackened, razor-sharp claws aimed directly at Aroan’s jugular.
Aroan didn't even have the time to raise his heavy broadsword. But Nyx’s feral instinct took over. When death was mere inches from his face, Aroan’s body suddenly felt as weightless as smoke.
SWOOOSH!
His physical form seemingly "dissolved" into the shadow dimension, rematerializing instantly two meters behind the monster.
[Skill Unlocked: Shadow Step Lv.1]
[Consumes 10 VP for spatial displacement.]Aroan gasped, utterly shocked by his own unnatural movement. Yet Sargon, standing with his arms crossed in a dark corner, simply muttered under his breath. "The vessel is beginning to react... Good. Only an empty cup can be fully refilled."
"Don't daydream, boy!" Sargon barked loudly. "That blunt sword won't swing itself!"
The Hollowed spun around, letting out a guttural hiss before lunging again. Aroan gripped the Eclipse Blade. The obsidian weapon was ridiculously heavy. But recalling the agonizing pain in his legs, recalling the disgust on Elina’s face and Valerius’s psychotic smirk, Aroan swung the blade with every ounce of boiling hatred in his chest.
SLAAAASH!
The blunt black blade passed straight through the monster’s neck like a paddle through water. No blood spurted. Physically, the sword failed to cut a single bone. Yet, in that exact fraction of a second, the Hollowed’s eyes widened in sheer terror. Its feral body instantly stiffened, and the crimson glow in its eyes was violently snuffed out.
The Eclipse Blade had severed something absolute: Its life force. It metaphysically cut the enemy's existence at its very root.
[Critical Soul Damage Dealt!]
[1x Abyssal Stalker (Rank-C) Eliminated. +50 VP.] [Quest Progress: 1/10]The opponent crumbled into a pile of gray dust. Aroan felt a surge of freezing, intoxicating energy flow through the hilt of his sword. The Shadow Fibers in his legs greedily absorbed the essence, significantly numbing his physical agony.
But the slaughter had only just begun. From the crevices of the stalactites, a dozen more Hollowed crawled out, completely surrounding them.
Amidst the ambush, Sargon finally moved to intercept a monster attacking Aroan’s blind spot. Aroan froze for a split second, captivated by the giant’s combat style. Sargon didn't draw his weapon. He stepped forward using a short, hyper-precise footwork—*The Crescent Step*.
Pivoting perfectly on his heel to generate an invisible, deadly momentum, Sargon slammed an open palm squarely into the monster's chest. The Umbral Twist.
BOOOOM!
A muffled, concussive explosion echoed through the cavern. The monster was instantly pulverized into a fine mist of ash without Sargon even breaking a sweat.
Aroan’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief. That was not a Lunaris fighting style. That was the ancient martial arts of the Umbra Clan—his late mother’s eradicated lineage. It was a legendary, forbidden technique Aroan had only ever seen sketched in his mother’s hidden diaries years ago.
"Who the hell are you?!" Aroan screamed between his sword swings. "How do you know the Umbra Clan's techniques?!"
Sargon didn't even turn his head. Instead, he vaulted into the air, his leg sweeping cleanly through another monster’s skull with the dark elegance of a nocturnal predator. "Do not let your mind wander! Focus on your blade, or you will die with your curiosity intact!"
Aroan bit his tongue until it bled. Shoving his questions aside, he allowed Nyx and the boiling darkness inside him to seize total control. Every single time he swung the *Eclipse Blade*, he felt hungry. Starving.
[2/10 Eliminated... +50 VP]
[5/10 Eliminated... +150 VP][8/10 Eliminated... +150 VP]Aroan moved faster, wilder, more unhinged. He danced in a rain of black blood and ash. "I swear it..." Aroan hissed, his voice now carrying a chilling, dual resonance. "...I will swallow every last drop of their light. There will be no moon left for any of you to worship!"
***
Meanwhile, thousands of meters above, at the breathtaking summit of Silver Peak...
The Grand Hall of the Lunaris Clan was bathed in the resplendent, holy light of moon-crystals. The rich aroma of roasted venison and vintage wine saturated the air. Valerius lounged comfortably on the Alpha’s throne, which was draped in rare silver wolf pelts—a throne that legally and rightfully belonged to Aroan.
Curled up seductively on his lap was Elina. She occasionally fed grapes into Valerius’s mouth with a delicate smile. The golden-haired usurper threw his head back in roaring laughter, his face flushed with premium alcohol and overflowing arrogance.
"A truly brilliant decision, Alpha Valerius," Elder Jaxon bowed deeply, a sycophantic smile plastered on his wrinkled face. "Tossing that garbage into Velmora was the most effective way to preserve our clan’s purity. Let him rot down there with his crippled mutt."
Downing the rest of his wine in one gulp, Valerius sneered dismissively. "Aroan? Just speaking his name leaves a filthy taste on my tongue. A legless dog cannot climb out of hell. He will never see the sun again, let alone catch the scent of my woman."
Elina giggled softly, tracing her manicured fingers across Valerius’s chest. "He is nothing but a humiliating stain on the past, my love. Let us focus entirely on the glorious future of our clan."
Valerius laughed again, louder this time. Sitting on the throne, he truly believed he was at the absolute apex of the world, utterly drunk on his stolen power.
He was completely, blissfully unaware that far beneath the soles of his boots, in the blackest depths of the earth, a Shadow Emperor was ruthlessly clawing his way up to claim his head.
***
Back in the suffocating depths of Velmora.
The final Hollowed crumbled to dust beneath the devastating sweep of the Eclipse Blad. Aroan dropped to one knee, heaving heavily. The minor lacerations across his body slowly knitted themselves shut, leaving behind faint, black scars that only added to his menacing aura.
[Ding!]
[10/10 Abyssal Stalkers Eliminated!][Daily Quest Completed!] [Reward: +500 VP acquired. Current Total VP: 1,100 VP.][New Feature Unlocked: 'Shadow Shop' is now fully accessible!]Sargon walked over slowly, his golden eye surveying the piles of monster ash surrounding the panting boy.
"Your vow sounds terrifying, boy. But down here, vows are just empty breath," Sargon stated coldly from behind his rusted mask. "Tomorrow, you descend even deeper. To a sector where light is physically prohibited from existing. Do not let the pathetic remnants of your humanity hold you back. Monsters have no need for a conscience."
Aroan slowly pushed himself off the ground. His legs were no longer trembling. He stared directly at the semi-transparent blue interface hovering in the air, which now displayed a vast, virtual storefront.
"I discarded my conscience the moment my father discarded me, Sargon," Aroan replied flatly.
His glowing purple eyes locked onto a specific Tier-D item listed in the Shadow Shop for exactly 1,000 VP. It was an item capable of shifting the entire tide of battle.
[Item: 'Marrow Cleansing Pill - Void Edition'.]
[Function: Violently incinerates the Host's organic bone marrow, replacing it with Dark Iron Bones.] [Warning: Assimilation process guarantees excruciating, near-lethal pain.]Aroan unleashed a ruthless, blood-chilling smirk. "Give me one hour to rest. Because after this... I will be the one hunting them."
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CHAPTER 11: Welcome to the Surface, Vane
The morning sunlight carried no warmth. To Aroan’s skin, now accustomed to the deathly chill of Velmora, the light felt like a slow drizzle of corrosive acid. Aroan narrowed his eyes. The black veins beneath the skin of his neck twitched, reacting in instinctual rejection of the light. But slowly, the Seal of the Void Sovereign carved into his shoulder by Sargon pulsed with a faint heat. The burning sensation faded, replaced by a cooling veil that completely masked his dark aura. In an instant, the terrifying pressure of the Abyssal Sovereign vanished. If any Lunaris Knight were to see him now, they would only see a pale, ragged young man with a profoundly ordinary Rank-D shifter aura."Perfect," Aroan muttered. On his shoulder, Nyx—now reverted to the form of a scruffy, black-furred little pup—sneezed softly at the snow dust.Aroan continued his march through the Deadwood, the buffer zone separating the edge of the Velmora abyss from the outermost territories of the Lunaris Pack.
CHAPTER 10 VELMORA'S CREST, REPORT OF A DEMON
The air at the precipice of the Cliff of Regrets was both poison and medicine.It was no longer as heavy and suffocating as the lethal gas at the bottom of the abyss, yet it carried scents Aroan's senses had nearly forgotten: the crisp aroma of pure oxygen, the sharp tang of snow pine sap, and the faint, disgusting stench of the Lunaris Clan's arrogance carried on the wind. High above, beyond the thick, impenetrable clouds that perpetually guarded Velmora, the surface world was waking up, completely oblivious that a soul they had discarded as trash had just clawed its way out of its own grave.Aroan stood on the jagged edge of the cliff, his gaze cast down upon the endless vertical path he had just conquered. His breathing was perfectly stable. Beside him, Nyx in its full Shadow Primal Fenrir form kept a low profile, its black-fire fur fluttering violently in the piercing mountain winds. The giant wolf let out a low, guttural growl, its purple eyes staring up at the faint glimmer of d
CHAPTER 9: LEGION FROM THE ABYSS, TRIAL OF A SHADOW
Velmora’s third tier was the tomb of a forgotten civilization.Unlike the upper levels, which were merely a labyrinth of natural caves, these depths revealed the silent, sprawling ruins of an ancient city. Towering obsidian structures, eroded by eons of darkness, reached up like the colossal skeletal fingers of dead giants trying to claw at a cavern ceiling that had never known light. The air here was heavy and oily, saturated with dense Void particles capable of shattering an ordinary human’s sanity within minutes. The only illumination came from the faint, pale-purple glow of corrosive crystals that snaked across the walls of the dead metropolis.Aroan strode down the center of a cracked main road, his every step now steady and utterly soundless. Beside him, Nyx, in its full Shadow Primal Fenrir form, moved with an intimidating, predatory grace. Each exhale from the giant wolf released a plume of purple vapor that instantly froze the air, leaving a thin, black layer of frost on the
CHAPTER 8: EVOLUTION OF A SHADOW FENRIR
The lingering, searing embers from the Abyssal Meridian Elixir still pulsed violently within Aroan's veins as Sargon ruthlessly forced him back to his feet. There was no time to rest. In Velmora, recovery was a luxury that did not exist."Walk," Sargon commanded coldly. "If your meridians did not detonate, it means you can still kill."They descended into the third tier of Velmora. The air here was no longer just freezing; it was actively toxic. A thick, dark-purple fog slithered across the ground, blanketing heaps of fossilized bones thousands of years old. Down here, the concept of a "silver moon" was nothing more than a childish fairy tale. Only the most primal law of the jungle reigned supreme: Devour or be devoured.Aroan now walked with a straight, rigid spine. His newly forged D+ Rank meridian channels felt like a freshly opened superhighway. The violent torrent of Void energy no longer felt like torture; it now surged powerfully through his body, creating an intoxicating, cold
CHAPTER 7: SHATTERED VESSEL, AWAKENING OF A LEGEND
Victory over the Elite Abyssal Stalker did not last more than a few fleeting minutes before absolute destruction knocked on the door of Aroan’s consciousness in the most agonizing way imaginable.As soon as the pitch-black aura from the massive monstrosity was entirely absorbed, solidifying into the Dark Iron Bones beneath his flesh, the intoxicating surge of power instantly mutated into a lethal double-edged sword. Yes, his skeleton was now as impenetrable as obsidian steel, capable of withstanding devastating physical trauma. However, a fatal flaw lay hidden within something entirely invisible: The Meridians.[System Warning! 'Soul Vessel' capacity critically exceeded!][Energy density of Entity 'Nyx' violently surpasses the tolerance limit of Host's Rank-F Meridians!]Aroan’s body was a biological anomaly forced together by sheer desperation. His meridian channels—the microscopic, invisible pipelines that circulated mystical energy throughout the body—were still horrifyingly narrow
CHAPTER 6: CURSED HUNGER, AWAKENING OF DARK IRON BONES
Hidden deep within the darkest corner of Velmora’s second tier, Aroan’s agonizing groans echoed like two massive steel plates being violently scraped together.In his violently trembling hand rested a pitch-black, marble-sized pill—the Marrow Cleansing Pill (Void Edition) he had just purchased from the Shadow Shop for 1,000 VP. It radiated a biting, absolute cold. Sargon, leaning his massive frame against the cavern wall, simply observed the boy through the slits of his rusted iron mask."That pill was not designed for human consumption," Sargon stated flatly. "It will literally boil your old bone marrow alive and replace it with the essence of the void. Are you absolutely certain you wish to swallow it?"Aroan locked eyes with Sargon, his gaze blazing with lethal determination. "I would rather explode from the inside out tonight than spend another second crawling on my knees!"Without a single second of hesitation, Aroan swallowed the black pill.For the first three seconds, nothing
