The moment Kael spoke his name, the entire underworks began to tremble.
[System Resonance Initiated…][Host Declaration Detected: "Shadow God Reborn"]➤ Authority Confirmed: Dormant Divinity Tier I Activated➤ Realm Restriction Bypassed: Shadow Domain Thread Established (24%)➤ Shadow Influence: Increased within 25-meter radius
Black mist bled from Kael's back, coiling like serpents through the rusted pipes and marrow-slicked vents. The children in their cages stopped screaming. Their wide, glowing eyes turned toward him—recognition in their gaze, as if their stolen souls remembered something older than this world's false gods.
The Marrow King tilted his head. "Shadow… God?"
He let out a sound between a laugh and a cough, wet and hollow.
"No. No, no. There are no gods here. Only bones. Only marrow. Only me!"
With a flick of his clawed hand, the room shuddered.
From the walls, the floors, the pipes—they came.
Monstrosities formed of human skeletons, fused with blackened steel and stitched with divine sinew. Each one bore the twisted sigils of long-dead pantheons, stolen from slaughtered vessels. They moved like spiders and screamed like dying priests.
[Boss Phase I: Marrow Constructs Engaged]➤ Count: 7➤ Status: Partially Divine-Infused➤ Weakness: Purged Faithless Aura
Kael's fingers tightened.
"Elira. Shield the children."
From the shadows near the wall, the silver-haired woman stepped forth. She said nothing, only nodded—and then vanished into the mist like a whisper.
Kael stepped forward.
Then ran.
He moved like flowing death.
Each step dragged shadows from the air, twisting them into blades and binding ribbons. The constructs lunged—but Kael was already beneath the first one, rising with an upward sweep of his hand.
[Skill Unlocked: Abyssal Severance]➤ Effect: Slice through semi-divine defenses using pure shadow threads➤ Bonus: Disrupts stolen faith channels
His fingers danced—and the first creature's spine split into six clean fragments, each dissolving into oily dust.
The others rushed him at once. A mass of bone-saws, shrieking jaws, and divine marrow tubes.
Kael spun, cloak flaring behind him. Shadows surged in a tidal arc.
[Passive Effect: Shadow Domain (24%) Active]➤ Movement Boost: +30%➤ Enemy Perception Delay: +0.3 seconds➤ Environmental Control: Minor thread manipulation granted
The floor cracked beneath him as tendrils of living shadow burst up, wrapping around the nearest construct's legs and crushing them inward, like folding sticks. Another tried to lunge—but a spear of black mist lanced through its skull.
One. Two. Three down.
But the fourth got through.
It barreled toward Kael, arms spinning like drills—
Until Amaris appeared in front of it, her sword glowing with the dim flicker of inner light.
She screamed and swung.
The construct caught the blade—then hissed, steam erupting from its joints.
[Trait Activated: Remnant Blessing – Veilshade Flame]➤ Effect: Burn intensity increased against corrupted divine flesh
Amaris' eyes burned golden for a second.
Then she plunged the sword through its eye socket.
"Don't you dare touch him," she spat.
The construct fell. Twitching.
Kael met her gaze.
"Stay behind the shadows," he said.
"I wasn't born to be saved," she snapped, "but I will fight for what saves others."
The system chimed faintly.
[Emotional Sync Detected – Companion: Amaris]➤ Bond Strength Increased➤ Companion Trait "Torchbearer" Unlocked: Adds +5% Resistance to Divine Corruption➤ New Cult Path Option: Torch of the Dusk God (Locked)
Kael's lips twitched.
"Then burn."
The Marrow King screamed.
"Enough of this!"
He stepped forward, pulling a core from his chest—glowing, pulsing, made of compressed god marrow.
With a jerk, he crushed it.
[Boss Phase II Activated: Bone Sovereign Form]➤ Divine Marrow Override➤ All Constructs Revived➤ Room Transformed: Marrow Throne Arena Initiated
The floor cracked. The walls twisted. Pillars of bone erupted from the ground, carving a circular arena. The children's cages were pulled back by force, out of reach.
Kael's shadow threads were severed.
"Do you think you're divine, little rat?" the Marrow King growled, now twelve feet tall, bones encasing his entire body in grotesque armor. "I've bathed in the essence of gods. You are nothing."
Kael looked up, unconcerned.
"No. I'm what comes after gods."
He raised both hands.
[System Override Initiated…]➤ Divine Pressure Overload➤ Authority Match Detected: Bone-Class Deity➤ Outcome: "God vs God" Protocol Initiated
A deep pulse of shadow surged beneath Kael's feet.
His body glowed faintly — not with golden light, not with flame.
But with the cool black of the void between stars.
The Marrow King roared and charged.
Their clash shook the arena.
Kael's blade of shadow met the king's bone fists, each strike sending out shockwaves that cracked pillars and shattered the corpses embedded in the walls. The king slammed him through a wall—Kael vanished into smoke and reappeared above, driving a dozen black spikes into the beast's shoulders.
[Critical Hit x3]➤ Armor Disruption: 38%➤ Divine Core Exposure Reached: 62%
"You… can't win!" the Marrow King bellowed, clawing at Kael's threads. "This city is mine! Its fear is mine!"
"No," Kael whispered. "They were always afraid. You only fed on it."
He opened his hand.
And the shadows beneath the entire arena rose.
They weren't just mist.
They were the remnants of broken faith.
[Skill Evolution: Sovereign's Grasp → Eclipse Binding]➤ Effect: Bind target using the weight of extinguished prayers➤ Bonus: Extracts corrupted divinity on contact
The shadows wrapped around the Marrow King's limbs, spine, and neck — and dragged him down.
The bone armor cracked. The god marrow in his chest glowed—
Then shattered.
With one final cry, the Marrow King dissolved into dust.
[Boss Defeated: The Marrow King]➤ Reward: Divine Marrow Core x1➤ Reward: Cult Upgrade Token x1➤ Title Unlocked: "Breaker of False Thrones"➤ Companion Affinity Increased
Silence.
The children sobbed quietly.
Kael knelt beside one of them. A girl no older than ten, her body trembling, her divine glow nearly gone.
He placed a hand over her chest.
A flicker of black light — not consuming, not cold.
Just… soft.
[System Notification: Minor Restoration Granted]➤ Soul Thread Stabilized (Temporary)➤ New Cult Trait Option: "Children of the Nightlight" (Locked)
She blinked.
Then whispered, "Are you… a god?"
Kael didn't answer.
But the shadow behind him smiled.
Outside, in the broken sky of Hollow's Vein, something cracked.
[Hidden Event Triggered: Faith Pulse — Shadow Alignment Detected]➤ Nearby believers: 12➤ Cult Formation: Possible➤ Divine Domain Expansion Unlocked (Limited)
Kael turned toward the ruined city above.
This place had been a haven from gods.
Now, it would become a kingdom of his own.